Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
10 Jacob’s Dream at Bethel.[a] Jacob left from Beer-sheba and traveled toward Haran. 11 He came upon a certain place and spent the night there for the sun was setting. He took a stone and used it as a pillow and slept in that place. 12 He had a dream. There was a ladder resting on the earth with its top reaching to heaven. The angels of God were ascending and descending upon it.
13 And the Lord stood before him and said, “I am the Lord, the God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac. The land on which you are lying shall be given to you and your descendants. 14 Your descendants shall be like the dust of the earth and shall extend to the west and the east, the north and the south. All the nations of the earth shall be blessed through you and through your descendants. 15 I am with you and I will protect you wherever you go. I will make you return to this country, for I will not abandon you without having done all that I have promised you.”
16 Jacob woke from sleep and said, “Truly, the Lord is in this place, and I did not know it.” 17 He was filled with fear and said, “How terrible this place is! This is truly the house of God, this is the gate to heaven.”
18 In the morning Jacob arose early, took the rock that he had used as a pillow, and erected it as a pillar pouring oil on top of it. 19 He named the place Bethel,[b] although the city had previously been called Luz.
Psalm 139[a]
God’s Infinite Knowledge and Universal Power
1 For the director.[b] A psalm of David.
[c]O Lord, you have examined me
and you know me.
2 You know when I sit and when I stand;[d]
you perceive my thoughts from a distance.
3 You mark when I go out and when I lie down;
all my ways are open to you.
4 A word is not even on my tongue
and you, O Lord, are completely aware of it.
5 You enfold me from in front and from behind,
and you place your hand upon me.[e]
6 Your knowledge is beyond my comprehension,
far too sublime for me to attain.
7 [f]Where can I go to hide from your spirit?
Where can I flee from your presence?
8 If I ascend to the heavens, you are there;
if I take my rest in the netherworld, you are also there.
9 If I rise on the wings of the dawn[g]
and settle at the farthest limits of the sea,
10 even there your hand will guide me,
and your right hand will hold me fast.
11 [h]If I say, “Surely the darkness will conceal me
and the day around me will turn to night,”
12 even the darkness is not dark to you;
the night is as bright as the day,
for to you darkness and light are the same.
23 Examine me, O God, and know my heart;[a]
test me and understand my thoughts.
24 See if I follow an evil way,
and guide me on the way to eternity.
12 Consequently, brethren, we are not debtors to the flesh and obliged to live according to the flesh. 13 If you do live according to the flesh, you will die. However, if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.
14 [a]Those who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. 15 For you did not receive a spirit of slavery leading to fear; rather, you received the Spirit of adoption, enabling us to cry out, “Abba! Father!” 16 The Spirit himself bears witness with our Spirit that we are children of God. 17 And if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, provided that we share his sufferings so that we may also share his glory.
18 The Future Glory That Shall Be Revealed.[b] I consider that the sufferings we presently endure are not worth comparing with the glory to be revealed in us. 19 Indeed, creation itself eagerly awaits the revelation of the children of God. 20 For creation was subjected to frustration, not of its own choice but by the will of the one who subjected it, in the hope 21 that creation itself will be freed from its slavery to corruption and share in the glorious freedom of the children of God.
22 As we know, the entire creation has been groaning in labor pains until now— 23 and not only creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait for our adoption as children, the redemption of our bodies. 24 For in hope we were saved. Now to see something does not involve hope. For why should we hope for what we have already seen? 25 But if we hope for what we do not yet see, then we wait for it with patience.
24 The Parable of the Weeds.[a] He then proposed another parable to them: “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field. 25 While everyone was asleep, his enemy came, sowed weeds[b] among the wheat, and then went away. 26 When the wheat sprouted and ripened, the weeds also appeared.
27 “The owner’s servants came to him and asked, ‘Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? Where then did these weeds come from?’ 28 He answered, ‘One of my enemies has done this.’ The servants then asked him, ‘Do you want us to go and pull up the weeds?’
29 “He replied, ‘No, because in gathering the weeds you might uproot the wheat along with them. 30 Let them both grow together until the harvest. At harvest time, I will tell the reapers, “Collect the weeds first and tie them in bundles to be burned. Then gather the wheat into my barn.” ’ ”
36 Explanation of the Parable of the Weeds.[a] Then he dismissed the crowds and went into the house. His disciples approached him and said, “Explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field.” 37 He answered, “The one who sows good seed is the Son of Man. 38 The field is the world, and the good seed stands for the children of the kingdom. The weeds are the children of the evil one, 39 and the enemy who sowed them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the world, and the reapers are angels.
40 “Just as the weeds are collected and burned in the fire, so will it be at the end of the world. 41 The Son of Man will send forth his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all who cause sin and all whose deeds are evil. 42 They will throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 43 Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears to hear, let him hear!
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