Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

⁷ O Lord, listen to my cry. Show loving-kindness to me and answer me. ⁸ You have said, “Look for My face.” My heart said to You, “O Lord, Your face will I look for.” ⁹ Do not hide Your face from me. Do not turn Your servant away in anger. You have been my Helper. Do not turn away from me or leave me alone, O God Who saves me! ¹⁰ For my father and my mother have left me. But the Lord will take care of me.

¹¹ Teach me Your way, O Lord. Lead me in a straight path, because of those who fight against me. ¹² Do not give me over to the desire of those who hate me. For people who tell lies about me rise against me, and breathe a desire to hurt me. ¹³ I would have been without hope if I had not believed that I would see the loving-kindness of the Lord in the land of the living. ¹⁴ Wait for the Lord. Be strong. Let your heart be strong. Yes, wait for the Lord.

¹¹ Then the angel of the Lord came and sat under the oak tree in Ophrah, which belonged to Joash the Abiezrite. The angel came as Joash’s son Gideon was beating out grain where grapes are crushed, to save it from the Midianites. ¹² The angel of the Lord showed himself to Gideon and said to him, “The Lord is with you, O powerful soldier.” ¹³ Gideon said to him, “O sir, if the Lord is with us, why has all this happened to us? Where are all His powerful works which our fathers told us about? They said, ‘Did not the Lord bring us out of Egypt?’ But now the Lord has left us alone. He has put us under the power of Midian.” ¹⁴ The Lord looked at him and said, “Go in this strength of yours. And save Israel from the power of Midian. Have I not sent you?” ¹⁵ Gideon said to Him, “O Lord, how can I save Israel? See, my family is the least in Manasseh. And I am the youngest in my father’s house.” ¹⁶ But the Lord said to him, “For sure I will be with you. You will destroy Midian as one man.” ¹⁷ Gideon said to Him, “If I have found favor in Your eyes, show me something to prove that it is You Who speaks with me. ¹⁸ I ask of You, do not leave here until I return to You with my gift and lay it before You.” And the Lord said, “I will stay until you return.”

¹⁹ Then Gideon went into his house and got a young goat ready. He made bread without yeast from a basket of flour. He put the meat in a basket and the water from boiling the meat in a pot. Then he brought them out to him under the tree and set them down in front of him. ²⁰ The angel of God said to him, “Take the meat and the bread without yeast and lay them on this rock. Then pour out the water.” Gideon did so. ²¹ The angel of the Lord put out the end of the stick that was in his hand and touched the meat and the bread without yeast. And fire came up from the rock and burned up the meat and the bread without yeast. Then the angel of the Lord was seen no more. ²² So Gideon knew that he was the angel of the Lord. And he said, “I am afraid, O Lord God! For now I have seen the angel of the Lord face to face.” ²³ The Lord said to him, “Peace be with you. Do not be afraid. You will not die.” ²⁴ Then Gideon built an altar there to the Lord. He gave it the name, The Lord is Peace. It is still in Ophrah of the Abiezrites to this day.

⁶ Do not let anyone lead you in the wrong way with foolish talk. The anger of God comes on such people because they choose to not obey Him. ⁷ Have nothing to do with them. ⁸ At one time you lived in darkness. Now you are living in the light that comes from the Lord. Live as children who have the light of the Lord in them. ⁹ This light gives us truth. It makes us right with God and makes us good. ¹⁰ Learn how to please the Lord. ¹¹ Have nothing to do with the bad things done in darkness. Instead, show that these things are wrong. ¹² It is a shame even to talk about these things done in secret. ¹³ All things can be seen when they are in the light. Everything that can be seen is in the light. ¹⁴ The Holy Writings say, “Wake up, you who are sleeping. Rise from the dead and Christ will give you light.” ^(A)