Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

Joseph Shows Kindness to His Brothers

45 Then Joseph could not control himself [any longer] in front of all those who attended him, and he called out, “Have everyone leave me.” So no man stood there when Joseph revealed himself to his brothers. ² Joseph wept aloud, and the Egyptians [who had just left him] heard it, and the household of Pharaoh heard of it. ³ Then Joseph said to his brothers, “I am Joseph! Is my father still alive?” But his brothers were speechless, for they were stunned and dismayed by [the fact that they were in] Joseph’s presence.

⁴ And Joseph said to his brothers, “Please come closer to me.” And they approached him. And he said, “I am Joseph your brother, whom you sold into Egypt. ⁵ Now do not be distressed or angry with yourselves because you sold me here, for God sent me ahead of you to save life and preserve our family. ⁶ For the famine has been in the land these two years, and there are still five more years in which there will be no plowing and harvesting. ⁷ God sent me [to Egypt] ahead of you to preserve for you a remnant on the earth, and to keep you alive by a great escape. ⁸ So now it was not you who sent me here, but God; and He has made me a father to Pharaoh and lord of all his household and ruler over all the land of Egypt. ⁹ Hurry and go up to my father, and tell him, ‘Your son Joseph says this to you: “God has made me lord of all Egypt; come down to me, do not delay. ¹⁰ You shall live in the land of Goshen [the best pasture land of Egypt], and you shall be close to me—you and your children and your grandchildren, your flocks and your herds and all you have. ¹¹ There I will provide for you and sustain you, so that you and your household and all that are yours may not become impoverished, for there are still five years of famine to come.”’ ¹² Look! Your eyes see, and the eyes of my brother Benjamin see, that I am speaking to you [personally in your language and not through an interpreter]. ¹³ Now you must tell my father of all my splendor and power in Egypt, and of everything that you have seen; and you must hurry and bring my father down here.” ¹⁴ Then he embraced his brother Benjamin’s neck and wept, and Benjamin wept on his neck. ¹⁵ He kissed all his brothers and wept on them, and afterward his brothers talked with him.

The Excellency of Brotherly Unity.

A Song of ^[a]Ascents. Of David.

Israel Is Not Cast Away

11 I say then, has God rejected and disowned His people? Certainly not! For I too am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin.^{(A) 2} God has not rejected His [chosen] people whom He foreknew. Or do you not know what the Scripture says of Elijah, how he pleads with God against Israel?^(B)

²⁹ For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable [for He does not withdraw what He has given, nor does He change His mind about those to whom He gives His grace or to whom He sends His call]. ³⁰ Just as you once were disobedient and failed to listen to God, but have now obtained mercy because of their disobedience, ³¹ so they too have now become disobedient so that they too may one day receive mercy because of the mercy shown to you. ³² For God has imprisoned all in disobedience so that He may show mercy to all [Jew and Gentile alike].

¹⁰ After Jesus called the crowd to Him, He said, “Listen and understand this: ¹¹ It is not what goes into the mouth of a man that defiles and dishonors him, but what comes out of the mouth, this defiles and dishonors him.”

¹² Then the disciples came and said to Jesus, “Do You know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard you say this?” ¹³ He answered, “Every plant which My heavenly Father did not plant will be torn up by the roots.^{(A) 14} Leave them alone; they are blind guides ^[a][leading blind followers]. If a blind man leads a blind man, both will fall into a pit.”

The Heart of Man

¹⁵ Peter asked Him, “Explain this parable [about what defiles a person] to us.” ¹⁶ And He said, “Are you still so dull [and unable to put things together]? ¹⁷ Do you not understand that whatever goes into the mouth passes into the stomach, and is eliminated? ¹⁸ But whatever [word] comes out of the mouth comes from the heart, and this is what defiles and dishonors the man. ¹⁹ For out of the heart come evil thoughts and plans, murders, adulteries, sexual immoralities, thefts, false testimonies, slanders (verbal abuse, irreverent speech, blaspheming). ²⁰ These are the things which defile and dishonor the man; but eating with [ceremonially] unwashed hands does not defile the man.”

The Syrophoenician Woman

²¹ After leaving there, Jesus withdrew to the district of ^[a]Tyre and Sidon.^{(A) 22} And a ^[b]Canaanite woman from that district came out and began to cry out [urgently], saying, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David (Messiah); my daughter is cruelly possessed by a demon.” ²³ But He did not say a word in answer to her. And His disciples came and asked Him [repeatedly], “Send her away, because she keeps shouting out after us.” ²⁴ He answered, “I was commissioned by God and sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” ²⁵ But she came and began to kneel down before Him, saying, “Lord, help me!” ²⁶ And He replied, “It is not good (appropriate, fair) to take the ^[c]children’s bread and throw it to the ^[d]pet dogs.” ²⁷ She said, “Yes, Lord; but even the pet dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their [young] masters’ table.” ²⁸ Then Jesus answered her, “Woman, your faith [your personal trust and confidence in My power] is great; it will be done for you as you wish.” And her daughter was healed from that moment.