Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

Elijah Runs Away to Mount Horeb

19 Ahab told Jezebel everything Elijah had done. He told her how Elijah had killed all the prophets of Baal with his sword. ² So Jezebel sent a message to Elijah. She said, “You can be sure that I will kill you, just as I killed the other prophets. I’ll do it by this time tomorrow. If I don’t, may the gods punish me greatly.”

³ Elijah was afraid. So he ran for his life. He came to Beersheba in Judah. He left his servant there. ⁴ Then he traveled for one day into the desert. He came to a small bush. He sat down under it. He prayed that he would die. “Lord, I’ve had enough,” he said. “Take my life. I’m no better than my people of long ago.”

⁵ Then he lay down under the bush. And he fell asleep.

Suddenly an angel touched him. The angel said, “Get up and eat.” ⁶ Elijah looked around. Near his head he saw some bread. It had been baked over hot coals. A jar of water was also there. So Elijah ate and drank. Then he lay down again.

⁷ The angel of the Lord came to him a second time. He touched him and said, “Get up and eat. Your journey will be long and hard.”

⁸ So he got up. He ate and drank. The food gave him new strength. He traveled for 40 days and 40 nights. He kept going until he arrived at Horeb. It was the mountain of God. ⁹ There he went into a cave and spent the night.

The Lord Appears to Elijah

A message came to Elijah from the Lord. He said, “Elijah, what are you doing here?”

¹⁰ He replied, “Lord God who rules over all, I’ve been very committed to you. The Israelites have turned their backs on your covenant. They have torn down your altars. They’ve put your prophets to death with their swords. I’m the only one left. And they are trying to kill me.”

¹¹ The Lord said, “Go out. Stand on the mountain in front of me. I am going to pass by.”

As the Lord approached, a very powerful wind tore the mountains apart. It broke up the rocks. But the Lord wasn’t in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake. But the Lord wasn’t in the earthquake. ¹² After the earthquake a fire came. But the Lord wasn’t in the fire. And after the fire there was only a gentle whisper. ¹³ When Elijah heard it, he pulled his coat over his face. He went out and stood at the entrance to the cave.

Then a voice said to him, “Elijah, what are you doing here?”

¹⁴ He replied, “Lord God who rules over all, I’ve been very committed to you. The Israelites have turned their backs on your covenant. They have torn down your altars. They’ve put your prophets to death with their swords. I’m the only one left. And they are trying to kill me.”

¹⁵ The Lord said to him, “Go back the way you came. Go to the Desert of Damascus. When you get there, anoint Hazael as king over Aram.

Book II

Psalms 42–72

For the director of music. A maskil of the Sons of Korah.

Children of God

²³ Before faith in Christ came, we were guarded by the law. We were locked up until this faith was made known. ²⁴ So the law was put in charge of us until Christ came. He came so that we might be made right with God by believing in Christ. ²⁵ But now faith in Christ has come. So the law is no longer in charge of us.

²⁶ So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God by believing in Christ. ²⁷ This is because all of you who were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. You have put him on as if he were your clothes. ²⁸ There is no Jew or Gentile. There is no slave or free person. There is no male or female. That’s because you are all one in Christ Jesus. ²⁹ You who belong to Christ are Abraham’s seed. So you will receive what God has promised.

Jesus Heals a Man Controlled by Demons

²⁶ Jesus and his disciples sailed to the area of the Gerasenes across the lake from Galilee. ²⁷ When Jesus stepped on shore, he was met by a man from the town. The man was controlled by demons. For a long time he had not worn clothes or lived in a house. He lived in the tombs. ²⁸ When he saw Jesus, he cried out and fell at his feet. He shouted at the top of his voice, “Jesus, Son of the Most High God, what do you want with me? I beg you, don’t hurt me!” ²⁹ This was because Jesus had commanded the evil spirit to come out of the man. Many times the spirit had taken hold of him. The man’s hands and feet were chained, and he was kept under guard. But he had broken his chains. And then the demon had forced him to go out into lonely places in the countryside.

³⁰ Jesus asked him, “What is your name?”

“Legion,” he replied, because many demons had gone into him. ³¹ And they begged Jesus again and again not to order them to go into the Abyss.

³² A large herd of pigs was feeding there on the hillside. The demons begged Jesus to let them go into the pigs. And he allowed it. ³³ When the demons came out of the man, they went into the pigs. Then the herd rushed down the steep bank. They ran into the lake and drowned.

³⁴ Those who were tending the pigs saw what had happened. They ran off and reported it in the town and countryside. ³⁵ The people went out to see what had happened. Then they came to Jesus. They found the man who was now free of the demons. He was sitting at Jesus’ feet. He was dressed and thinking clearly. All this made the people afraid. ³⁶ Those who had seen it told the others how the man who had been controlled by demons was now healed. ³⁷ Then all the people who lived in the area of the Gerasenes asked Jesus to leave them. They were filled with fear. So he got into the boat and left.

³⁸ The man who was now free of the demons begged to go with him. But Jesus sent him away. He said to him, ³⁹ “Return home and tell how much God has done for you.” So the man went away. He told people all over town how much Jesus had done for him.