Elijah ascending to Heaven in the Fiery Chariot, Herri met de Bles, Oil on panel in a private collection.

Prime Timers

The Prime Timers were a Bible study group at St. Martin's for eight years. One of the goals of our founder, Jackie Rose, was to have a weekly web page for the group and all the pages are still online here. The group disbanded but the readings below are being kept up to date.

Lectionary readings

The Readings for Sunday, June 26, are from Lectionary Year C, Sunday Closest to June 29 - Proper 8: 2 Kings 2:1-2, 6-14 or 1 Kings 19:15-16, 19-21; Psalm 77:1-2, 11-20 or Psalm 16; Galatians 5:1,13-25 and Luke 9:51-62. The text is from the Revised Standard Version w/Apocrypha *

2 Kings 2:1-2, 6-14

¹ Now when the Lord was about to take Elijah up to heaven by a whirlwind, Elijah and Elisha were on their way from Gilgal. ² Elijah said to Elisha, "Stay here; for the Lord has sent me as far as Bethel." But Elisha said, "As the Lord lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you." So they went down to Bethel. ⁶ Then Elijah said to him, "Stay here; for the Lord has sent me to the Jordan." But he said, "As the Lord lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you." So the two of them went on. ⁷ Fifty men of the company of prophets also went, and stood at some distance from them, as they both were standing by the Jordan. ⁸ Then Elijah took his mantle and rolled it up, and struck the water; the water was parted to the one side and to the other, until the two of them crossed on dry ground. ⁹ When they had crossed, Elijah said to Elisha, "Tell me what I may do for you, before I am taken from you." Elisha said, "Please let me inherit a double share of your spirit." ¹⁰ He responded, "You have asked a hard thing; yet, if you see me as I am being taken from you, it will be granted you; if not, it will not." ¹¹ As they continued walking and talking, a chariot of fire and horses of fire separated the two of them, and Elijah ascended in a whirlwind into heaven. ¹² Elisha kept watching and crying out, "Father, father! The chariots of Israel and its horsemen!" But when he could no longer see him, he grasped his own clothes and tore them in two pieces. ¹³ He picked up the mantle of Elijah that had fallen from him, and went back and stood on the bank of the Jordan. ¹⁴ He took the mantle of Elijah that had fallen from him, and struck the water, saying, "Where is the Lord, the God of Elijah?" When he had struck the water, the water was parted to the one side and to the other, and Elisha went over.

or 1 Kings 19:15-16, 19-21

¹⁵ Then the Lord said to him, "Go, return on your way to the wilderness of Damascus; when you arrive, you shall anoint Hazael as king over Aram. ¹⁶ Also you shall anoint Jehu son of Nimshi as king over Israel; and you shall anoint Elisha son of Shaphat of Abel-meholah as prophet in your place. ¹⁹ So he set out from there, and found Elisha son of Shaphat, who was plowing. There were twelve yoke of oxen ahead of him, and he was with the twelfth. Elijah passed by him and threw his mantle over him. ²⁰ He left the oxen, ran after Elijah, and said, "Let me kiss my father and my mother, and then I will follow you." Then Elijah said to him, "Go back again; for what have I done to you?" ²¹ He returned from following him, took the yoke of oxen, and slaughtered them; using the equipment from the oxen, he boiled their flesh, and gave it to the people, and they ate. Then he set out and followed Elijah, and became his servant.

Psalm 77:1-2, 11-20

¹ I cry aloud to God, aloud to God,
     that he may hear me.

² In the day of my trouble I seek the Lord;
     in the night my hand is stretched out without wearying;
     my soul refuses to be comforted.

¹¹ I will call to mind the deeds of the Lord;
     I will remember your wonders of old.

¹² I will meditate on all your work,
     and muse on your mighty deeds.

¹³ Your way, O God, is holy.
     What god is so great as our God?

¹⁴ You are the God who works wonders;
     you have displayed your might among the peoples.

¹⁵ With your strong arm you redeemed your people,
     the descendants of Jacob and Joseph. (Selah)

¹⁶ When the waters saw you, O God,
     when the waters saw you, they were afraid;
     the very deep trembled.

¹⁷ The clouds poured out water;
     the skies thundered;
     your arrows flashed on every side.

¹⁸ The crash of your thunder was in the whirlwind;
     your lightnings lit up the world;
     the earth trembled and shook.

¹⁹ Your way was through the sea,
     your path, through the mighty waters;
     yet your footprints were unseen.

²⁰ You led your people like a flock
     by the hand of Moses and Aaron.

or Psalm 16

¹ Protect me, O God, for in you I take refuge.
     ² I say to the Lord, "You are my Lord;
     I have no good apart from you."

³ As for the holy ones in the land,
     they are the noble, in whom is all my delight.

⁴ Those who choose another god multiply their sorrows;
     their drink offerings of blood I will not pour out
     or take their names upon my lips.

⁵ The Lord is my chosen portion and my cup;
     you hold my lot.

⁶ The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places;
     I have a goodly heritage.

⁷ I bless the Lord who gives me counsel;
     in the night also my heart instructs me.

⁸ I keep the Lord always before me;
     because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved.

⁹ Therefore my heart is glad, and my soul rejoices;
     my body also rests secure.

¹⁰ For you do not give me up to Sheol,
     or let your faithful one see the Pit.

¹¹ You show me the path of life.
     In your presence there is fullness of joy;
     in your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

Galatians 5:1,13-25

¹ For freedom Christ has set us free. Stand firm, therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.
¹³ For you were called to freedom, brothers and sisters; only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for self-indulgence, but through love become slaves to one another. ¹⁴ For the whole law is summed up in a single commandment, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." ¹⁵ If, however, you bite and devour one another, take care that you are not consumed by one another. ¹⁶ Live by the Spirit, I say, and do not gratify the desires of the flesh. ¹⁷ For what the flesh desires is opposed to the Spirit, and what the Spirit desires is opposed to the flesh; for these are opposed to each other, to prevent you from doing what you want. ¹⁸ But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not subject to the law. ¹⁹ Now the works of the flesh are obvious: fornication, impurity, licentiousness, ²⁰ idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, anger, quarrels, dissensions, factions, ²¹ envy, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these. I am warning you, as I warned you before: those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. ²² By contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, ²³ gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against such things. ²⁴ And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. ²⁵ If we live by the Spirit, let us also be guided by the Spirit.

Luke 9:51-62

⁵¹ When the days drew near for him to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem. ⁵² And he sent messengers ahead of him. On their way they entered a village of the Samaritans to make ready for him; ⁵³ but they did not receive him, because his face was set toward Jerusalem. ⁵⁴ When his disciples James and John saw it, they said, "Lord, do you want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them?" ⁵⁵ But he turned and rebuked them. ⁵⁶ Then they went on to another village. ⁵⁷ As they were going along the road, someone said to him, "I will follow you wherever you go." ⁵⁸ And Jesus said to him, "Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head." ⁵⁹ To another he said, "Follow me." But he said, "Lord, first let me go and bury my father." ⁶⁰ But Jesus said to him, "Let the dead bury their own dead; but as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God." ⁶¹ Another said, "I will follow you, Lord; but let me first say farewell to those at my home." ⁶² Jesus said to him, "No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God."

Thanks to Bible Study Tools for today's text.