Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Psalm 27[a]
Trust in God, Our Light and Salvation
1 Of David.
The Lord is my light[b] and my salvation;
whom should I fear?
The Lord is the stronghold of my life;
of whom should I be afraid?
2 When evildoers close in on me
to devour my flesh,[c]
it is they, my adversaries and enemies,
who stumble and fall.
3 Even if an army encamps against me,
my heart[d] will not succumb to fear;
even if war breaks out against me,
I will not have my trust shaken.
4 There is only one thing I ask of the Lord,
just one thing I seek:
to dwell in the house of the Lord
all the days of my life,
so that I may enjoy the beauty of the Lord[e]
and gaze on his temple.
5 For he will hide me in his shelter
in times of trouble.
He will conceal me under the cover of his tent[f]
and place me high upon a rock.
6 Even now my head is raised high
above my enemies who surround me.
In his tent I will offer sacrifices[g] with joyous shouts;
I will sing and chant praise to the Lord.
7 O Lord, hear my voice when I cry out;
be merciful to me and answer me.
8 My heart[h] says of you,
“Seek his face.”
It is your face, O Lord, that I seek;
9 do not hide your face[i] from me.
Do not turn away your servant in anger,
you who have been my help.
Do not reject or forsake me,
O God, my Savior.
10 Even if my father and mother abandon me,
the Lord will gather me up.[j]
11 Teach me your way,[k] O Lord,
and lead me along a level path
because of my enemies.
12 Do not abandon me to the will of my adversaries,
for lying witnesses have risen against me,
breathing forth violence in their malice.
13 I am confident that I will behold the goodness of the Lord[l]
in the land of the living.
14 Place your hope in the Lord:
be strong and courageous in your heart,
and place your hope in the Lord.
Chapter 13
Growth in Faith. 1 From Egypt Abram traveled to the Negeb along with his wife and all his belongings. Lot was with him. 2 Abram was very rich, having many animals, silver, and gold.
3 He then gradually made his way from the Negeb to Bethel, up to the place where he had previously encamped between Bethel and Ai. 4 This was the place where he had built an altar and called upon the name of the Lord.
5 Lot, who traveled with Abram, also had many flocks and herds and tents. 6 The area where they were was not rich enough for them to dwell together, for they had too many possessions for them to live in the same camp. 7 Because of this a quarrel arose between the herdsmen of Abram and those of Lot. (At that time the Canaanites and the Perizzites lived in that land.)
14 The Lord spoke to Abram after Lot had separated from him saying, “Lift up your eyes from where you are and look around to the north and south, to the east and the west. 15 Everything that you see I will give to you and your descendants forever. 16 I will make your descendants like the dust of the earth. If one could count all of the dust of the earth, then that person would be able to count all your descendants. 17 Rise and travel throughout the land, for I will give it to you.”
18 Abram moved his camp and dwelt near the Oak of Mamre at Hebron. He built an altar to the Lord there.
2 Beware of the dogs![a] Beware of evil-doers! Beware of those who mutilate the flesh! 3 For we are the circumcision,[b] we who worship by the Spirit of God and who boast in Christ Jesus and do not place any confidence in the flesh— 4 even though I too have reason for confidence in the flesh.
Joyous Sacrifice of All Things for Christ.[c] If anyone thinks that he has reasons to be confident in the flesh, I have more! 5 I was circumcised on the eighth day of my life. I was one of the people of Israel, the tribe of Benjamin.[d] I am a Hebrew and the son of Hebrews. In regard to the Law, I was a Pharisee; 6 in regard to religious zeal, I was a persecutor of the Church; in regard to righteousness under the Law, I was without fault.
7 All these I once regarded as assets, but now I have come to regard them as losses because of Christ. 8 Even more than that, I count everything as loss because of the supreme good of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake, I have suffered the loss of all other things, and I regard them as so much rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in him.
I do not wish to have any righteousness of my own based on the Law, but one that comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness given by God in response to faith. 10 All I want is to come to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and to share in his sufferings by becoming conformed to his death, 11 so that I may attain the resurrection from the dead.
12 Racing toward the Goal.[e] It is not that I have already attained this or have yet reached perfection. But I press on to take hold of that for which Christ once took hold of me.
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