Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Samuel’s Call
3 The boy Samuel served the Lord in Eli’s presence.(A) In those days the word of the Lord was rare and prophetic visions were not widespread.(B)
2 One day Eli, whose eyesight was failing,(C) was lying in his room. 3 Before the lamp of God had gone out,(D) Samuel was lying down in the tabernacle of the Lord, where the ark of God was located.
4 Then the Lord called Samuel,[a] and he answered, “Here I am.” 5 He ran to Eli and said, “Here I am; you called me.”
“I didn’t call,” Eli replied. “Go back and lie down.” So he went and lay down.
6 Once again the Lord called, “Samuel!”
Samuel got up, went to Eli, and said, “Here I am; you called me.”
“I didn’t call, my son,” he replied. “Go back and lie down.”
7 Now Samuel had not yet experienced the Lord, because the word of the Lord had not yet been revealed to him. 8 Once again, for the third time, the Lord called Samuel. He got up, went to Eli, and said, “Here I am; you called me.”
Then Eli understood that the Lord was calling the boy. 9 He told Samuel, “Go and lie down. If He calls you, say, ‘Speak, Lord, for Your servant is listening.’” So Samuel went and lay down in his place.
10 The Lord came, stood there, and called as before, “Samuel, Samuel!”
Samuel responded, “Speak, for Your servant is listening.”
11 The Lord said to Samuel, “I am about to do something in Israel that everyone who hears about it will shudder.(A) 12 On that day I will carry out against Eli everything I said about his family, from beginning to end.(B) 13 I told him that I am going to judge his family forever because of the iniquity he knows about: his sons are defiling the sanctuary,[a] and he has not stopped them.(C) 14 Therefore, I have sworn to Eli’s family: The iniquity of Eli’s family will never be wiped out by either sacrifice or offering.”(D)
15 Samuel lay down until the morning; then he opened the doors of the Lord’s house. He was afraid to tell Eli the vision, 16 but Eli called him and said, “Samuel, my son.”
“Here I am,” answered Samuel.
17 “What was the message He gave you?” Eli asked. “Don’t hide it from me. May God punish you and do so severely if you hide anything from me that He told you.”(E) 18 So Samuel told him everything and did not hide anything from him. Eli responded, “He is the Lord. He will do what He thinks is good.”[b](F)
19 Samuel grew,(G) and the Lord was with him,(H) and He fulfilled everything Samuel prophesied.[c](I) 20 All Israel from Dan to Beer-sheba knew that Samuel was a confirmed prophet of the Lord.(J)
Psalm 139
The All-Knowing, Ever-Present God
For the choir director. A Davidic psalm.
1 Lord, You have searched me and known me.(A)
2 You know when I sit down and when I stand up;
You understand my thoughts from far away.(B)
3 You observe my travels and my rest;
You are aware of all my ways.(C)
4 Before a word is on my tongue,
You know all about it, Lord.(D)
5 You have encircled me;
You have placed Your hand on me.(E)
6 This extraordinary knowledge is beyond me.
It is lofty; I am unable to reach it.(F)
13 For it was You who created my inward parts;[a]
You knit me together in my mother’s womb.(A)
14 I will praise You
because I have been remarkably and wonderfully made.[b][c]
Your works are wonderful,
and I know this very well.(B)
15 My bones were not hidden from You
when I was made in secret,
when I was formed in the depths of the earth.(C)
16 Your eyes saw me when I was formless;
all my days were written in Your book and planned
before a single one of them began.(D)
Glorifying God in Body and Spirit
12 “Everything is permissible(A) for me,”[a] but not everything is helpful. “Everything is permissible for me,” but I will not be brought under the control of anything. 13 “Food(B) for the stomach and the stomach for food,” but God will do away with both of them.[b] The body is not for sexual immorality(C) but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body. 14 God raised up the Lord and will also raise us up by His power.(D) 15 Don’t you know that your bodies are a part of Christ’s body?(E) So should I take a part of Christ’s body and make it part of a prostitute? Absolutely not! 16 Don’t you know that anyone joined to a prostitute is one body with her? For Scripture says, The two will become one flesh.(F)[c] 17 But anyone joined(G) to the Lord is one spirit(H) with Him.
18 Run(I) from sexual immorality! “Every sin a person can commit is outside the body.”[d] On the contrary, the person who is sexually immoral(J) sins against his own body. 19 Don’t you know that your body is a sanctuary(K) of the Holy Spirit(L) who is in you,(M) whom you have from God? You are not your own, 20 for you were bought(N) at a price. Therefore glorify God in your body.[e]
Philip and Nathanael
43 The next day He[a] decided to leave for Galilee. Jesus found Philip(A) and told him, “Follow Me!”
44 Now Philip was from Bethsaida,(B) the hometown of Andrew and Peter. 45 Philip found Nathanael[b](C) and told him, “We have found the One Moses wrote about in the Law (and so did the prophets(D)): Jesus the son of Joseph,(E) from Nazareth!”(F)
46 “Can anything good(G) come out of Nazareth?” Nathanael asked him.
“Come and see,” Philip answered.
47 Then Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward Him and said about him, “Here is a true Israelite;(H) no deceit is in him.”
48 “How do you know me?” Nathanael asked.
“Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you,” Jesus answered.
49 “Rabbi,”(I) Nathanael replied, “You are the Son(J) of God! You are the King of Israel!”(K)
50 Jesus responded to him, “Do you believe only because I told you I saw you under the fig tree? You[c] will see greater things than this.” 51 Then He said, “I assure you: You[d] will see heaven opened and the angels of God(L) ascending and descending(M) on the Son of Man.”(N)
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