Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

The weak ought not to be held in disdain. No person should occasion harm to another’s conscience. Again, no one should condemn another for outward things.

14 Him who is weak in the faith, receive to yourselves – not in disputing and troubling his conscience. ² One believes that he may eat all things; another, who is weak, eats vegetables. ³ Let not him who eats look down on him who does not. And let not him who abstains judge one who eats, for God has received him. ⁴ Who are you, to judge another man’s servant? Whether he stands or falls pertains to his master; yea, he will stand, because God is able to make him stand.

⁵ This man distinguishes between day and day, another counts all days alike. See to it that no one wavers in his own purpose: ⁶ he who observes one day over another does it for the Lord’s pleasure, and he who does not observe one day over another does it also to please the Lord. He who eats does it to please the Lord, for he gives God thanks; and he who does not eat abstains to please the Lord at the same time, and gives God thanks. ⁷ For none of us lives as his own servant, and neither does any of us die his own servant. ⁸ If we live, we live to be at the Lord’s will, and if we die, we die at the Lord’s will. Therefore whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s. ⁹ It is for this that Christ died and rose up and recovered life: to be Lord of both the dead and the living.

¹⁰ But why do you then judge your brother? Or, why do you despise your brother? We shall all be brought before the judgment seat of Christ. ¹¹ For it is written: As surely as I live, says the Lord, all knees will bow to me, and all tongues will acknowledge God. ¹² So then, every one of us will give an account of himself to God.

²¹ Then Peter came to him and said, Master, how often should I forgive my brother if he sins against me? Seven times?

²² Jesus said to him, I say to you, not seven times, but seventy times seven times. ²³ Therefore the kingdom of heaven is likened to a certain king who wished to take accounts from his servants. ²⁴ And when he had begun the reckoning, one was brought to him who owed him 10,000 talents. ²⁵ Because he had nothing to pay with, his master ordered him to be sold, and his wife and his children and all that he had, and payment to be made. ²⁶ The servant fell down and besought him, saying, Sir, give me respite, and I will pay it every whit. ²⁷ Then the lord had pity on that servant and released him, and forgave him the debt.

²⁸ And that same servant went out and found one of his fellows who owed him 100 denarii, and laid hands on him and took him by the throat, saying, Pay me what you owe! ²⁹ And his fellow servant fell down and besought him, saying, Have patience with me, and I will pay you everything. ³⁰ But he would not, and went and cast him into prison till he should pay the debt.

³¹ When the other servants saw what had been done, they were very grieved, and went and told their lord all that had happened. ³² Then his lord called the man and said to him, O evil servant! I forgave you all that debt because you begged me. ³³ Was it not right also that you should have had compassion on your fellow, just as I had pity on you? ³⁴ And his lord was angry, and delivered him to the jailers till he should pay all that was due to him. ³⁵ So likewise shall my heavenly Father do with you, unless you forgive with your hearts each one his brother’s trespasses.