Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
23 Do you people think[a] that I am some local deity
and not the transcendent God?”[b] the Lord asks.[c]
24 “Do you really think anyone can hide himself
where I cannot see him?” the Lord asks.[d]
“Do you not know that I am everywhere?”[e]
the Lord asks.[f]
25 The Lord says,[g] “I have heard what those prophets who are prophesying lies in my name are saying. They are saying, ‘I have had a dream! I have had a dream!’[h] 26 Those prophets are just prophesying lies. They are prophesying the delusions of their own minds.[i] 27 How long will they go on plotting[j] to make my people forget who I am[k] through the dreams they tell one another? That is just as bad as what their ancestors[l] did when they forgot who I am by worshiping the god Baal.[m] 28 Let the prophet who has had a dream go ahead and tell his dream. Let the person who has received my message report that message faithfully. What is like straw cannot compare to what is like grain![n] I, the Lord, affirm it![o] 29 My message is like a fire that purges dross.[p] It is like a hammer that breaks a rock in pieces.[q] I, the Lord, so affirm it![r]
Psalm 82[a]
A psalm of Asaph.
82 God stands in[b] the assembly of El;[c]
in the midst of the gods[d] he renders judgment.[e]
2 He says,[f] “How long will you make unjust legal decisions
and show favoritism to the wicked?[g] (Selah)
3 Defend the cause of the poor and the fatherless.[h]
Vindicate the oppressed and suffering.
4 Rescue the poor and needy.
Deliver them from the power[i] of the wicked.
5 They[j] neither know nor understand.
They stumble around[k] in the dark,
while all the foundations of the earth crumble.[l]
6 I thought,[m] ‘You are gods;
all of you are sons of the Most High.’[n]
7 Yet you will die like mortals;[o]
you will fall like all the other rulers.”[p]
8 Rise up, O God, and execute judgment on the earth!
For you own[q] all the nations.
29 By faith they crossed the Red Sea as if on dry ground, but when the Egyptians tried it, they were swallowed up. 30 By faith the walls of Jericho fell after the people marched around them[a] for seven days. 31 By faith Rahab the prostitute escaped the destruction of[b] the disobedient, because she welcomed the spies in peace.
32 And what more shall I say? For time will fail me if I tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets. 33 Through faith they conquered kingdoms, administered justice,[c] gained what was promised,[d] shut the mouths of lions, 34 quenched raging fire,[e] escaped the edge of the sword, gained strength in weakness,[f] became mighty in battle, put foreign armies to flight, 35 and women received back their dead raised to life.[g] But others were tortured, not accepting release, to obtain resurrection to a better life.[h] 36 And others experienced mocking and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. 37 They were stoned, sawed apart,[i] murdered with the sword; they went about in sheepskins and goatskins; they were destitute, afflicted, ill-treated 38 (the world was not worthy of them); they wandered in deserts and mountains and caves and openings in the earth. 39 And these all were commended[j] for their faith, yet they did not receive what was promised.[k] 40 For God had provided something better for us, so that they would be made perfect together with us.[l]
The Lord’s Discipline
12 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses,[m] we must get rid of every weight and the sin that clings so closely, and run with endurance the race set out for us, 2 keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of our faith. For[n] the joy set out for him he endured the cross, disregarding its shame, and has taken his seat at the right hand of the throne of God.[o]
Not Peace, but Division
49 “I have come[a] to bring[b] fire on the earth—and how I wish it were already kindled! 50 I have a baptism[c] to undergo,[d] and how distressed I am until it is finished! 51 Do you think I have come to bring peace on earth? No, I tell you, but rather division![e] 52 For from now on[f] there will be five in one household divided, three against two and two against three. 53 They will be divided,[g] father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.”
Reading the Signs
54 Jesus[h] also said to the crowds, “When you see a cloud rising in the west,[i] you say at once, ‘A rainstorm[j] is coming,’ and it does. 55 And when you see the south wind[k] blowing, you say, ‘There will be scorching heat,’ and there is. 56 You hypocrites![l] You know how to interpret the appearance of the earth and the sky, but how can you not know how[m] to interpret the present time?
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