Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
45 Joseph was unable to control himself in front of all his attendants, so he called out, “Send everyone out from my presence!” When no one else was left with him, Joseph revealed himself to his brothers. 2 He wept out loud. The Egyptians heard him, and the house of Pharaoh heard about it. 3 Joseph said to his brothers, “I am Joseph! Is my father still alive?”
His brothers could not answer him, because they were terrified by his presence. 4 Joseph said to his brothers, “Come closer to me, please.”
They came closer. He said, “I am Joseph, your brother, whom you sold into Egypt. 5 Now do not be upset or angry with yourselves for selling me to this place, since God sent me ahead of you to preserve life. 6 For two years now the famine has been in the land, and there are still five more years in which there will be neither plowing nor harvest. 7 God sent me ahead of you to preserve you as survivors on the earth, and to keep you alive by a great act of deliverance. 8 So it was not you who sent me here, but God, and he has made me a father to Pharaoh, lord over his entire household, and ruler over the whole land of Egypt. 9 Hurry, go up to my father and tell him, ‘This is what your son Joseph says: “God has made me lord of all Egypt. Come down to me. Do not delay. 10 You shall live in the land of Goshen, where you will be close to me—you, your children, your grandchildren, your flocks, your herds, and all that you have. 11 I will take care of you here, for there are still five years of famine. Otherwise you will come to ruin, you, and your household, and all that you have.”’ 12 Pay attention. Your eyes and the eyes of my brother Benjamin see that it is my mouth that speaks to you. 13 You shall tell my father all about my position of honor in Egypt and about everything that you have seen. Hurry and bring my father down here.”
14 He threw his arms around his brother Benjamin’s neck and wept, and Benjamin wept on his shoulder. 15 He kissed all his brothers and wept over them. After that his brothers talked with him.
Psalm 133
Pleasant Unity
Heading
A song of the ascents. By David.
Pleasant Unity
1 Look, how good and how pleasant it is
when brothers live together in unity!
2 It is like the precious oil poured on the head,
running down on the beard, the beard of Aaron,
running down on the collar of his robes.
3 It is like the dew from Hermon
running down on the mountains of Zion.
For there the Lord commands this blessing: life to eternity.
God Graciously Chose a Remnant
11 So I say, did God reject his people? Absolutely not! For I myself am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham from the tribe of Benjamin. 2 God did not reject his people whom he foreknew—or don’t you know what Scripture says about Elijah, how he was pleading with God against Israel:
29 because God’s gracious gifts and call are not regretted. 30 For just as you were once disobedient to God, but now have been shown mercy due to their disobedience, 31 so also now they have become disobedient, so that by the mercy shown to you they may be shown mercy too. 32 For God imprisoned all in disobedience so that he may show mercy to all.
10 Then he summoned the crowd and said to them, “Listen and understand. 11 What goes into the mouth does not make a person unclean, but it is what comes out of the mouth that defiles a person.”
12 Then the disciples came and said to him, “Do you know that the Pharisees took offense when they heard this saying?”
13 He answered, “Every plant which my heavenly Father did not plant will be uprooted. 14 Let them go. They are blind guides of the blind.[a] And if the blind are guiding the blind, both will fall into a pit.”
15 Peter replied and said to him, “Explain the parable to us.”
16 Jesus said, “Do you still not understand? 17 Do you not understand that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and is eliminated into the latrine? 18 But whatever comes out of the mouth comes from the heart. That is what defiles a person. 19 To be sure, out of the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, sexual sins, thefts, false testimonies, and blasphemies. 20 These are the things that defile a person. But to eat with unwashed hands does not defile a person.”
The Faith of a Canaanite Woman
21 Jesus left that place and withdrew into the region of Tyre and Sidon. 22 There a Canaanite woman from that territory came and kept crying out, “Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David! A demon is severely tormenting my daughter!”
23 But he did not answer her a word.
His disciples came and pleaded, “Send her away, because she keeps crying out after us.”
24 He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”
25 But she came and knelt in front of him, saying, “Lord, help me.”
26 He answered her, “It is not good to take the children’s bread and throw it to their little dogs.”
27 “Yes, Lord,” she said, “yet their little dogs also eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.”
28 Then Jesus answered her, “Woman, your faith is great! It will be done for you, just as you desire.” And her daughter was healed at that very hour.
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.