Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

¹⁵ But now that their father was dead, Joseph’s brothers were frightened.

“Now Joseph will pay us back for all the evil we did to him,” they said. ^16-17 So they sent him this message: “Before he died, your father instructed us to tell you to forgive us for the great evil we did to you. We servants of the God of your father beg you to forgive us.” When Joseph read the message, he broke down and cried.

¹⁸ Then his brothers came and fell down before him and said, “We are your slaves.”

¹⁹ But Joseph told them, “Don’t be afraid of me. Am I God, to judge and punish you? ²⁰ As far as I am concerned, God turned into good what you meant for evil, for he brought me to this high position I have today so that I could save the lives of many people. ²¹ No, don’t be afraid. Indeed, I myself will take care of you and your families.” And he spoke very kindly to them, reassuring them.

103 I bless the holy name of God with all my heart. ² Yes, I will bless the Lord and not forget the glorious things he does for me.

³ He forgives all my sins. He heals me. ⁴ He ransoms me from hell. He surrounds me with loving-kindness and tender mercies. ⁵ He fills my life with good things! My youth is renewed like the eagle’s! ⁶ He gives justice to all who are treated unfairly. ⁷ He revealed his will and nature to Moses and the people of Israel.

⁸ He is merciful and tender toward those who don’t deserve it; he is slow to get angry and full of kindness and love. ⁹ He never bears a grudge, nor remains angry forever. ¹⁰ He has not punished us as we deserve for all our sins, ¹¹ for his mercy toward those who fear and honor him is as great as the height of the heavens above the earth. ¹² He has removed our sins as far away from us as the east is from the west. ¹³ He is like a father to us, tender and sympathetic to those who reverence him.

14 Give a warm welcome to any brother who wants to join you, even though his faith is weak. Don’t criticize him for having different ideas from yours about what is right and wrong.^{[a] 2} For instance, don’t argue with him about whether or not to eat meat that has been offered to idols. You may believe there is no harm in this, but the faith of others is weaker; they think it is wrong and will go without any meat at all and eat vegetables rather than eat that kind of meat. ³ Those who think it is all right to eat such meat must not look down on those who won’t. And if you are one of those who won’t, don’t find fault with those who do. For God has accepted them to be his children. ⁴ They are God’s servants, not yours. They are responsible to him, not to you. Let him tell them whether they are right or wrong. And God is able to make them do as they should.

⁵ Some think that Christians should observe the Jewish holidays as special days to worship God, but others say it is wrong and foolish to go to all that trouble, for every day alike belongs to God. On questions of this kind everyone must decide for himself. ⁶ If you have special days for worshiping the Lord, you are trying to honor him; you are doing a good thing. So is the person who eats meat that has been offered to idols; he is thankful to the Lord for it; he is doing right. And the person who won’t touch such meat, he, too, is anxious to please the Lord, and is thankful. ⁷ We are not our own bosses to live or die as we ourselves might choose. ⁸ Living or dying we follow the Lord. Either way we are his. ⁹ Christ died and rose again for this very purpose, so that he can be our Lord both while we live and when we die.

¹⁰ You have no right to criticize your brother or look down on him. Remember, each of us will stand personally before the Judgment Seat of God. ¹¹ For it is written, “As I live,” says the Lord, “every knee shall bow to me and every tongue confess to God.” ¹² Yes, each of us will give an account of himself to God.

²¹ Then Peter came to him and asked, “Sir, how often should I forgive a brother who sins against me? Seven times?”

²² “No!” Jesus replied, “seventy times seven!

²³ “The Kingdom of Heaven can be compared to a king who decided to bring his accounts up to date. ²⁴ In the process, one of his debtors was brought in who owed him $10 million!$10 million, literally, “10,000 talents.” Approximately £3 million. ²⁵ He couldn’t pay, so the king ordered him sold for the debt, also his wife and children and everything he had.

²⁶ “But the man fell down before the king, his face in the dust, and said, ‘Oh, sir, be patient with me and I will pay it all.’

²⁷ “Then the king was filled with pity for him and released him and forgave his debt.

²⁸ “But when the man left the king, he went to a man who owed him $2,000$2,000, approximately £700. and grabbed him by the throat and demanded instant payment.

²⁹ “The man fell down before him and begged him to give him a little time. ‘Be patient and I will pay it,’ he pled.

³⁰ “But his creditor wouldn’t wait. He had the man arrested and jailed until the debt would be paid in full.

³¹ “Then the man’s friends went to the king and told him what had happened. ³² And the king called before him the man he had forgiven and said, ‘You evil-hearted wretch! Here I forgave you all that tremendous debt, just because you asked me to— ³³ shouldn’t you have mercy on others, just as I had mercy on you?’

³⁴ “Then the angry king sent the man to the torture chamber until he had paid every last penny due. ³⁵ So shall my heavenly Father do to you if you refuse to truly forgive your brothers.”