Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
A song to sing as we climb.
A song at night
134 Listen, all you servants of the Lord,
come and praise the Lord!
Praise the Lord,
all you who serve him in his temple during the night.
2 Lift up your hands towards his Holy Place,
and praise him.
3 The Lord made the heaven and the earth.
From his home in Zion, may he bless you!
God promises a son to Abraham
18 The Lord appeared to Abraham near the special oak trees of Mamre. It was the hot time of day and Abraham was sitting by the door of his tent. 2 Abraham looked up and he saw three men. He ran in a hurry to meet them. He bent down to the ground to respect them.[a]
3 Abraham said, ‘Please sir, stop here and let me serve you. That would make me very happy. 4 Let us bring some water so that you can all wash your feet. Then you can rest under this tree. 5 Let me also bring some food for you to eat. Now that you have come to my home, you should rest and become strong again. Then you will be ready to continue with your journey.’ The men replied, ‘That is good. Please do what you have said.’
6 Abraham went quickly to the tent. He said to Sarah, ‘Be quick! Get plenty of good flour and make bread with it.’ 7 Then Abraham ran to his cows. He chose a very nice young cow. He gave it to his servant. The servant quickly prepared it for the men to eat. 8 Then Abraham also brought some cream and some milk, as well as the meat from the cow. He put all the food in front of the men. While they ate it, Abraham stood near them, under a tree.
9 Then the men asked Abraham, ‘Where is Sarah, your wife?’ Abraham replied, ‘She is there in the tent.’
10 Then one of the men said, ‘I will certainly return to you at about this time next year. At that time Sarah, your wife, will have a son!’
Sarah was listening to all this. She was at the door of the tent, near to where they were talking. 11 Abraham and Sarah were now very old. Sarah was past the age when she could give birth to a child. 12 So Sarah laughed to herself. She thought, ‘I have become old and weak. My husband is also old. I will never have a baby and be happy like that.’
13 Then the Lord said to Abraham, ‘Why did Sarah laugh like that? She said, “I am too old to have a child.” 14 But surely, nothing is too difficult for the Lord to do. At this time next year, I will return to you and Sarah will have a son.’
23 You now have a new life! It is not like a human life that quickly comes to an end. It is a new life that will never spoil. You received it because you believed God's message. That message continues for ever and it does not change. 24 The Bible says:
‘All people are like grass.
They may seem beautiful for a short time,
like flowers that grow in the fields.
But grass soon becomes dry and it dies.
Flowers soon fall to the ground.
25 But the Lord God's message will continue for ever.’
That message is the good news about Jesus Christ, which people have taught you.
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