Book of Common Prayer

⁵ God gives people power to take their troubles and he comforts their hearts. I ask him to help you to think the same way as Christ did.

⁶ Then, together you will praise the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

⁷ So, accept one another, as Christ has accepted you. Then people will know that God is great.

⁸ What I say is this. Christ came to serve the Jews. He did this to prove that what God said was true. He proved that God kept his promises to the fathers.

⁹ He did this so that people who are not Jews would praise God because he is kind. The holy writings say, `So I will praise you among the people who are not Jews. I will sing songs to your name.'

¹⁰ The holy writings also say, `People who are not Jews, be glad with those who are God's people.'

¹¹ And they also say, `People who are not Jews, praise the Lord. All peoples should praise him.'

¹² Also, Isaiah says, `Someone from Jesse's family will come. He will come to rule the people who are not Jews. People who are not Jews will have hope in him.'

¹³ God gives hope. May he make you very happy. May he give you peace because you believe. Then the power of the Holy Spirit will give you much hope.

¹¹ While they were listening to this, he started to tell them a story. He did so because they were near Jerusalem and the people thought that the kingdom of God would begin right away.

¹² So he said, `A man who belonged to a respected family went to a country far away. He went to get power to rule. Then he was going to come back.

¹³ Before he left, he called ten of his servants. He gave each of them some money. He said, "Go and trade with this money until I come back."

¹⁴ `His people hated him. They chose some men and sent them after him to tell the king, "We do not want this man to rule over us."

¹⁵ But he was given the power to rule and came back. Then he called the servants to whom he had given the money. He wanted to know how much money each one had made by trading.

¹⁶ The first one came to him and said, "Sir, your money has made ten times more money."

¹⁷ `The ruler said, "You have done well. You are a good servant. You will rule over ten cities because you have done well with a very small thing."

¹⁸ The second one came to him and said, "Sir, your money has made five times more money."

¹⁹ The ruler said, "You will rule over five cities."

²⁰ `Then another servant came and said, "Sir, here is your money. I hid it in a cloth and kept it.

²¹ I was afraid of you. You are a hard man. You take in where you put nothing out. You gather where you did not plant."

²² `The ruler said "You bad servant! I will judge you by your own words. You knew that I was a hard man! You knew that I take in where I put nothing out. You knew that I gather where I did not plant.

²³ Why did you not put my money in the bank? Then when you came home I would have had my money with interest."

²⁴ `Some men were standing there. He said to them, "Take the money from him. Give it to the man who has ten times as much."

²⁵ They said, "Sir, he has ten times as much already!"

²⁶ The ruler said, "I tell you. Anyone who has some will get more. But he who does not have anything, even the little that he has will be taken away from him.

²⁷ But where are those people who hate me and did not want me to rule over them? Bring them here and kill them right here in front of me." '