Readings for Revised Common Lectionary, Cycle A



uuuuuuuuReadings for Revised Common Lectionary, Cycle A

From Contemporary English Version © 1995, American Bible Society. Used with permission.

Prepared by Lutheran Bible Ministries ()

August 23, 2020

Twelfth Sunday after Pentecost

(Proper 16--Lectionary 21)

The semi-continuous alternative First Reading and associated Psalm appear after the Gospel.

FIRST READING: Isaiah 51:1-6

1If you want to do right and obey the LORD,

follow Abraham's example.

He was the rock from which you were chipped.

2God chose Abraham and Sarah to be your ancestors.

The LORD blessed Abraham, and from that one man

came many descendants.

3Though Zion is in ruins, the LORD will bring comfort,

and the city will be as lovely as the garden of Eden

that he provided.

Then Zion will celebrate; it will be thankful

and sing joyful songs.

4The LORD says: You are my people and nation!

So pay attention to me.

My teaching will cause justice to shine like a light

for every nation.

5Those who live across the sea are eagerly waiting

for me to rescue them.

I am strong and ready; soon I will come to save

and to rule all nations.

6Look closely at the sky! Stare at the earth.

The sky will vanish like smoke;

the earth will wear out like clothes.

Everyone on this earth will die like flies.

But my victory will last; my saving power never ends.

PSALMODY: Psalm 138

1With all my heart I praise you, LORD.

In the presence of angels I sing your praises.

2I worship at your holy temple

and praise you for your love and your faithfulness.

You were true to your word

and made yourself more famous than ever before.

3When I asked for your help,

you answered my prayer and gave me courage.

4All kings on this earth have heard your promises, LORD,

and they will praise you.

5You are so famous that they will sing

about the things you have done.

6Though you are above us all,

you care for humble people,

and you keep a close watch on everyone who is proud.

7I am surrounded by trouble,

but you protect me against my angry enemies.

With your own powerful arm you keep me safe.

8You, LORD, will always treat me with kindness.

Your love never fails.

You have made us what we are. Don't give up on us now!

SECOND READING: Romans 112:1-8

Dear friends, God is good. So I beg you to offer your bodies to him as a living sacrifice, pure and pleasing. That's the most sensible way to serve God. 2Don't be like the people of this world, but let God change the way you think. Then you will know how to do everything that is good and pleasing to him.

3I realize how kind God has been to me, and so I tell each of you not to think you are better than you really are. Use good sense and measure yourself by the amount of faith that God has given you. 4A body is made up of many parts, and each of them has its own use. 5That's how it is with us. There are many of us, but we each are part of the body of Christ, as well as part of one another.

6God has also given each of us different gifts to use. If we can prophesy, we should do it according to the amount of faith we have. 7If we can serve others, we should serve. If we can teach, we should teach. 8If we can encourage others, we should encourage them. If we can give, we should be generous. If we are leaders, we should do our best. If we are good to others, we should do it cheerfully.

GOSPEL: Matthew 16:13-20

13When Jesus and his disciples were near the town of Caesarea Philippi, he asked them, "What do people say about the Son of Man?"

14The disciples answered, "Some people say you are John the Baptist or maybe Elijah or Jeremiah or some other prophet."

15Then Jesus asked them, "But who do you say I am?"

16Simon Peter spoke up, "You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God."

17Jesus told him:

Simon, son of Jonah, you are blessed! You didn't discover this on your own. It was shown to you by my Father in heaven. 18So I will call you Peter, which means "a rock." On this rock I will build my church, and death itself will not have any power over it. 19I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven, and God in heaven will allow whatever you allow on earth. But he will not allow anything that you don't allow.

20Jesus told his disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah.

Semi-continuous alternative First Reading and associated Psalm

FIRST READING: Exodus 1:8 – 2:10

1:8Many years later a new king came to power. He did not know what Joseph had done for Egypt, 9and he told the Egyptians:

There are too many of those Israelites in our country, and they are becoming more powerful than we are. 10If we don't outsmart them, their families will keep growing larger. And if our country goes to war, they could easily fight on the side of our enemies and escape from Egypt.

11The Egyptians put slave bosses in charge of the people of Israel and tried to wear them down with hard work. Those bosses forced them to build the cities of Pithom and Rameses, where the king could store his supplies. 12But even though the Israelites were mistreated, their families grew larger, and they took over more land. Because of this, the Egyptians hated them worse than before 13and made them work so hard 14that their lives were miserable. The Egyptians were cruel to the people of Israel and forced them to make bricks and to mix mortar and to work in the fields.

15Finally, the king called in Shiphrah and Puah, the two women who helped the Hebrew mothers when they gave birth. 16He told them, "If a Hebrew woman gives birth to a girl, let the child live. If the baby is a boy, kill him!"

17But the two women were faithful to God and did not kill the boys, even though the king had told them to. 18The king called them in again and asked, "Why are you letting those baby boys live?"

19They answered, "Hebrew women have their babies much quicker than Egyptian women. By the time we arrive, their babies are already born." 20-21God was good to the two women because they truly respected him, and he blessed them with children of their own.

The Hebrews kept increasing 22until finally, the king gave a command to everyone in the nation, "As soon as a Hebrew boy is born, throw him into the Nile River! But you can let the girls live."

2:1A man from the Levi tribe married a woman from the same tribe, 2and she later had a baby boy. He was a beautiful child, and she kept him inside for three months. 3But when she could no longer keep him hidden, she made a basket out of reeds and covered it with tar. She put him in the basket and placed it in the tall grass along the edge of the Nile River. 4The baby's older sister stood off at a distance to see what would happen to him.

5About that time one of the king's daughters came down to take a bath in the river, while her servant women walked along the river bank. She saw the basket in the tall grass and sent one of the young women to pull it out of the water. 6When the king's daughter opened the basket, she saw the baby and felt sorry for him because he was crying. She said, "This must be one of the Hebrew babies."

7At once the baby's older sister came up and asked, "Do you want me to get a Hebrew woman to take care of the baby for you?"

8"Yes," the king's daughter answered.

So the girl brought the baby's mother, 9and the king's daughter told her, "Take care of this child, and I will pay you."

The baby's mother carried him home and took care of him. 10And when he was old enough, she took him to the king's daughter, who adopted him. She named him Moses because she said, "I pulled him out of the water."

PSALM: 124

1The LORD was on our side! Let everyone in Israel say:

2"The LORD was on our side!

Otherwise, the enemy attack 3would have killed us all,

because it was furious.

4We would have been swept away

in a violent flood 5of high and roaring waves."

6Let's praise the LORD!

He protected us from enemies who were like wild animals,

7and we escaped like birds from a hunter's torn net.

8The LORD made heaven and earth,

and he is the one who sends us help.

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