Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

The Call of Jeremiah

⁴ The Lord said to me, ⁵ “I chose you before I gave you life, and before you were born I selected you to be a prophet to the nations.”

⁶ I answered, “Sovereign Lord, I don't know how to speak; I am too young.”

⁷ But the Lord said to me, “Do not say that you are too young, but go to the people I send you to, and tell them everything I command you to say. ⁸ Do not be afraid of them, for I will be with you to protect you. I, the Lord, have spoken!”

⁹ Then the Lord reached out, touched my lips, and said to me, “Listen, I am giving you the words you must speak. ¹⁰ Today I give you authority over nations and kingdoms to uproot and to pull down, to destroy and to overthrow, to build and to plant.”

The Prayer of an Elderly Person

^18 (A)You have not come, as the people of Israel came, to what you can feel, to Mount Sinai with its blazing fire, the darkness and the gloom, the storm, ¹⁹ the blast of a trumpet, and the sound of a voice. When the people heard the voice, they begged not to hear another word, ^20 (B)because they could not bear the order which said, “If even an animal touches the mountain, it must be stoned to death.” ^21 (C)The sight was so terrifying that Moses said, “I am trembling and afraid!”

²² Instead, you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, with its thousands of angels. ²³ You have come to the joyful gathering of God's first-born, whose names are written in heaven. You have come to God, who is the judge of all people, and to the spirits of good people made perfect. ^24 (D)You have come to Jesus, who arranged the new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that promises much better things than does the blood of Abel.

^25 (E)Be careful, then, and do not refuse to hear him who speaks. Those who refused to hear the one who gave the divine message on earth did not escape. How much less shall we escape, then, if we turn away from the one who speaks from heaven! ^26 (F)His voice shook the earth at that time, but now he has promised, “I will once more shake not only the earth but heaven as well.” ²⁷ The words “once more” plainly show that the created things will be shaken and removed, so that the things that cannot be shaken will remain.

²⁸ Let us be thankful, then, because we receive a kingdom that cannot be shaken. Let us be grateful and worship God in a way that will please him, with reverence and awe; ^29 (G)because our God is indeed a destroying fire.

Jesus Heals a Crippled Woman on the Sabbath

¹⁰ One Sabbath Jesus was teaching in a synagogue. ¹¹ A woman there had an evil spirit that had kept her sick for eighteen years; she was bent over and could not straighten up at all. ¹² When Jesus saw her, he called out to her, “Woman, you are free from your sickness!” ¹³ He placed his hands on her, and at once she straightened herself up and praised God.

^14 (A)The official of the synagogue was angry that Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, so he spoke up and said to the people, “There are six days in which we should work; so come during those days and be healed, but not on the Sabbath!”

¹⁵ The Lord answered him, “You hypocrites! Any one of you would untie your ox or your donkey from the stall and take it out to give it water on the Sabbath. ¹⁶ Now here is this descendant of Abraham whom Satan has kept in bonds for eighteen years; should she not be released on the Sabbath?” ¹⁷ His answer made his enemies ashamed of themselves, while the people rejoiced over all the wonderful things that he did.