Book of Common Prayer

¹⁶ You know that you are God's house. The spirit of God lives in you.

¹⁷ God will punish anyone who spoils his house. His house is holy, and you are the house.

¹⁸ Do not be fooled. If any one of you thinks that he is wise in the things of this world, he should count himself as not being wise. Then he would really be wise.

¹⁹ The things that look wise to the people of this world look foolish to God. The holy writings say, `He catches the wise people in their own tricks.'

²⁰ It also says, `The Lord knows that the wise men's thoughts are good for nothing.'

²¹ So do not be proud of men. Everything belongs to you.

²² Paul, Apollos, Peter, the world, life, death, the things which are now, and the things which are to come, everything is yours!

²³ And you belong to Christ and Christ belongs to God!

¹³ Jesus went out again by the seaside. Many people came to him. So he taught them.

¹⁴ As he went along, he saw Levi, the son of Alphaeus. He was sitting at the place where people come to pay taxes. Jesus said to him, `Come with me.' Levi stood up and went with him.

¹⁵ Jesus was eating in Levi's house. Many tax collectors and bad people also came. They sat down to eat with Jesus and his disciples. There were many who went with him.

¹⁶ The scribes and Pharisees saw that Jesus ate with these people. They said to the disciples, `Why does he eat and drink with bad people?'

¹⁷ Jesus heard it. He said to them, `People who are well do not need a doctor. But sick people need him. I did not come to call good people. I came to call bad people to stop doing wrong things.'

¹⁸ John's disciples and the Pharisees' disciples were fasting [not eating food for a time]. Some people came to Jesus and said, `The disciples of John and of the Pharisees fast. Why do your disciples not do the same?'

¹⁹ Jesus answered them, `The people at a wedding cannot be sad while the man who is married is with them.

²⁰ But the time will come when he will be taken away from them. Then they will fast.

²¹ No person sews a piece of new cloth on an old coat. If he does, the new cloth will tear the old coat. Then the hole is bigger than it was before.

²² No person puts new wine into old wine skins. If he does, the new wine will break the skins. Then the wine will be lost and the skins will be spoiled. New wine is put into new skins.'