Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Job Speaks: Where Can I Find God?
23 Then Job replied ⌞to his friends⌟,
2 “My complaint is bitter again today.
I try hard to control my sighing.
3 “If only I knew where I could find God!
I would go where he lives.
4 I would present ⌞my⌟ case to him.
I would have a mouthful of arguments.
5 I want to know the words he would use to answer me.
I want to understand the things he would say to me.
6 Would he sue me and hide behind great legal maneuvers?
No, he certainly would press charges against me.
7 Then decent people could argue with him,
and I would escape my judgment forever.
8 However, if I go east, he isn’t there.
If I go west, I can’t find him.
9 If I go northward, where he is at work, I can’t observe him.
If I turn southward, I can’t see him.
16 God has discouraged me.
The Almighty has filled me with terror.
17 But I am not silenced by the dark
or by the thick darkness that covers my face.
For the choir director; according to ayyeleth hashachar; [a] a psalm by David.
22 My God, my God,
why have you abandoned me?
Why are you so far away from helping me,
so far away from the words of my groaning?
2 My God,
I cry out by day, but you do not answer—
also at night, but I find no rest.
3 Yet, you are holy, enthroned on the praises of Israel.
4 Our ancestors trusted you.
They trusted, and you rescued them.
5 They cried to you and were saved.
They trusted you and were never disappointed.
6 Yet, I am a worm and not a man.
I am scorned by humanity and despised by people.
7 All who see me make fun of me.
Insults pour from their mouths.
They shake their heads and say,
8 “Put yourself in the Lord’s hands.
Let the Lord save him!
Let God rescue him since he is pleased with him!”
9 Indeed, you are the one who brought me out of the womb,
the one who made me feel safe at my mother’s breasts.
10 I was placed in your care from birth.
From my mother’s womb you have been my God.
11 Do not be so far away from me.
Trouble is near, and there is no one to help.
12 Many bulls have surrounded me.
Strong bulls from Bashan have encircled me.
13 They have opened their mouths to attack me
like ferocious, roaring lions.
14 I am poured out like water,
and all my bones are out of joint.
My heart is like wax.
It has melted within me.
15 My strength is dried up like pieces of broken pottery.
My tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth.
You lay me down in the dust of death.
12 God’s word is living and active. It is sharper than any two-edged sword and cuts as deep as the place where soul and spirit meet, the place where joints and marrow meet. God’s word judges a person’s thoughts and intentions. 13 No creature can hide from God. Everything is uncovered and exposed for him to see. We must answer to him.
Christ Is Superior to Other Chief Priests
14 We need to hold on to our declaration of faith: We have a superior chief priest who has gone through the heavens. That person is Jesus, the Son of God. 15 We have a chief priest who is able to sympathize with our weaknesses. He was tempted in every way that we are, but he didn’t sin. 16 So we can go confidently to the throne of God’s kindness [a] to receive mercy and find kindness, which will help us at the right time.
Eternal Life in the Kingdom(A)
17 As Jesus was coming out to the road, a man came running to him and knelt in front of him. He asked Jesus, “Good Teacher, what should I do to inherit eternal life?”
18 Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. 19 You know the commandments: Never murder. Never commit adultery. Never steal. Never give false testimony. Never cheat. Honor your father and mother.”
20 The man replied, “Teacher, I’ve obeyed all these commandments since I was a boy.”
21 Jesus looked at him and loved him. He told him, “You’re still missing one thing. Sell everything you have. Give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then follow me!”
22 When the man heard that, he looked unhappy and went away sad, because he owned a lot of property.
23 Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How hard it will be for rich people to enter God’s kingdom!”
24 The disciples were stunned by his words. But Jesus said to them again, “Children, how hard it is to enter God’s kingdom! 25 It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter God’s kingdom.”
26 This amazed his disciples more than ever. They asked each other, “Who, then, can be saved?”
27 Jesus looked at them and said, “It’s impossible for people ⌞to save themselves⌟, but it’s not impossible for God to save them. Everything is possible for God.”
28 Then Peter spoke up, “We’ve given up everything to follow you.”
29 Jesus said, “I can guarantee this truth: Anyone who gave up his home, brothers, sisters, mother, father, children, or fields because of me and the Good News 30 will certainly receive a hundred times as much here in this life. They will certainly receive homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children and fields, along with persecutions. But in the world to come they will receive eternal life. 31 But many who are first will be last, and the last will be first.”
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