Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

Joseph Deals Kindly with His Brothers

45 Then Joseph could not control himself before all those who stood by him, and he cried, “Have everyone go out from me.” So there ^[a]was no man with him ^(A)when Joseph made himself known to his brothers. ^2 (B)He ^[b]wept so loudly that the Egyptians heard it, and the household of Pharaoh heard of it. ³ Then Joseph said to his brothers, “^(C)I am Joseph! ^(D)Is my father still alive?” But his brothers could not answer him, for ^(E)they were dismayed at his presence.

⁴ Then Joseph said to his brothers, “Please come ^[c]closer to me.” And they came ^[d]closer. And he said, “I am your brother Joseph, whom you ^(F)sold into Egypt. ⁵ Now do not be grieved or angry ^[e]with yourselves, because ^(G)you sold me here, for ^(H)God sent me before you to preserve life. ⁶ For the famine has been in the land ^(I)these two years, and there are still five years in which there will be neither plowing nor harvesting. ^7 (J)God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant in the earth, and to keep you alive by a great ^[f]deliverance. ⁸ Now, therefore, it was not you who sent me here, but God; and He has made me a ^(K)father to Pharaoh and lord of all his household and ruler over all the land of Egypt. ⁹ Hurry and go up to my father, and ^(L)say to him, ‘Thus says your son Joseph, “God has made me lord of all Egypt; come down to me, do not delay. ¹⁰ You shall ^[g]live in the land of ^(M)Goshen, and you shall be near me, you and your children and your children’s children and your flocks and your herds and all that you have. ¹¹ There I will also ^(N)provide for you, for there are still five years of famine to come, and you and your household and all that you have would be impoverished.”’ ¹² Behold, your eyes see, and the eyes of my brother Benjamin see, that it is my mouth which is speaking to you. ¹³ Now you must tell my father of all my splendor in Egypt, and all that you have seen; and you must hurry and ^(O)bring my father down here.” ¹⁴ Then he fell on his brother Benjamin’s neck and ^(P)wept, and Benjamin wept on his neck. ¹⁵ He kissed all his brothers and wept on them, and afterward his brothers talked with him.

The Excellency of Brotherly Unity.

A Song of Ascents, of David.

Israel Is Not Cast Away

11 I say then, God has not ^(A)rejected His people, has He? ^(B)May it never be! For ^(C)I too am an Israelite, ^[a]a descendant of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin. ² God ^(D)has not rejected His people whom He ^(E)foreknew. ^(F)Or do you not know what the Scripture says in the passage about Elijah, how he pleads with God against Israel?

²⁹ for the gifts and the ^(A)calling of God ^(B)are irrevocable. ³⁰ For just as you once were disobedient to God, but now have been shown mercy because of their disobedience, ³¹ so these also now have been disobedient, that because of the mercy shown to you they also may now be shown mercy. ³² For ^(C)God has shut up all in disobedience so that He may show mercy to all.

¹⁰ After Jesus called the crowd to Him, He said to them, “Hear and understand. ^11 (A)It is not what enters into the mouth that defiles the man, but what proceeds out of the mouth, this defiles the man.”

¹² Then the disciples *came and *said to Him, “Do You know that the Pharisees were ^[a]offended when they heard this statement?” ¹³ But He answered and said, “^(B)Every plant which My heavenly Father did not plant shall be uprooted. ¹⁴ Let them alone; ^(C)they are blind guides ^[b]of the blind. And ^(D)if a blind man guides a blind man, both will fall into a pit.”

The Heart of Man

¹⁵ Peter ^[c]said to Him, “^(E)Explain the parable to us.” ^16 [d]Jesus said, “Are you still lacking in understanding also? ¹⁷ Do you not understand that everything that goes into the mouth passes into the stomach, and is ^[e]eliminated? ¹⁸ But ^(F)the things that proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and those defile the man. ^19 (G)For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, ^[f]fornications, thefts, false witness, slanders. ²⁰ These are the things which defile the man; but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile the man.”

The Syrophoenician Woman

^21 (A)Jesus went away from there, and withdrew into the district of ^(B)Tyre and ^(C)Sidon. ²² And a Canaanite woman from that region came out and began to cry out, saying, “Have mercy on me, Lord, ^(D)Son of David; my daughter is cruelly ^(E)demon-possessed.” ²³ But He did not answer her a word. And His disciples came and implored Him, saying, “Send her away, because she keeps shouting ^[a]at us.” ²⁴ But He answered and said, “I was sent only to ^(F)the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” ²⁵ But she came and ^(G)began ^[b]to bow down before Him, saying, “Lord, help me!” ²⁶ And He answered and said, “It is not ^[c]good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.” ²⁷ But she said, “Yes, Lord; ^[d]but even the dogs feed on the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table.” ²⁸ Then Jesus said to her, “O woman, ^(H)your faith is great; it shall be done for you as you wish.” And her daughter was healed ^[e]at once.