Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
The Word of God
119 Happy are those who live pure lives,
who follow the Lord’s teachings.
2 Happy are those who keep his rules,
who try to obey him with their whole heart.
3 They don’t do what is wrong;
they follow his ways.
4 Lord, you gave your orders
to be obeyed completely.
5 I wish I were more loyal
in obeying your demands.
6 Then I would not be ashamed
when I study your commands.
7 When I learned that your laws are fair,
I praised you with an honest heart.
8 I will obey your demands,
so please don’t ever leave me.
9 Then the Lord said to Moses, 10 “Tell the Israelites this: ‘If you or your descendants become unclean because of a dead body, or if you are away on a trip during the Passover, you must still celebrate the Lord’s Passover. 11 But celebrate it at twilight on the fourteenth day of the second month. Eat the lamb with bitter herbs and bread made without yeast. 12 Don’t leave any of it until the next morning or break any of its bones. When you celebrate the Passover, follow all the rules. 13 Anyone who is clean and is not away on a trip but does not eat the Passover must be cut off from the people. That person did not give an offering to the Lord at the appointed time and must be punished for the sin.
14 “‘Foreigners among you may celebrate the Lord’s Passover, but they must follow all the rules. You must have the same rules for foreigners as you have for yourselves.’”
The Good Samaritan
25 Then an expert on the law stood up to test Jesus, saying, “Teacher, what must I do to get life forever?”
26 Jesus said, “What is written in the law? What do you read there?”
27 The man answered, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength, and all your mind.”[a] Also, “Love your neighbor as you love yourself.”[b]
28 Jesus said to him, “Your answer is right. Do this and you will live.”
29 But the man, wanting to show the importance of his question, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”
30 Jesus answered, “As a man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, some robbers attacked him. They tore off his clothes, beat him, and left him lying there, almost dead. 31 It happened that a priest was going down that road. When he saw the man, he walked by on the other side. 32 Next, a Levite[c] came there, and after he went over and looked at the man, he walked by on the other side of the road. 33 Then a Samaritan[d] traveling down the road came to where the hurt man was. When he saw the man, he felt very sorry for him. 34 The Samaritan went to him, poured olive oil and wine[e] on his wounds, and bandaged them. Then he put the hurt man on his own donkey and took him to an inn where he cared for him. 35 The next day, the Samaritan brought out two coins,[f] gave them to the innkeeper, and said, ‘Take care of this man. If you spend more money on him, I will pay it back to you when I come again.’”
36 Then Jesus said, “Which one of these three men do you think was a neighbor to the man who was attacked by the robbers?”
37 The expert on the law answered, “The one who showed him mercy.”
Jesus said to him, “Then go and do what he did.”
The Holy Bible, New Century Version®. Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.