Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Chapter 18
Abraham’s Visitors. 1 [a]The Lord appeared to Abraham by the oak of Mamre, as he sat in the entrance of his tent, while the day was growing hot. 2 Looking up, he saw three men standing near him. When he saw them, he ran from the entrance of the tent to greet them; and bowing to the ground,(A) 3 he said: “Sir,[b] if it please you, do not go on past your servant. 4 Let some water be brought, that you may bathe your feet, and then rest under the tree. 5 Now that you have come to your servant, let me bring you a little food, that you may refresh yourselves; and afterward you may go on your way.” “Very well,” they replied, “do as you have said.”
6 Abraham hurried into the tent to Sarah and said, “Quick, three measures[c] of bran flour! Knead it and make bread.” 7 He ran to the herd, picked out a tender, choice calf, and gave it to a servant, who quickly prepared it. 8 Then he got some curds[d] and milk, as well as the calf that had been prepared, and set these before them, waiting on them under the tree while they ate.
9 “Where is your wife Sarah?” they asked him. “There in the tent,” he replied. 10 One of them[e] said, “I will return to you about this time next year, and Sarah will then have a son.” Sarah was listening at the entrance of the tent, just behind him.(B) 11 Now Abraham and Sarah were old, advanced in years, and Sarah had stopped having her menstrual periods.(C) 12 So Sarah laughed[f] to herself and said, “Now that I am worn out and my husband is old, am I still to have sexual pleasure?” 13 But the Lord said to Abraham: “Why did Sarah laugh and say, ‘Will I really bear a child, old as I am?’ 14 Is anything too marvelous for the Lord to do? At the appointed time, about this time next year, I will return to you, and Sarah will have a son.”(D) 15 Sarah lied, saying, “I did not laugh,” because she was afraid. But he said, “Yes, you did.”
Chapter 21
Birth of Isaac.[a] 1 The Lord took note of Sarah as he had said he would; the Lord did for her as he had promised.(A) 2 Sarah became pregnant and bore Abraham a son in his old age, at the set time that God had stated.(B) 3 Abraham gave the name Isaac to this son of his whom Sarah bore him.(C) 4 When his son Isaac was eight days old, Abraham circumcised him, as God had commanded.(D) 5 Abraham was a hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him. 6 Sarah then said, “God has given me cause to laugh,[b] and all who hear of it will laugh with me.(E) 7 Who would ever have told Abraham,” she added, “that Sarah would nurse children! Yet I have borne him a son in his old age.”
Psalm 116[a]
Thanksgiving to God Who Saves from Death
I
1 I love the Lord, who listened
to my voice in supplication,
2 Who turned an ear to me
on the day I called.
12 How can I repay the Lord
for all the great good done for me?
13 I will raise the cup of salvation[a]
and call on the name of the Lord.
14 I will pay my vows to the Lord
in the presence of all his people.
15 [b]Dear in the eyes of the Lord
is the death of his devoted.(A)
16 Lord, I am your servant,
your servant, the child of your maidservant;(B)
you have loosed my bonds.
17 I will offer a sacrifice of praise
and call on the name of the Lord.(C)
18 I will pay my vows to the Lord(D)
in the presence of all his people,
19 In the courts of the house of the Lord,
in your midst, O Jerusalem.
Hallelujah!
Chapter 5
Faith, Hope, and Love.[a] 1 Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace[b] with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,(A) 2 through whom we have gained access [by faith] to this grace in which we stand, and we boast in hope of the glory of God.(B) 3 Not only that, but we even boast of our afflictions, knowing that affliction produces endurance, 4 and endurance, proven character, and proven character, hope,(C) 5 and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out into our hearts through the holy Spirit that has been given to us.(D) 6 For Christ, while we were still helpless, yet died at the appointed time for the ungodly. 7 Indeed, only with difficulty does one die for a just person, though perhaps for a good person one might even find courage to die.[c] 8 But God proves his love for us in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us.(E)
The Compassion of Jesus. 35 [a](A)Jesus went around to all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and curing every disease and illness. 36 (B)At the sight of the crowds, his heart was moved with pity for them because they were troubled and abandoned,[b] like sheep without a shepherd. 37 [c](C)Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few; 38 so ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers for his harvest.”
Chapter 10
The Mission of the Twelve. 1 [d]Then he summoned his twelve disciples[e] and gave them authority over unclean spirits to drive them out and to cure every disease and every illness.(D) 2 The names of the twelve apostles[f] are these: first, Simon called Peter, and his brother Andrew; James, the son of Zebedee, and his brother John; 3 Philip and Bartholomew, Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James, the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddeus; 4 Simon the Cananean, and Judas Iscariot who betrayed him.
The Commissioning of the Twelve. 5 (E)Jesus sent out these twelve[g] after instructing them thus, “Do not go into pagan territory or enter a Samaritan town. 6 (F)Go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. 7 As you go, make this proclamation: ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’(G) 8 [h]Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, drive out demons. Without cost you have received; without cost you are to give.
9 (A)Do not take gold or silver or copper for your belts; 10 (B)no sack for the journey, or a second tunic, or sandals, or walking stick. The laborer deserves his keep. 11 (C)Whatever town or village you enter, look for a worthy person in it, and stay there until you leave. 12 As you enter a house, wish it peace. 13 If the house is worthy, let your peace come upon it; if not, let your peace return to you.[a] 14 [b](D)Whoever will not receive you or listen to your words—go outside that house or town and shake the dust from your feet. 15 Amen, I say to you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgment than for that town.(E)
Coming Persecutions. 16 (F)“Behold, I am sending you like sheep in the midst of wolves; so be shrewd as serpents and simple as doves. 17 [c]But beware of people,(G) for they will hand you over to courts and scourge you in their synagogues,(H) 18 and you will be led before governors and kings for my sake as a witness before them and the pagans. 19 When they hand you over, do not worry about how you are to speak or what you are to say. You will be given at that moment what you are to say.(I) 20 For it will not be you who speak but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you. 21 [d](J)Brother will hand over brother to death, and the father his child; children will rise up against parents and have them put to death. 22 You will be hated by all because of my name, but whoever endures to the end[e] will be saved. 23 When they persecute you in one town, flee to another. Amen, I say to you, you will not finish the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes.[f]
Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.