Give to the Most High as he has given to you,

and as generously as you can afford.

For the Lord is the one who repays,

and he will repay you sevenfold.

Do not offer him a bribe, 

for he will not accept it;

and do not rely on a dishonest sacrifice;

for the Lord is the judge,

and with him there is no partiality.

He will not show partiality to the poor;

but he will listen to the prayer of one who is wronged.

He will not ignore the supplication of the orphan,

or the widow when she pours out her complaint.

A reading from the second letter of Paul to Timothy.

Hear the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Luke.

Jesus also told this parable to some 

who trusted in themselves that they were righteous 

and regarded others with contempt: 

‘Two men went up to the temple to pray, 

one a Pharisee and the other a tax-collector. 

The Pharisee, standing by himself, was praying thus, 

“God, I thank you that I am not like other people: 

thieves, rogues, adulterers, 

or even like this tax-collector. 

I fast twice a week; 

I give a tenth of all my income.” 

But the tax-collector, standing far off, 

would not even look up to heaven, 

but was beating his breast and saying, 

“God, be merciful to me, a sinner!” 

I tell you, 

this man went down to his home justified rather than the other; 

for all who exalt themselves will be humbled, 

but all who humble themselves will be exalted.’

Continue in what you have learned and firmly believed, 

knowing from whom you learned it, 

and how from childhood you have known the sacred writings 

that are able to instruct you for salvation 

through faith in Christ Jesus. 

All scripture is inspired by God 

and is useful for teaching, 

for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 

so that everyone who belongs to God may be proficient, 

equipped for every good work.

In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, 

who is to judge the living and the dead, 

and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, 

I solemnly urge you: 

proclaim the message; 

be persistent whether the time is favourable or unfavourable; 

convince, rebuke, and encourage, 

with the utmost patience in teaching. 

For the time is coming 

when people will not put up with sound doctrine, 

but having itching ears, 

they will accumulate for themselves teachers 

to suit their own desires, 

and will turn away from listening to the truth 

and wander away to myths. 

As for you, always be sober, 

endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, 

carry out your ministry fully.

Jesus told his disciples a parable about their need to pray always 

and not to lose heart. 

He said, 

‘In a certain city there was a judge 

who neither feared God nor had respect for people. 

In that city there was a widow 

who kept coming to him and saying, 

“Grant me justice against my opponent.” 

For a while he refused; 

but later he said to himself, 

“Though I have no fear of God and no respect for anyone, 

yet because this widow keeps bothering me, 

I will grant her justice, 

so that she may not wear me out by continually coming.” ’

And the Lord said, 

‘Listen to what the unjust judge says. 

And will not God grant justice to his chosen ones 

who cry to him day and night? 

Will he delay long in helping them? 

I tell you, he will quickly grant justice to them. 

And yet, when the Son of Man comes, 

will he find faith on earth?’

aGk he

Naaman, commander of the army of the king of Aram, 

was a great man and in high favour with his master, 

because by him the Lord had given victory to Aram. 

The man, though a mighty warrior, suffered from leprosy.

Now the Arameans on one of their raids 

had taken a young girl captive from the land of Israel, 

and she served Naaman’s wife. 

She said to her mistress, 

‘If only my lord were with the prophet who is in Samaria! 

He would cure him of his leprosy.’

When the king of Israel read the letter, 

he tore his clothes and said, 

‘Am I God, to give death or life, 

that this man sends word to me to cure a man of his leprosy?

Just look and see how he is trying to pick a quarrel with me.’

But when Elisha the man of God 

heard that the king of Israel had torn his clothes, 

he sent a message to the king, 

‘Why have you torn your clothes? 

Let him come to me, 

that he may learn that there is a prophet in Israel.’ 

So Naaman came with his horses and chariots, 

and halted at the entrance of Elisha’s house. 

Elisha sent a messenger to him, saying, 

‘Go, wash in the Jordan seven times, 

and your flesh shall be restored and you shall be clean.’ 

But Naaman became angry and went away, saying, 

‘I thought that for me he would surely come out, 

and stand and call on the name of the Lord his God, 

and would wave his hand over the spot, 

and cure the leprosy!

Are not Abana and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, 

better than all the waters of Israel? 

Could I not wash in them, and be clean?’ 

He turned and went away in a rage. 

But his servants approached and said to him, 

‘Father, if the prophet had commanded you to do something difficult, 

would you not have done it? 

How much more, when all he said to you was,

“Wash, and be clean”?’ 

So he went down and immersed himself seven times in the Jordan, 

according to the word of the man of God; 

his flesh was restored like the flesh of a young boy, 

and he was clean.

Then he returned to the man of God, 

he and all his company; 

he came and stood before him and said, 

‘Now I know that there is no God in all the earth 

except in Israel.

Remember Jesus Christ, 

raised from the dead, a descendant of David—

that is my gospel, 

for which I suffer hardship, 

even to the point of being chained like a criminal. 

But the word of God is not chained. 

Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, 

so that they may also obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus, 

with eternal glory. 

The saying is sure:

If we have died with him, 

we will also live with him;

if we endure, 

we will also reign with him;

if we deny him, 

he will also deny us;

if we are faithless, 

he remains faithful—

for he cannot deny himself.

Remind them of this, 

and warn them before God 

that they are to avoid wrangling over words, 

which does no good 

but only ruins those who are listening. 

Do your best to present yourself to God 

as one approved by him, 

a worker who has no need to be ashamed, 

rightly explaining the word of truth.

Rejoiceain the Lord always; 

again I will say, Rejoice.

Let your gentleness be known to everyone. 

The Lord is near. 

Do not worry about anything, 

but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving 

let your requests be made known to God. 

And the peace of God, 

which surpasses all understanding, 

will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Finally, beloved,

whatever is true, whatever is honourable, 

whatever is just, whatever is pure, 

whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, 

if there is any excellence 

and if there is anything worthy of praise, 

think aboutd these things. 

Keep on doing the things that you have learned 

and received and heard and seen in me, 

and the God of peace will be with you.

When they found Jesus on the other side of the sea, 

the crowd said to him, 

‘Rabbi, when did you come here?’ 

Jesus answered them, 

‘Very truly, I tell you, you are looking for me, 

not because you saw signs, 

but because you ate your fill of the loaves. 

Do not work for the food that perishes, 

but for the food that endures for eternal life, 

which the Son of Man will give you. 

For it is on him that God the Father has set his seal.’ 

Then they said to Jesus, 

‘What must we do to perform the works of God?’ 

Jesus answered them, 

‘This is the work of God,

 that you believe in him whom he has sent.’ 

So they said to him, 

‘What sign are you going to give us then, 

so that we may see it and believe you? 

What work are you performing? 

Our ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness; 

as it is written, 

“He gave them bread from heaven to eat.” ’ 

Then Jesus said to them, 

‘Very truly, I tell you, 

it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, 

but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. 

For the bread of God 

is that which comes down 

from heaven and gives life to the world.’ 

They said to him, 

‘Sir, give us this bread always.’

 Jesus said to them, 

‘I am the bread of life. 

Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, 

and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.

Alas for those who are at ease in Zion

and for those who feel secure on Mount Samaria,

Alas for those who lie on beds of ivory

and lounge on their couches

and eat lambs from the flock

and calves from the stall,

who sing idle songs to the sound of the harp

and like David improvise on instruments of music,

who drink wine from bowls

and anoint themselves with the finest oils

but are not grieved over the ruin of Joseph!

Therefore they shall now be the first to go into exile,

and the revelry of the loungers shall pass away.

There is great gain in godliness combined with contentment, 

for we brought nothing into the world, 

so that we can take nothing out of it, 

but if we have food and clothing, 

we will be content with these. 

But those who want to be rich fall into temptation 

and are trapped by many senseless and harmful desires 

that plunge people into ruin and destruction. 

For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, 

and in their eagerness to be rich some have wandered away from the faith 

and pierced themselves with many pains.

But as for you, man of God, shun all this; 

pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, 

love, endurance, gentleness. 

Fight the good fight of the faith; 

take hold of the eternal life to which you were called 

and for which you made the good confession 

in the presence of many witnesses. 

In the presence of God, who gives life to all things, 

and of Christ Jesus, 

who in his testimony before Pontius Pilate made the good confession, 

I charge you to keep the commandment without spot or blame 

until the manifestation of our Lord Jesus Christ, 

which he will bring about at the right time—

he who is the blessed and only Sovereign, 

the King of kings and Lord of lords. 

It is he alone who has immortality 

and dwells in unapproachable light, 

whom no one has ever seen or can see; 

to him be honor and eternal dominion. Amen.

As for those who in the present age are rich, 

command them not to be haughty 

or to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches 

but rather on God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. 

They are to do good, 

to be rich in good works, 

generous, and ready to share, 

thus storing up for themselves 

the treasure of a good foundation for the future, 

so that they may take hold of the life that really is life.

Happy are those who find wisdom

and those who get understanding,

for her income is better than silver

and her revenue better than gold.

She is more precious than jewels,

and nothing you desire can compare with her.

Long life is in her right hand;

in her left hand are riches and honour.

Her ways are ways of pleasantness,

and all her paths are peace.

She is a tree of life to those who lay hold of her;

those who hold her fast are called happy.

As Jesus was walking along, 

he saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax booth, 

and he said to him, “Follow me.” 

And he got up and followed him.

And as he sat at dinner in the house, 

many tax collectors and sinners came 

and were sitting with Jesus and his disciples. 

When the Pharisees saw this, 

they said to his disciples, 

“Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” 

But when he heard this, he said, 

“Those who are well have no need of a physician, 

but those who are sick. 

Go and learn what this means, 

‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ 

For I have not come to call the righteous but sinners.”

Now you are walled around with a wall;

siege is laid against us;

with a rod they strike the ruler of Israel

upon the cheek.

But you, O Bethlehem of Ephrathah,

who are one of the little clans of Judah,

from you shall come forth for me

one who is to rule in Israel,

whose origin is from of old, from ancient days.

Therefore he shall give them up until the time

when she who is in labor has brought forth;

then the rest of his kindred shall return

to the people of Israel.

And he shall stand and feed his flock 

in the strength of the Lord,

in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God.

And they shall live secure, 

for now he shall be great to the ends of the earth.

Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus, 

and Timothy our brother,

To  Philemon, our dear friend and coworker

to Apphia our sister, 

to Archippus our fellow soldier, 

and to the church in your house:

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

When I mention you in my prayers, 

I always thank my God 

because I hear of your love for all the saints 

and your faith toward the Lord Jesus. 

I pray that the partnership of your faith 

may become effective when you perceive all the good 

that we share in Christ.

I have indeed received much joy and encouragement from your love, 

because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed through you, my brother.

For this reason, 

though I am more than bold enough in Christ to command you to do the right thing, 

yet I would rather appeal to you on the basis of love—

and I, Paul, do this as an old man 

and now also as a prisoner of Christ Jesus.

I am appealing to you for my child, Onesimus, 

whose father I have become during my imprisonment. 

Formerly he was useless to you, 

but now he is indeed useful to you and to me. 

I am sending him, 

that is, my own heart, 

back to you.

I wanted to keep him with me 

so that he might minister to me in your place 

during my imprisonment for the gospel, 

but I preferred to do nothing without your consent 

in order that your good deed might be voluntary 

and not something forced. 

Perhaps this is the reason he was separated from you for a while, 

so that you might have him back for the long term, 

no longer as a slave but more than a slave, 

a beloved brother—

especially to me but how much more to you,

both in the flesh and in the Lord.

So if you consider me your partner, 

welcome him as you would welcome me. 

If he has wronged you in any way 

or owes you anything, charge that to me. 

I, Paul, am writing this with my own hand: 

I will repay it. 

I say nothing about your owing me even your own self. 

Yes, brother, let me have this benefit from you in the Lord! 

Refresh my heart in Christ.

Confident of your obedience, 

I am writing to you, 

knowing that you will do even more than I ask.

Hear the word of the Lord, O house of Jacob, 

and all the families of the house of Israel. 

Thus says the Lord: 

What wrong did your ancestors find in me 

that they went far from me, 

and went after worthless things, 

and became worthless themselves? 

They did not say, 

“Where is the Lord who brought us up from the land of Egypt, 

who led us in the wilderness, 

in a land of deserts and pits, 

in a land of drought and deep darkness, 

in a land that no one passes through, 

where no one lives?” 

I brought you into a plentiful land 

to eat its fruits and its good things. 

But when you entered you defiled my land, 

and made my heritage an abomination. 

The priests did not say, 

“Where is the Lord?” 

Those who handle the law did not know me; 

the rulers transgressed against me; t

he prophets prophesied by Baal, 

and went after things that do not profit.

Therefore once more I accuse you, says the Lord, 

and I accuse your children’s children. 

Cross to the coasts of Cyprus and look, 

send to Kedar and examine with care; 

see if there has ever been such a thing. 

Has a nation changed its gods, 

even though they are no gods? 

But my people have changed their glory 

for something that does not profit. 

Be appalled, O heavens, at this, 

be shocked, be utterly desolate, says the Lord, 

for my people have committed two evils: 

they have forsaken me, the fountain of living water, 

and dug out cisterns for themselves, 

cracked cisterns that can hold no water.

On one occasion 

when Jesus was going to the house of a leader of the Pharisees 

to eat a meal on the sabbath, 

they were watching him closely.

When he noticed how the guests chose the places of honour,

 he told them a parable. 

“When you are invited by someone to a wedding banquet, 

do not sit down at the place of honour, 

in case someone more distinguished than you 

has been invited by your host; 

and the host who invited both of you 

may come and say to you, 

‘Give this person your place,’ 

and then in disgrace you would start to take the lowest place. 

But when you are invited, 

go and sit down at the lowest place, 

so that when your host comes, 

he may say to you, ‘Friend, move up higher’; 

then you will be honored 

in the presence of all who sit at the table with you. 

For all who exalt themselves will be humbled, 

and those who humble themselves will be exalted.” 

He said also to the one who had invited him, 

“When you give a luncheon or a dinner, 

do not invite your friends or your brothers 

or your relatives or rich neighbors, 

in case they may invite you in return, 

and you would be repaid. 

But when you give a banquet,

 invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind. 

And you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you, 

for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”

By faith the people passed through the Red Sea 

as if it were dry land, 

but when the Egyptians attempted to do so they were drowned. 

By faith the walls of Jericho fell 

after they had been encircled for seven days. 

By faith Rahab the prostitute did not perish 

with those who were disobedient, 

because she had received the spies in peace.

And what more should I say? 

For time would fail me to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, 

of David and Samuel and the prophets— 

who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, 

obtained promises, shut the mouths of lions, 

quenched raging fire, escaped the edge of the sword, 

won strength out of weakness, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight. 

Women received their dead by resurrection. 

Others were tortured, refusing to accept release, 

in order to obtain a better resurrection. 

Others suffered mocking and flogging, 

and even chains and imprisonment. 

They were stoned to death, they were sawn in two, 

they were killed by the sword; they went about in skins of sheep and goats, 

destitute, persecuted, tormented— 

of whom the world was not worthy. 

They wandered in deserts and mountains, 

and in caves and holes in the ground. 

Yet all these, though they were commended for their faith, 

did not receive what was promised, 

since God had provided something better 

so that they would not, apart from us, 

be made perfect.

Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, 

let us also lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely,

and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us, 

looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith, 

who for the sake of the joy that was set before him endured the cross,

disregarding its shame, 

and has taken his seat at the right hand of the throne of God.

“I came to bring fire to the earth, 

and how I wish it were already kindled! 

I have a baptism with which to be baptized, 

and what stress I am under until it is completed! 

Do you think that I have come to bring peace to the earth? 

No, I tell you, but rather division! 

From now on five in one household will be divided, 

three against two and two against three; 

they will be divided: 

father against son and son against father, 

mother against daughter and daughter against mother, 

mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law 

and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.”

He also said to the crowds, 

“When you see a cloud rising in the west, you immediately say, 

‘It is going to rain’; 

and so it happens. 

And when you see the south wind blowing, you say, 

‘There will be scorching heat’; 

and it happens. 

You hypocrites! 

You know how to interpret the appearance of earth and sky, 

but why do you not know how to interpret the present time?

The vision of Isaiah son of Amoz, 

which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem in the days of Uzziah, 

Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah.

Hear the word of the Lord, you rulers of Sodom! 

Listen to the teaching of our God, you people of Gomorrah! 

What to me is the multitude of your sacrifices? says the Lord; 

I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams and the fat of fed beasts; 

I do not delight in the blood of bulls, or of lambs, or of goats. 

When you come to appear before me, 

who asked this from your hand? 

Trample my courts no more; 

bringing offerings is futile; 

incense is an abomination to me. 

New moon and sabbath and calling of convocation— 

I cannot endure solemn assemblies with iniquity. 

Your new moons and your appointed festivals my soul hates; 

they have become a burden to me, 

I am weary of bearing them. 

When you stretch out your hands, 

I will hide my eyes from you; 

even though you make many prayers, I will not listen; 

your hands are full of blood.

Wash yourselves; 

make yourselves clean; 

remove the evil of your doings from before my eyes; 

cease to do evil, 

learn to do good; 

seek justice, rescue the oppressed, 

defend the orphan, plead for the widow. 

Come now, let us argue it out, says the Lord: 

though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be like snow; 

though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool. 

If you are willing and obedient, 

you shall eat the good of the land; 

but if you refuse and rebel, 

you shall be devoured by the sword; 

for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.

When Israel was a child, I loved him, 

and out of Egypt I called my son. 

The more I called them, 

the more they went from me; 

they kept sacrificing to the Baals, 

and offering incense to idols. 

Yet it was I who taught Ephraim to walk, 

I took them up in my arms; 

but they did not know that I healed them. 

I led them with cords of human kindness, 

with bands of love. 

I was to them like those 

who lift infants to their cheeks. 

I bent down to them and fed them. 

They shall return to the land of Egypt, 

and Assyria shall be their king, 

because they have refused to return to me. 

The sword rages in their cities,

 it consumes their oracle-priests, 

and devours because of their schemes. 

My people are bent on turning away from me. 

To the Most High they call, but he does not raise them up at all.

How can I give you up, Ephraim? 

How can I hand you over, O Israel? 

How can I make you like Admah? 

How can I treat you like Zeboiim? 

My heart recoils within me; 

my compassion grows warm and tender. 

I will not execute my fierce anger; 

I will not again destroy Ephraim; 

for I am God and no mortal, 

the Holy One in your midst, 

and I will not come in wrath. 

They shall go after the Lord, 

who roars like a lion; 

when he roars, his children shall come trembling from the west. 

They shall come trembling like birds from Egypt, 

and like doves from the land of Assyria; 

and I will return them to their homes, says the Lord.

Put to death, therefore, whatever in you is earthly: 

fornication, impurity, passion, 

evil desire, and greed (which is idolatry). 

On account of these 

the wrath of God is coming on those who are disobedient. 

These are the ways you also once followed, 

when you were living that life.

But now you must get rid of all such things—

anger, wrath, malice, slander, 

and abusive language from your mouth. 

Do not lie to one another, 

seeing that you have stripped off the old self with its practices 

and have clothed yourselves with the new self, 

which is being renewed in knowledge 

according to the image of its creator. 

In that renewal there is no longer Greek and Jew, 

circumcised and uncircumcised, 

barbarian, Scythian, 

slave and free; 

but Christ is all and in all!

When the Lord first spoke through Hosea, 

the Lord said to Hosea, 

‘Go, take for yourself a wife of whoredom and have children of whoredom, 

for the land commits great whoredom by forsaking the Lord.’ 

So he went and took Gomer daughter of Diblaim, 

and she conceived and bore him a son.

 And the Lord said to him, 

‘Name him Jezreel;

for in a little while I will punish the house of Jehu for the blood of Jezreel, 

and I will put an end to the kingdom of the house of Israel. 

On that day I will break the bow of Israel in the valley of Jezreel.’

She conceived again and bore a daughter. 

Then the Lord said to him, 

‘Name her Lo-ruhamah,

for I will no longer have pity on the house of Israel or forgive them. 

But I will have pity on the house of Judah, 

and I will save them by the Lord their God; 

I will not save them by bow, or by sword, 

or by war, or by horses, or by horsemen.’

When she had weaned Lo-ruhamah, 

she conceived and bore a son. 

Then the Lord said, ‘Name him Lo-ammi,

for you are not my people and I am not your God.’

Yet the number of the people of Israel shall be like the sand of the sea, 

which can be neither measured nor numbered; 

and in the place where it was said to them, 

‘You are not my people’, it shall be said to them, 

‘Children of the living God.’

As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord,

 continue to live your lives in him, 

rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, 

just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.

See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deceit, 

according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the universe,

and not according to Christ. 

For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily, 

and you have come to fullness in him, 

who is the head of every ruler and authority. 

In him also you were circumcised with a spiritual circumcision,

by putting off the body of the flesh in the circumcision of Christ; 

when you were buried with him in baptism, 

you were also raised with him 

through faith in the power of God, 

who raised him from the dead. 

And when you were dead in trespasses 

and the uncircumcision of your flesh, 

God made youe alive together with him, 

when he forgave us all our trespasses, 

erasing the record that stood against us with its legal demands. 

He set this aside, nailing it to the cross. 

He disarmedf the rulers and authorities 

and made a public example of them, 

triumphing over them in it.

Therefore do not let anyone condemn you 

in matters of food and drink or of observing festivals, 

new moons, or sabbaths. 

These are only a shadow of what is to come, 

but the substance belongs to Christ. 

Do not let anyone disqualify you, 

insisting on self-abasement and worship of angels, 

dwelling on visions, puffed up without cause by a human way of thinking,

and not holding fast to the head, 

from whom the whole body, nourished and held together by its ligaments and sinews, 

grows with a growth that is from God.

Jesus was praying in a certain place, 

and after he had finished, one of his disciples said to him, 

‘Lord, teach us to pray, 

as John taught his disciples.’ 

He said to them, ‘When you pray, say:

Father, hallowed be your name.

Your kingdom come.

Give us each day our daily bread.

And forgive us our sins,

for we ourselves forgive everyone indebted to us.

And do not bring us to the time of trial.’

And he said to them, 

‘Suppose one of you has a friend, 

and you go to him at midnight and say to him, 

“Friend, lend me three loaves of bread; 

for a friend of mine has arrived, 

and I have nothing to set before him.” 

And he answers from within, 

“Do not bother me; 

the door has already been locked, 

and my children are with me in bed; 

I cannot get up and give you anything.” 

I tell you, 

even though he will not get up and give him anything 

because he is his friend, 

at least because of his persistence 

he will get up and give him whatever he needs.

‘So I say to you, 

Ask, and it will be given to you;

search, and you will find; 

knock, and the door will be opened for you. 

For everyone who asks receives, 

and everyone who searches finds, 

and for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened. 

Is there anyone among you who, 

if your child asks for a fish, 

will give a snake instead of a fish? 

Or if the child asks for an egg, will give a scorpion? 

If you then, who are evil, 

know how to give good gifts to your children, 

how much more will the heavenly Father 

give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!’

This is what the Lord God showed me—

a basket of summer fruit.

2He said, ‘Amos, what do you see?’ 

And I said, ‘A basket of summer fruit.’

Then the Lord said to me,

‘The endc has come upon my people Israel;

I will never again pass them by.

The songs of the templed shall become wailings on that day,’ says the Lord God;

‘the dead bodies shall be many, cast out in every place. 

Be silent!’

Hear this, you that trample on the needy,

and bring to ruin the poor of the land,

saying, ‘When will the new moon be over so that we may sell grain;

and the sabbath, so that we may offer wheat for sale?

We will make the ephah small and the shekel great,

and practise deceit with false balances,

buying the poor for silver

and the needy for a pair of sandals,

and selling the sweepings of the wheat.’

The Lord has sworn by the pride of Jacob:

Surely I will never forget any of their deeds.

Shall not the land tremble on this account,

and everyone mourn who lives in it,

and all of it rise like the Nile, and be tossed about and sink again,

like the Nile of Egypt?

On that day, says the Lord God,

I will make the sun go down at noon,

and darken the earth in broad daylight.

I will turn your feasts into mourning,

and all your songs into lamentation;

I will bring sackcloth on all loins,

and baldness on every head;

I will make it like the mourning for an only son,

and the end of it like a bitter day.

The time is surely coming, says the Lord God,

when I will send a famine on the land;

not a famine of bread, or a thirst for water,

but of hearing the words of the Lord.

They shall wander from sea to sea,

and from north to east; they shall run to and fro, 

seeking the word of the Lord,

but they shall not find it.

Jesus is the image of the invisible God, 

the firstborn of all creation; 

for in him all things in heaven and on earth were created, 

things visible and invisible, 

whether thrones or dominions or rulers or powers—

all things have been created through him and for him. 

He himself is before all things, 

and in him all things hold together. 

He is the head of the body, the church; 

he is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, 

so that he might come to have first place in everything. 

For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, 

and through him God was pleased to reconcile to himself all things, 

whether on earth or in heaven, 

by making peace through the blood of his cross.

 And you who were once estranged and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, 

he has now reconciled in his fleshly body through death, 

so as to present you holy and blameless and irreproachable before him— 

provided that you continue securely established and steadfast in the faith, 

without shifting from the hope promised by the gospel that you heard, 

which has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven. 

I, Paul, became a servant of this gospel.

I am now rejoicing in my sufferings for your sake, 

and in my flesh 

I am completing what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions 

for the sake of his body, that is, the church. 

I became its servant 

according to God’s commission that was given to me for you, 

to make the word of God fully known, 

the mystery that has been hidden throughout the ages 

and generations but has now been revealed to his saints. 

To them God chose to make known 

how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, 

which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. 

It is he whom we proclaim, 

warning everyone and teaching everyone in all wisdom, 

so that we may present everyone mature in Christ.

Fr Chris and Carolyn were absent as they are running the family camping experience over the weekend. Fr Roger stood in and caused a few chuckles during his homily when he preached on gospel reading about the good Samaritan. There were only three children in the Sunday School, (were all the rest camping with Fr Chris) but produced excellent work. It is so large I had to take three separate photographs so you can see the detail. Because it is also Sea Sunday, the choir sang "Crossing The Bar".

 This is what he showed me: 

the Lord was standing beside a wall built with a plumb-line, 

with a plumb-line in his hand. 

And the Lord said to me, 

‘Amos, what do you see?’ 

And I said, ‘A plumb-line.’ 

Then the Lord said,

‘See, I am setting a plumb-line in the midst of my people Israel;

I will never again pass them by;

the high places of Isaac shall be made desolate,

and the sanctuaries of Israel shall be laid waste,

and I will rise against the house of Jeroboam with the sword.’

Then Amaziah, the priest of Bethel, 

sent to King Jeroboam of Israel, saying, 

‘Amos has conspired against you in the very centre of the house of Israel; 

the land is not able to bear all his words. 

For thus Amos has said,

“Jeroboam shall die by the sword,

and Israel must go into exile away from his land.” ’

And Amaziah said to Amos, 

‘O seer, go, flee away to the land of Judah, 

earn your bread there, and prophesy there; 

but never again prophesy at Bethel, for it is the king’s sanctuary, 

and it is a temple of the kingdom.’

Then Amos answered Amaziah, 

‘I am no prophet, nor a prophet’s son; 

but I am a herdsman, and a dresser of sycomore trees, 

and the Lord took me from following the flock, 

and the Lord said to me, 

“Go, prophesy to my people Israel.”

‘Now therefore hear the word of the Lord.

You say, “Do not prophesy against Israel,

and do not preach against the house of Isaac.”

Therefore, thus says the Lord:

“Your wife shall become a prostitute in the city,

and your sons and your daughters shall fall by the sword,

and your land shall be parcelled out by line;

you yourself shall die in an unclean land,

and Israel shall surely go into exile away from its land.” ’

Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God,

and Timothy our brother,

To the saints and faithful brothers and sisters in Christ in Colossae:

Grace to you and peace from God our Father.

In our prayers for you we always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, 

for we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus 

and of the love that you have for all the saints, 

because of the hope laid up for you in heaven. 

You have heard of this hope before in the word of the truth, 

the gospel that has come to you. 

Just as it is bearing fruit and growing in the whole world, 

so it has been bearing fruit among yourselves from the day you heard it 

and truly comprehended the grace of God. 

This you learned from Epaphras, 

our beloved fellow-servant.

He is a faithful minister of Christ on yourc behalf, 

and he has made known to us your love in the Spirit.

For this reason, since the day we heard it, 

we have not ceased praying for you 

and asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of God’s will 

in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, 

so that you may lead lives worthy of the Lord, 

fully pleasing to him, 

as you bear fruit in every good work 

and as you grow in the knowledge of God. 

May you be made strong 

with all the strength that comes from his glorious power, 

and may you be prepared to endure everything with patience, while joyfully 

giving thanks to the Father, 

who has enablede youf to share in the inheritance of the saints in the light. 

He has rescued us from the power of darkness 

and transferred us into the kingdom of his beloved Son, 

in whom we have redemption, 

the forgiveness of sins.

A lawyer stood up to test Jesus. 

‘Teacher,’ he said, ‘what must I do to inherit eternal life?’ 

He said to him, ‘What is written in the law? 

What do you read there?’ 

He answered, 

‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, 

and with all your soul, and with all your strength, 

and with all your mind; 

and your neighbour as yourself.’ 

And he said to him, 

‘You have given the right answer; 

do this, and you will live.’

But wanting to justify himself, he asked Jesus, 

‘And who is my neighbour?’ 

Jesus replied, 

‘A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, 

and fell into the hands of robbers, 

who stripped him, beat him, and went away, 

leaving him half dead. 

Now by chance a priest was going down that road; 

and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. 

So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, 

passed by on the other side. 

But a Samaritan while travelling came near him; 

and when he saw him, he was moved with pity. 

He went to him and bandaged his wounds, 

having poured oil and wine on them. 

Then he put him on his own animal, 

brought him to an inn, and took care of him. 

The next day he took out two denarii,

gave them to the innkeeper, and said, 

“Take care of him; 

and when I come back, 

I will repay you whatever more you spend.” 

Which of these three, do you think, 

was a neighbour to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers?’ 

He said, ‘The one who showed him mercy.’ 

Jesus said to him, ‘Go and do likewise.’