Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
The Sign of the Covenant
17 When Abram was 99 years old,[a] the Lord appeared to him and said,[b] “I am the Sovereign God.[c] Walk[d] before me[e] and be blameless.[f] 2 Then I will confirm my covenant[g] between me and you, and I will give you a multitude of descendants.”[h]
3 Abram bowed down with his face to the ground,[i] and God said to him,[j] 4 “As for me,[k] this[l] is my covenant with you: You will be the father of a multitude of nations. 5 No longer will your name be[m] Abram. Instead, your name will be Abraham[n] because I will make you[o] the father of a multitude of nations. 6 I will make you[p] extremely[q] fruitful. I will make nations of you, and kings will descend from you.[r] 7 I will confirm[s] my covenant as a perpetual[t] covenant between me and you. It will extend to your descendants after you throughout their generations. I will be your God and the God of your descendants after you.[u]
23 You loyal followers of the Lord,[a] praise him.
All you descendants of Jacob, honor him.
All you descendants of Israel, stand in awe of him.[b]
24 For he did not despise or detest the suffering[c] of the oppressed.[d]
He did not ignore him;[e]
when he cried out to him, he responded.[f]
25 You are the reason I offer praise[g] in the great assembly;
I will fulfill my promises before the Lord’s loyal followers.[h]
26 Let the oppressed eat and be filled.[i]
Let those who seek his help praise the Lord.
May you[j] live forever!
27 Let all the people of the earth acknowledge the Lord and turn to him.[k]
Let all the nations[l] worship you.[m]
28 For the Lord is king[n]
and rules over the nations.
29 All the thriving people[o] of the earth will join the celebration and worship;[p]
all those who are descending into the grave[q] will bow before him,
including those who cannot preserve their lives.[r]
30 A whole generation[s] will serve him;
they will tell the next generation about the Lord.[t]
31 They will come and tell about his saving deeds;[u]
they will tell a future generation what he has accomplished.[v]
13 For the promise[a] to Abraham or to his descendants that he would inherit the world was not fulfilled through the law, but through the righteousness that comes by faith. 14 For if they become heirs by the law, faith is empty and the promise is nullified.[b] 15 For the law brings wrath, because where there is no law there is no transgression[c] either. 16 For this reason it is by faith so that it may be by grace,[d] with the result that the promise may be certain to all the descendants—not only to those who are under the law, but also to those who have the faith of Abraham,[e] who is the father of us all 17 (as it is written, “I have made you the father of many nations”).[f] He is our father[g] in the presence of God whom he believed—the God who[h] makes the dead alive and summons the things that do not yet exist as though they already do.[i] 18 Against hope Abraham[j] believed[k] in hope with the result that he became the father of many nations[l] according to the pronouncement,[m] “so will your descendants be.”[n] 19 Without being weak in faith, he considered[o] his own body as dead[p] (because he was about 100 years old) and the deadness of Sarah’s womb. 20 He[q] did not waver in unbelief about the promise of God but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God. 21 He was[r] fully convinced that what God[s] promised he was also able to do. 22 So indeed it was credited to Abraham[t] as righteousness.
23 But the statement it was credited to him[u] was not written only for Abraham’s[v] sake, 24 but also for our sake, to whom it will be credited, those who believe in the one who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead. 25 He[w] was given over[x] because of our transgressions and was raised for the sake of[y] our justification.[z]
First Prediction of Jesus’ Death and Resurrection
31 Then[a] Jesus[b] began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer[c] many things and be rejected by the elders, chief priests, and experts in the law,[d] and be killed, and after three days rise again. 32 He spoke openly about this. So[e] Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. 33 But after turning and looking at his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, “Get behind me, Satan. You are not setting your mind on God’s interests, but on man’s.”[f]
Following Jesus
34 Then[g] Jesus[h] called the crowd, along with his disciples, and said to them, “If anyone wants to become my follower,[i] he must deny[j] himself, take up his cross,[k] and follow me. 35 For whoever wants to save his life[l] will lose it,[m] but whoever loses his life because of me and because of the gospel[n] will save it. 36 For what benefit is it for a person[o] to gain the whole world, yet[p] forfeit his life? 37 What can a person give in exchange for his life? 38 For if anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will also be ashamed of him[q] when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.”
The Transfiguration
2 Six days later[a] Jesus took with him Peter, James, and John and led them alone up a high mountain privately. And he was transfigured before them,[b] 3 and his clothes became radiantly white, more so than any launderer in the world could bleach them. 4 Then Elijah appeared before them along with Moses,[c] and they were talking with Jesus. 5 So[d] Peter said to Jesus,[e] “Rabbi, it is good for us to be here. Let us make three shelters[f]—one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” 6 (For they were afraid, and he did not know what to say.)[g] 7 Then[h] a cloud[i] overshadowed them,[j] and a voice came from the cloud, “This is my one dear Son.[k] Listen to him!”[l] 8 Suddenly when they looked around, they saw no one with them any more except Jesus.
9 As they were coming down from the mountain, he gave them orders not to tell anyone what they had seen until after the Son of Man had risen from the dead.
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