Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

God’s Agreement with Abram

15 After these things happened, the Lord spoke his word to Abram in a vision: “Abram, don’t be afraid. I will defend you, and I will give you a great reward.”

² But Abram said, “Lord God, what can you give me? I have no son, so my slave Eliezer from Damascus will get everything I own after I die.” ³ Abram said, “Look, you have given me no son, so a slave born in my house will inherit everything I have.”

⁴ Then the Lord spoke his word to Abram: “He will not be the one to inherit what you have. You will have a son of your own who will inherit what you have.”

⁵ Then God led Abram outside and said, “Look at the sky. There are so many stars you cannot count them. Your descendants also will be too many to count.”

⁶ Abram believed the Lord. And the Lord accepted Abram’s faith, and that faith made him right with God.

⁷ God said to Abram, “I am the Lord who led you out of Ur of Babylonia so that I could give you this land to own.”

⁸ But Abram said, “Lord God, how can I be sure that I will own this land?”

⁹ The Lord said to Abram, “Bring me a three-year-old cow, a three-year-old goat, a three-year-old male sheep, a dove, and a young pigeon.”

¹⁰ Abram brought them all to God. Then Abram killed the animals and cut each of them into two pieces, laying each half opposite the other half. But he did not cut the birds in half. ¹¹ Later, large birds flew down to eat the animals, but Abram chased them away.

¹² As the sun was going down, Abram fell into a deep sleep. While he was asleep, a very terrible darkness came.

¹⁷ After the sun went down, it was very dark. Suddenly a smoking firepot and a blazing torch passed between the halves of the dead animals.^{[a] 18} So on that day the Lord made an agreement with Abram and said, “I will give to your descendants the land between the river of Egypt and the great river Euphrates.

A Song of Trust in God

Of David.

¹⁷ Brothers and sisters, all of you should try to follow my example and to copy those who live the way we showed you. ¹⁸ Many people live like enemies of the cross of Christ. I have often told you about them, and it makes me cry to tell you about them now. ¹⁹ In the end, they will be destroyed. They do whatever their bodies want, they are proud of their shameful acts, and they think only about earthly things. ²⁰ But our homeland is in heaven, and we are waiting for our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, to come from heaven. ²¹ By his power to rule all things, he will change our humble bodies and make them like his own glorious body.

What the Christians Are to Do

4 My dear brothers and sisters, I love you and want to see you. You bring me joy and make me proud of you, so stand strong in the Lord as I have told you.

Jesus Will Die in Jerusalem

³¹ At that time some Pharisees came to Jesus and said, “Go away from here! Herod wants to kill you!”

³² Jesus said to them, “Go tell that fox Herod, ‘Today and tomorrow I am forcing demons out and healing people. Then, on the third day, I will reach my goal.’ ³³ Yet I must be on my way today and tomorrow and the next day. Surely it cannot be right for a prophet to be killed anywhere except in Jerusalem.

³⁴ “Jerusalem, Jerusalem! You kill the prophets and stone to death those who are sent to you. Many times I wanted to gather your people as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you would not let me. ³⁵ Now your house is left completely empty. I tell you, you will not see me until that time when you will say, ‘God bless the One who comes in the name of the Lord.’”^[a]

Jesus Talks with Moses and Elijah

²⁸ About eight days after Jesus said these things, he took Peter, John, and James and went up on a mountain to pray. ²⁹ While Jesus was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became shining white. ³⁰ Then two men, Moses and Elijah,^[a] were talking with Jesus. ³¹ They appeared in heavenly glory, talking about his departure which he would soon bring about in Jerusalem. ³² Peter and the others were very sleepy, but when they awoke fully, they saw the glory of Jesus and the two men standing with him. ³³ When Moses and Elijah were about to leave, Peter said to Jesus, “Master, it is good that we are here. Let us make three tents—one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” (Peter did not know what he was talking about.)

³⁴ While he was saying these things, a cloud came and covered them, and they became afraid as the cloud covered them. ³⁵ A voice came from the cloud, saying, “This is my Son, whom I have chosen. Listen to him!”

³⁶ When the voice finished speaking, only Jesus was there. Peter, John, and James said nothing and told no one at that time what they had seen.

Jesus Heals a Sick Boy

³⁷ The next day, when they came down from the mountain, a large crowd met Jesus. ³⁸ A man in the crowd shouted to him, “Teacher, please come and look at my son, because he is my only child. ³⁹ An evil spirit seizes my son, and suddenly he screams. It causes him to lose control of himself and foam at the mouth. The evil spirit keeps on hurting him and almost never leaves him. ⁴⁰ I begged your followers to force the evil spirit out, but they could not do it.”

⁴¹ Jesus answered, “You people have no faith, and your lives are all wrong. How long must I stay with you and put up with you? Bring your son here.”

⁴² While the boy was coming, the demon threw him on the ground and made him lose control of himself. But Jesus gave a strong command to the evil spirit and healed the boy and gave him back to his father. ⁴³ All the people were amazed at the great power of God.

Jesus Talks About His Death

While everyone was wondering about all that Jesus did, he said to his followers,