Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

11 If people believe God, then they know they have the things they hope to get. It is the proof of things we do not see.

² There were people long ago believed God. He said they were good because they believed him.

³ We believe in God, so that is how we know that God made the world by his word. The things we see were made out of things that cannot be seen.

⁸ God called Abraham to go away to a place which he would have as his own. Because Abraham believed God, he obeyed him. He went even though he did not know where he was to go.

⁹ Because he believed God, he lived like a stranger in the land God promised him. He lived in tents with Isaac and Jacob. They had the same promise he had.

¹⁰ Abraham was looking for a city which will last for ever. It was the city God planned and made.

¹¹ Sarah also believed God, and she was able to have a baby even though she was too old to have children. But she trusted God to do what he had promised.

¹² Abraham was too old to be a father, but a great nation was born from that one man. They are as many as the stars in the sky and as the sands on the seaside. No man can count them.

¹³ These people all died still believing God. They did not get the things God had promised them. But they saw them far away and were glad to see them. They said they did not belong to this world, but were only travelling in it.

¹⁴ People who say such things mean they are looking for a country which will be their own.

¹⁵ If they had wanted the country they left behind, they could have gone back to it.

¹⁶ But now they want a better country. They want a place in heaven. That is why God wants to be called their God. He has made a city ready for them.

³² `Do not fear, little family. Your Father wants to give the kingdom to you.

³³ Sell what you have and give it to poor people. Make for yourselves money bags that will not wear out. Keep the things you like in heaven. They will not be lost there. People cannot go in and steal them, and insects cannot spoil them.

³⁴ The place where you keep the things you like is where your heart will be also.'

³⁵ `Be dressed and have your lamps lit.

³⁶ Be like men who are waiting for their master to come home from a wedding. They are ready to open the door as soon as he comes and knocks.

³⁷ Happy the servants who are ready when the master comes! The servants who are ready when the master comes will be made happy. I tell you the truth. The master will get ready to serve them. He will set them at the table and will come and serve them.

³⁸ He may come in the middle of the night or when it is nearly morning. But if they are watching for the master, they will be happy.

³⁹ `And remember this. If the owner of a house knew at what time a man would come to steal, he would not let the man break into his house.

⁴⁰ So then, be ready. The Son of Man will come at a time when you are not looking for him.'