Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
6 Moses spoke as follows:[a]
Now this is the body of commands, and these are the statutes and the ordinances that the Lord your God commanded me to teach you, so you may carry them out in the land to which you are crossing over to receive as a possession, 2 so that you may fear the Lord your God by keeping all his statutes and his commandments, which I am commanding to you, as well as to your children and grandchildren, all the days of your life, and so that your days may be long.
3 Listen, O Israel, and be conscientious about doing those things, so it may go well for you and so you may increase greatly in a land flowing with milk and honey, just as the Lord, the God of your fathers, promised you. 4 Hear, O Israel! The Lord is our God. The Lord is one! 5 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul[b] and with all your might. 6 These words that I am commanding you today are to be on your heart. 7 Teach them diligently to your children, and speak about them when you sit in your house and when you walk on the road, when you lie down and when you get up. 8 Tie them as a sign on your wrists, and they will serve as symbols on your forehead. 9 Write them on the doorposts of your houses and on your gates.
Psalm 119
The Great Psalm on the Law of the Lord[a]
Aleph: Blessed Are the Blameless
1 How blessed are those who are blameless in their way,
who walk in the law[b] of the Lord.
2 How blessed are those who keep[c] his testimonies.
With all their heart they seek him.
3 Indeed, they do no wrong.
They walk in his ways.
4 You have commanded that your precepts[d] be kept completely.
5 If only my ways were unwavering in keeping your statutes![e]
6 Then I would not be put to shame when I consider all your commands.
7 I will thank you with an upright heart
as I learn your righteous judgments.[f]
8 I will keep your statutes.
Do not abandon me completely.
Jesus’ Blood
11 But when Christ appeared as the high priest of the good things that were coming,[a] he went through the greater and more complete tent, which was not made by human hands (that is, it is not part of this creation). 12 He entered once into the Most Holy Place and obtained eternal redemption, not by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood. 13 Now if the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer, sprinkled on those who were unclean, sanctifies them so that their flesh is clean, 14 how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, cleanse our[b] consciences from dead works, so that we worship the living God?
Love God and Your Neighbor
28 One of the experts in the law approached after he heard their discussion. When he saw that Jesus had answered them well, he asked Jesus, “Which commandment is the greatest of all?”
29 Jesus answered, “The most important is: ‘Hear, O Israel, the Lord, our God, the Lord is one. 30 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’[a] 31 The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’[b] There is no other commandment greater than these.”
32 The expert in the law said to him, “Well said, teacher. You have spoken correctly on the basis of the truth that he is one, and there is no other besides him.[c] 33 To love him with all your heart, with all your understanding, and with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself, is more important than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.”[d]
34 When Jesus saw that he had answered wisely, he said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” After that, no one dared to ask him any more questions.
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.