Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
B
I
7 Hear my voice, Lord, when I call;
have mercy on me and answer me.
8 “Come,” says my heart, “seek his face”;[a]
your face, Lord, do I seek!(A)
9 Do not hide your face from me;
do not repel your servant in anger.
You are my salvation; do not cast me off;
do not forsake me, God my savior!
10 Even if my father and mother forsake me,
the Lord will take me in.(B)
II
11 Lord, show me your way;
lead me on a level path
because of my enemies.(C)
12 Do not abandon me to the desire of my foes;
malicious and lying witnesses have risen against me.
13 I believe I shall see the Lord’s goodness
in the land of the living.[b](D)
14 Wait for the Lord, take courage;
be stouthearted, wait for the Lord!
11 Then the messenger of the Lord came and sat under the terebinth in Ophrah that belonged to Joash the Abiezrite. Joash’s son Gideon(A) was beating out wheat in the wine press to save it from the Midianites, 12 and the messenger of the Lord appeared to him and said: The Lord is with you, you mighty warrior! 13 “My lord,” Gideon said to him, “if the Lord is with us, why has all this happened to us? Where are his wondrous deeds about which our ancestors told us when they said, ‘Did not the Lord bring us up from Egypt?’ For now the Lord has abandoned us and has delivered us into the power of Midian.” 14 (B)The Lord turned to him and said: Go with the strength you have, and save Israel from the power of Midian. Is it not I who send you? 15 But he answered him, “Please, my Lord, how can I save Israel? My family is the poorest in Manasseh, and I am the most insignificant in my father’s house.”(C) 16 The Lord said to him: I will be with you,[a] and you will cut down Midian to the last man. 17 He answered him, “If you look on me with favor, give me a sign that you are the one speaking with me. 18 Please do not depart from here until I come to you and bring out my offering and set it before you.” He answered: I will await your return.
19 So Gideon went off and prepared a young goat and an ephah[b] of flour in the form of unleavened cakes. Putting the meat in a basket and the broth in a pot, he brought them out to him under the terebinth and presented them. 20 (D)The messenger of God said to him: Take the meat and unleavened cakes and lay them on this rock; then pour out the broth. When he had done so, 21 the messenger of the Lord stretched out the tip of the staff he held. When he touched the meat and unleavened cakes, a fire came up from the rock and consumed the meat and unleavened cakes. Then the messenger of the Lord disappeared from sight. 22 [c]Gideon, now aware that it had been the messenger of the Lord, said, “Alas, Lord God, that I have seen the messenger of the Lord face to face!”(E) 23 The Lord answered him: You are safe. Do not fear. You shall not die. 24 So Gideon built there an altar to the Lord and called it Yahweh-shalom.[d](F) To this day it is still in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.
Duty to Live in the Light. 6 (A)Let no one deceive you with empty arguments, for because of these things the wrath of God is coming upon the disobedient.[a] 7 So do not be associated with them. 8 For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light,(B) 9 for light produces every kind of goodness and righteousness and truth.(C) 10 Try to learn what is pleasing to the Lord.(D) 11 Take no part in the fruitless works of darkness; rather expose them,(E) 12 for it is shameful even to mention the things done by them in secret; 13 but everything exposed by the light becomes visible,(F) 14 for everything that becomes visible is light. Therefore, it says:(G)
“Awake, O sleeper,
and arise from the dead,
and Christ will give you light.”[b]
Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.