Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

⁸ A message came to Elijah from the Lord. He said, ⁹ “Go right away to Zarephath in the region of Sidon. Stay there. I have directed a widow there to supply you with food.” ¹⁰ So Elijah went to Zarephath. He came to the town gate. A widow was there gathering sticks. He called out to her. He asked, “Would you bring me a little water in a jar? I need a drink.” ¹¹ She went to get the water. Then he called out to her, “Please bring me a piece of bread too.”

¹² “I don’t have any bread,” she replied. “And that’s just as sure as the Lord your God is alive. All I have is a small amount of flour in a jar and a little olive oil in a jug. I’m gathering a few sticks to take home. I’ll make one last meal for myself and my son. We’ll eat it. After that, we’ll die.”

¹³ Elijah said to her, “Don’t be afraid. Go home. Do what you have said. But first make a small loaf of bread for me. Make it out of what you have. Bring it to me. Then make some for yourself and your son. ¹⁴ The Lord is the God of Israel. He says, ‘The jar of flour will not be used up. The jug will always have oil in it. You will have flour and oil until the day the Lord sends rain on the land.’ ”

¹⁵ She went away and did what Elijah had told her to do. So Elijah had food every day. There was also food for the woman and her family. ¹⁶ The jar of flour wasn’t used up. The jug always had oil in it. That’s what the Lord had said would happen. He had spoken that message through Elijah.

¹⁷ Some time later the son of the woman who owned the house became sick. He got worse and worse. Finally he stopped breathing. ¹⁸ The woman said to Elijah, “You are a man of God. What do you have against me? Did you come to bring my sin out into the open? Did you come to kill my son?”

¹⁹ “Give me your son,” Elijah replied. He took him from her arms. He carried him to the upstairs room where he was staying. He put him down on his bed. ²⁰ Then Elijah cried out to the Lord. He said, “Lord my God, I’m staying with this widow. Have you brought pain and sorrow even to her? Have you caused her son to die?” ²¹ Then he lay down on the boy three times. He cried out to the Lord. He said, “Lord my God, give this boy’s life back to him!”

²² The Lord answered Elijah’s prayer. He gave the boy’s life back to him. So the boy lived. ²³ Elijah picked up the boy. He carried him down from the upstairs room into the house. He gave him to his mother. He said, “Look! Your son is alive!”

²⁴ Then the woman said to Elijah, “Now I know that you are a man of God. I know that the message you have brought from the Lord is true.”

Paul Was Appointed by God

¹¹ Brothers and sisters, here is what I want you to know. The good news I preached does not come from human beings. ¹² No one gave it to me. No one taught it to me. Instead, I received it from Jesus Christ. He showed it to me.

¹³ You have heard how I lived earlier in my Jewish way of life. With all my strength I attacked the church of God. I tried to destroy it. ¹⁴ I was moving ahead in my Jewish way of life. I went beyond many of my people who were my own age. I held firmly to the teachings passed down by my people. ¹⁵ But God set me apart from before the time I was born. He showed me his grace by appointing me. He was pleased ¹⁶ to show his Son in my life. He wanted me to preach about Jesus among the Gentiles. When God appointed me, I decided right away not to ask anyone for advice. ¹⁷ I didn’t go up to Jerusalem to see those who were apostles before I was. Instead, I went into Arabia. Later I returned to Damascus.

¹⁸ Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem. I went there to get to know Peter. I stayed with him for 15 days. ¹⁹ I didn’t see any of the other apostles. I only saw James, the Lord’s brother. ²⁰ Here is what you can be sure of. And God is even a witness to it. What I am writing you is not a lie.

²¹ Then I went to Syria and Cilicia. ²² The members of Christ’s churches in Judea did not know me in a personal way. ²³ They only heard others say, “The man who used to attack us has changed. He is now preaching the faith he once tried to destroy.” ²⁴ And they praised God because of me.

Jesus Raises a Widow’s Son From the Dead

¹¹ Some time later, Jesus went to a town called Nain. His disciples and a large crowd went along with him. ¹² He approached the town gate. Just then, a dead person was being carried out. He was the only son of his mother. She was a widow. A large crowd from the town was with her. ¹³ When the Lord saw her, he felt sorry for her. So he said, “Don’t cry.”

¹⁴ Then he went up and touched the coffin. Those carrying it stood still. Jesus said, “Young man, I say to you, get up!” ¹⁵ The dead man sat up and began to talk. Then Jesus gave him back to his mother.

¹⁶ The people were all filled with wonder and praised God. “A great prophet has appeared among us,” they said. “God has come to help his people.” ¹⁷ This news about Jesus spread all through Judea and the whole country.