Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

A Prayer for Mercy

A song for going up to worship.

¹⁶ The king of Egypt and his officers learned that Joseph’s brothers had come. And they were very happy about this. ¹⁷ So the king said to Joseph, “Tell your brothers to load their animals and go back to the land of Canaan. ¹⁸ Tell them to bring their father and their families back here to me. I will give them the best land in Egypt. And they will eat the best food we have here. ¹⁹ Tell them to take some wagons from Egypt for their children and their wives. And tell them to bring their father back also. ²⁰ Tell them not to worry about bringing any of their things with them. We will give them the best of what we have in Egypt.”

²¹ So the sons of Israel did this. Joseph gave them wagons as the king had ordered. And he gave them food for their trip. ²² He gave each brother a change of clothes. But he gave Benjamin five changes of clothes. And Joseph gave him about seven and one-half pounds of silver. ²³ Joseph also sent his father ten donkeys loaded with the best things from Egypt. And he sent ten female donkeys. They were loaded with grain, bread and other food for his father on his trip back. ²⁴ Then Joseph told his brothers to go. As they were leaving, he said to them, “Don’t quarrel on the way home.”

²⁵ So the brothers left Egypt and went to their father Jacob in the land of Canaan. ²⁶ They told him, “Joseph is still alive. He is the ruler over all the land of Egypt.” Their father was shocked and did not believe them. ²⁷ But the brothers told him everything Joseph had said. Then Jacob saw the wagons that Joseph had sent to carry him back to Egypt. Now Jacob felt better. ²⁸ Jacob, also called Israel, said, “Now I believe you. My son Joseph is still alive. I will go and see him before I die.”

Jesus Heals a Sick Man

8 When Jesus came down from the hill, great crowds followed him. ² Then a man sick with a harmful skin disease came to Jesus. The man bowed down before him and said, “Lord, you have the power to heal me if you want.”

³ Jesus touched the man and said, “I want to heal you. Be healed!” And immediately the man was healed from his skin disease. ⁴ Then Jesus said to him, “Don’t tell anyone about what happened. But go and show yourself to the priest.^[a] And offer the gift that Moses commanded^[b] for people who are made well. This will show people that you are healed.”

Jesus Heals a Soldier’s Servant

⁵ Jesus went to the city of Capernaum. When he entered the city, an army officer came to Jesus and begged for help. ⁶ The officer said, “Lord, my servant is at home in bed. He can’t move his body and is in much pain.”

⁷ Jesus said to the officer, “I will go and heal him.”

⁸ The officer answered, “Lord, I am not good enough for you to come into my house. All you need to do is command that my servant be healed, and he will be healed. ⁹ I myself am a man under the authority of other men. And I have soldiers under my command. I tell one soldier, ‘Go,’ and he goes. I tell another soldier, ‘Come,’ and he comes. I say to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and my servant obeys me.

¹⁰ When Jesus heard this, he was amazed. He said to those who were with him, “I tell you the truth. This man has more faith than any other person I have found, even in Israel. ¹¹ Many people will come from the east and from the west. They will sit and eat with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. ¹² And those people who should have the kingdom will be thrown outside into the darkness. In that place people will cry and grind their teeth with pain.”

¹³ Then Jesus said to the officer, “Go home. Your servant will be healed just as you believed he would.” And at that same time his servant was healed.