Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

Abram Promised a Son

15 After these things ^(A)the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision, saying,

² Abram said, “O Lord ^[b]God, what will You give me, since I ^[c]am childless, and the ^[d]heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?” ³ And Abram said, “^[e]Since You have given no ^[f]offspring to me, ^[g]one ^(E)born in my house is my heir.” ⁴ Then behold, the word of the Lord came to him, saying, “This man will not be your heir; ^(F)but one who will come forth from your own ^[h]body, he shall be your heir.” ⁵ And He took him outside and said, “Now look toward the heavens, and ^(G)count the stars, if you are able to count them.” And He said to him, “^(H)So shall your ^[i]descendants be.” ^6 (I)Then he believed in the Lord; and He reckoned it to him as righteousness. ⁷ And He said to him, “I am the Lord who brought you out of ^(J)Ur of the Chaldeans, to ^(K)give you this land to ^[j]possess it.” ⁸ He said, “O Lord ^[k]God, ^(L)how may I know that I will ^[l]possess it?” ⁹ So He said to him, “^[m]Bring Me a three year old heifer, and a three year old female goat, and a three year old ram, and a turtledove, and a young pigeon.” ¹⁰ Then he ^[n]brought all these to Him and ^(M)cut them ^[o]in two, and laid each half opposite the other; but he ^(N)did not cut the birds. ¹¹ The birds of prey came down upon the carcasses, and Abram drove them away.

¹² Now when the sun was going down, ^(O)a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and behold, ^[p]terror and great darkness fell upon him.

¹⁷ It came about when the sun had set, that it was very dark, and behold, there appeared a smoking oven and a flaming torch which ^(A)passed between these pieces. ¹⁸ On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying,

A Psalm of Fearless Trust in God.

A Psalm of David.

¹⁷ Brethren, ^(A)join in following my example, and observe those who walk according to the ^(B)pattern you have in us. ¹⁸ For ^(C)many walk, of whom I often told you, and now tell you even ^(D)weeping, that they are enemies of ^(E)the cross of Christ, ¹⁹ whose end is destruction, whose god is their ^[a](F)appetite, and whose ^(G)glory is in their shame, who ^(H)set their minds on earthly things. ²⁰ For ^(I)our ^[b]citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly ^(J)wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ; ²¹ who will ^(K)transform ^[c]the body of our humble state into ^(L)conformity with ^[d]the ^(M)body of His glory, ^(N)by the exertion of the power that He has even to ^(O)subject all things to Himself.

Think of Excellence

4 Therefore, my beloved brethren ^[e]whom I ^(P)long to see, my joy and crown, in this way ^(Q)stand firm in the Lord, my beloved.

³¹ Just at that time some Pharisees approached, saying to Him, “Go away, leave here, for ^(A)Herod wants to kill You.” ³² And He said to them, “Go and tell that fox, ‘Behold, I cast out demons and perform cures today and tomorrow, and the third day I ^[a](B)reach My goal.’ ³³ Nevertheless ^(C)I must journey on today and tomorrow and the next day; for it cannot be that a ^(D)prophet would perish outside of Jerusalem. ^34 (E)O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, ^(F)just as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you would not have it! ³⁵ Behold, your house is left to you desolate; and I say to you, you will not see Me until the time comes when you say, ‘^(G)Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!’”

The Transfiguration

^28 (A)Some eight days after these sayings, He took along ^(B)Peter and John and James, and ^(C)went up on the mountain ^(D)to pray. ²⁹ And while He was ^(E)praying, the appearance of His face ^(F)became different, and His clothing became white and ^[a]gleaming. ³⁰ And behold, two men were talking with Him; and they were Moses and Elijah, ³¹ who, appearing in ^[b]glory, were speaking of His ^(G)departure which He was about to accomplish at Jerusalem. ³² Now Peter and his companions ^(H)had been overcome with sleep; but when they were fully awake, they saw His glory and the two men standing with Him. ³³ And as ^[c]these were leaving Him, Peter said to Jesus, “^(I)Master, it is good for us to be here; ^(J)let us make three ^[d]tabernacles: one for You, and one for Moses, and one for Elijah”—^(K)not realizing what he was saying. ³⁴ While he was saying this, a cloud ^[e]formed and began to overshadow them; and they were afraid as they entered the cloud. ³⁵ Then ^(L)a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “^(M)This is My Son, My Chosen One; listen to Him!” ³⁶ And when the voice ^[f]had spoken, Jesus was found alone. And ^(N)they kept silent, and reported to no one in those days any of the things which they had seen.

^37 (A)On the next day, when they came down from the mountain, a large crowd met Him. ³⁸ And a man from the crowd shouted, saying, “Teacher, I beg You to look at my son, for he is my ^[a]only boy, ³⁹ and a spirit seizes him, and he suddenly screams, and it throws him into a convulsion with foaming at the mouth; and only with difficulty does it leave him, mauling him as it leaves. ⁴⁰ I begged Your disciples to cast it out, and they could not.” ⁴¹ And Jesus answered and said, “You unbelieving and perverted generation, how long shall I be with you and put up with you? Bring your son here.” ⁴² While he was still approaching, the demon ^[b]slammed him to the ground and threw him into a convulsion. But Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit, and healed the boy and gave him back to his father. ⁴³ And they were all amazed at the ^[c](B)greatness of God.

^(C)But while everyone was marveling at all that He was doing, He said to His disciples,