Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
119 Blessed are those whose lives have integrity,
those who follow the teachings of the Lord.
2 Blessed are those who obey his written instructions.
They wholeheartedly search for him.
3 They do nothing wrong.
They follow his directions.
4 You have commanded
that your guiding principles be carefully followed.
5 I pray that my ways may become firmly established
so that I can obey your laws.
6 Then I will never feel ashamed
when I study all your commandments.
7 I will give thanks to you
as I learn your regulations, which are based on your righteousness.
8 I will obey your laws.
Never abandon me.
9 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Tell the Israelites: 10 Suppose you or any of your descendants is unclean from touching a dead body or is away on a long trip. You may still celebrate the Passover. 11 You will celebrate it on the fourteenth day of the second month at dusk. You must eat the Passover animal along with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. 12 You must never leave any of the meat until morning or break any of the animal’s bones. You must follow all the rules for the Passover when you celebrate it. 13 But if you are clean [a] and not on a trip and yet don’t bother to celebrate the Passover, you must be excluded from the people. You didn’t bring your offering to the Lord at the right time. You must suffer the consequences for your sin.
14 “Foreigners living with you may want to celebrate the Lord’s Passover. They must follow these same rules and regulations. The same rules will apply to foreigners and native-born Israelites.”
A Story about a Good Samaritan
25 Then an expert in Moses’ Teachings stood up to test Jesus. He asked, “Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
26 Jesus answered him, “What is written in Moses’ Teachings? What do you read there?”
27 He answered, “ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind. And love your neighbor as you love yourself.’ ”
28 Jesus told him, “You’re right! Do this, and life will be yours.”
29 But the man wanted to justify his question. So he asked Jesus, “Who is my neighbor?”
30 Jesus replied, “A man went from Jerusalem to Jericho. On the way robbers stripped him, beat him, and left him for dead.
31 “By chance, a priest was traveling along that road. When he saw the man, he went around him and continued on his way. 32 Then a Levite came to that place. When he saw the man, he, too, went around him and continued on his way.
33 “But a Samaritan, as he was traveling along, came across the man. When the Samaritan saw him, he felt sorry for the man, 34 went to him, and cleaned and bandaged his wounds. Then he put him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. 35 The next day the Samaritan took out two silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper. He told the innkeeper, ‘Take care of him. If you spend more than that, I’ll pay you on my return trip.’
36 “Of these three men, who do you think was a neighbor to the man who was attacked by robbers?”
37 The expert said, “The one who was kind enough to help him.”
Jesus told him, “Go and imitate his example!”
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