Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

¹⁸ But Samuel served the Lord. He was a helper who wore the linen ephod. ¹⁹ Every year Samuel’s mother made a robe for Samuel. She took the little robe to Samuel when she went up to Shiloh with her husband for the sacrifice every year.

²⁰ Eli would bless Elkanah and his wife. He would say, “May the Lord give you more children through Hannah who will take the place of the boy she prayed for and gave to the Lord.”

Elkanah and Hannah went home.

²⁶ The boy Samuel kept growing. He was pleasing to the Lord and to the people.

Your New Life With Each Other

¹² God has chosen you and made you his holy people. He loves you. So your new life should be like this: Show mercy to others. Be kind, humble, gentle, and patient. ¹³ Don’t be angry with each other, but forgive each other. If you feel someone has wronged you, forgive them. Forgive others because the Lord forgave you. ¹⁴ Together with these things, the most important part of your new life is to love each other. Love is what holds everything together in perfect unity. ¹⁵ Let the peace that Christ gives control your thinking. It is for peace that you were chosen to be together in one body.^[a] And always be thankful.

¹⁶ Let the teaching of Christ live inside you richly. Use all wisdom to teach and counsel each other. Sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs with thankfulness in your hearts to God. ¹⁷ Everything you say and everything you do should be done for Jesus your Lord. And in all you do, give thanks to God the Father through Jesus.

Jesus as a Boy

⁴¹ Every year Jesus’ parents went to Jerusalem for the Passover festival. ⁴² When Jesus was twelve years old, they went to the festival as usual. ⁴³ When the festival was over, they went home, but Jesus stayed in Jerusalem. His parents did not know about it. ⁴⁴ They traveled for a whole day thinking that Jesus was with them in the group. They began looking for him among their family and close friends, ⁴⁵ but they did not find him. So they went back to Jerusalem to look for him there.

⁴⁶ After three days they found him. Jesus was sitting in the Temple area with the religious teachers, listening and asking them questions. ⁴⁷ Everyone who heard him was amazed at his understanding and wise answers. ⁴⁸ When his parents saw him, they wondered how this was possible. And his mother said, “Son, why did you do this to us? Your father and I were very worried about you. We have been looking for you.”

⁴⁹ Jesus said to them, “Why did you have to look for me? You should have known that I must be where my Father’s work is.^[a]” ⁵⁰ But they did not understand the meaning of what he said to them.

⁵¹ Jesus went with them to Nazareth and obeyed them. His mother was still thinking about all these things. ⁵² As Jesus grew taller, he continued to grow in wisdom. God was pleased with him and so were the people who knew him.