Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Elijah goes up to heaven
2 The Lord was now ready to take Elijah up to heaven in a storm of wind. At this time, Elijah and Elisha were travelling from Gilgal. 2 Elijah said to Elisha, ‘Stay here, because the Lord has sent me to Bethel.’ But Elisha replied, ‘I will not leave you. I promise that, as surely as the Lord lives and as surely as you also live.’
So they went down to Bethel together. 3 A group of prophets lived in Bethel. They came out to Elisha and they asked him, ‘Do you know that the Lord will take your master away from you today?’ Elisha replied, ‘Yes, I do know that, but do not talk about it now.’
4 Then Elijah said to Elisha, ‘Stay here, because the Lord has sent me to Jericho.’ But Elisha replied, ‘I will not leave you. I promise that, as surely as the Lord lives and as surely as you live.’
So they went to Jericho together. 5 A group of prophets lived in Jericho. They went out to Elisha and they asked him, ‘Do you know that the Lord will take your master away from you today?’ Elisha replied, ‘Yes, I do know that, but do not talk about it now.’
6 Then Elijah said to Elisha, ‘Stay here, because the Lord has sent me to the Jordan River.’ But Elisha replied, ‘I will not leave you. I promise that, as surely as the Lord lives and as surely as you live.’
So they continued to travel together. 7 50 men who belonged to the group of prophets went and they stood near the Jordan River. They were standing not far away from Elijah and Elisha. They watched what happened. 8 Elijah took off his coat. He rolled it up and he hit the water with it. The water became separate to the left side and to the right side. Elijah and Elisha went across the river on dry ground.
9 After they had crossed the river, Elijah said to Elisha, ‘The Lord will soon take me away from you. What do you want me to do for you before that happens?’ Elisha replied, ‘Please let me have twice as much of your spirit.’ 10 Elijah said, ‘You have asked a difficult thing. But watch carefully when God takes me from you. If you see it happen, you will receive that spirit. If you do not see me, you will not receive it.’
11 So they walked along and they talked together. Suddenly a chariot that was burning with fire appeared. The horses that pulled it were also burning with fire. The chariot went between Elijah and Elisha. Elijah went up to heaven in a storm of wind. 12 When Elisha saw this, he shouted, ‘My father! My father![a] You are riding in Israel's chariot! Israel's men are riding on the horses!’
After that, Elisha could not see Elijah again. He took hold of his own clothes and he tore them into pieces because he was very upset.
Asaph wrote this psalm.
God is our judge[a]
50 God, the great God, the Lord, is speaking.
He is calling everybody on the earth,
from where the sun rises in the east,
to where it goes down in the west.
2 God is shining out from Zion,
that most beautiful place.
3 Our God is coming,
and he does not come quietly!
A fire burns up everything that is in front of him.
There is a great storm all round him.
4 He calls to the skies above,
and to the earth below.
They must watch while he judges his people.
5 He says, ‘Bring my people to me.
They are the people who offered sacrifices to me,
to agree our covenant.’
6 The skies above show that God is righteous,
and God himself is the judge.
Selah.
3 Some people may not understand the good news that we speak. They are only the people who are losing their lives with God. 4 Those people do not accept God's good news. The god of this world has confused their minds. They cannot see the light that the good news brings. That message teaches about the great power of Christ, who shows us exactly what God is like.
5 We do not speak a message about ourselves. We tell people that Jesus Christ is our Lord. Because we belong to Jesus, we have become your servants, not your masters. 6 God is the one who said, ‘Let light shine in the dark.’ And he is the one who has caused his light to shine deep inside us. Because of that, we know how great and powerful God is. We see that his power shines brightly in Christ's face.[a]
2 Six days after that, Jesus asked Peter, James and John to go with him. Jesus led them up a high mountain, where they were alone together. Peter, James and John saw Jesus change in front of them. 3 His clothes became very white; they were shining. They were a brighter white than anyone on earth could wash them. 4 Then Elijah and Moses appeared in front of the three disciples. Elijah and Moses were talking with Jesus.[a][b]
5 So Peter said to Jesus, ‘Teacher, it is good that we are here. Please let us build three huts. One hut will be for you. One hut will be for Moses. And one hut will be for Elijah.’ 6 Peter did not really know what to say. That was because the three disciples were very afraid.[c]
7 Then a cloud appeared and it covered them all. A voice spoke from the cloud and it said, ‘This is my Son, and I love him. Listen to him.’
8 At that moment, the three disciples looked around. They saw that nobody else was there now. Only Jesus was there with them.
9 While they were walking down the mountain, Jesus said to the three disciples, ‘You must not tell anyone now about the things that you have just seen. One day the Son of Man will become alive again after his death. Then you can tell people about these things.’
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