Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
6 Do not exalt yourself in the presence of the king,
and do not stand in the place of great men;
7 for it is better that it be said to you, “Come up here,”
than that you should be put lower in the presence of the prince,
whom your eyes have seen.
Psalm 112
1 Praise the Lord!
Blessed is the man who fears the Lord,
who delights greatly in His commandments.
2 His offspring shall be mighty in the land;
the generation of the upright shall be blessed.
3 Wealth and riches shall be in his house,
and his righteousness endures forever.
4 To the upright there arises light in the darkness;
he is gracious, and full of compassion, and righteous.
5 A good man shows generous favor, and lends;
he will guide his affairs with justice.
6 Surely the righteous man shall not be moved;
the righteous shall be in everlasting remembrance.
7 He shall not be afraid of evil tidings;
his heart is fixed, trusting in the Lord.
8 His heart is established; he shall not be afraid,
until he sees triumph upon his enemies.
9 He has given away freely; he has given to the poor;
his righteousness endures forever;
his horn shall be exalted with honor.
10 The wicked shall see it and be grieved;
he shall gnash his teeth and melt away;
the desire of the wicked shall perish.
Service That Pleases God
13 Let brotherly love continue. 2 Do not forget to entertain strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unknowingly. 3 Remember those who are in chains, as if imprisoned with them, and those who are ill treated, since you are also in the body.
4 Marriage is to be honored among everyone, and the bed undefiled. But God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterers. 5 Let your lives be without love of money, and be content with the things you have. For He has said:
“I will never leave you,
nor forsake you.”[a]
6 So we may boldly say:
“The Lord is my helper; I will not fear.
What can man do to me?”[b]
7 Remember those who rule over you, who have proclaimed to you the word of God. Follow their faith, considering the results it has produced in their lives. 8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, and today, and forever.
15 Through Him, then, let us continually offer to God the sacrifice of praise, which is the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name. 16 But do not forget to do good and to share. For with such sacrifices God is well pleased.
The Healing of the Man With Edema
14 On the Sabbath they watched Him as He went into the house of one of the leaders of the Pharisees to eat bread.
A Lesson to Guests and a Host
7 When He marked how they chose the seats of honor, He told a parable to those who were invited, saying to them, 8 “When you are invited by any man to a wedding banquet, do not sit down in a seat of honor, lest a more honorable man than you be invited by him; 9 and he who invited you both will come and say to you, ‘Give this man the seat,’ and then you will begin with shame to take the lowest seat. 10 But when you are invited, go and sit down in the lowest seat, so that when he who invited you comes, he may say to you, ‘Friend, go up higher.’ Then you will have respect in the presence of those who sit at dinner with you. 11 For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”
12 Then He said also to the one who invited Him, “When you prepare a dinner or a supper, do not call your friends or your brothers or your kinsmen or your rich neighbors, lest they also invite you in return, and you be repaid. 13 But when you prepare a banquet, call the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind, 14 and you will be blessed, for they cannot repay you. You shall be repaid at the resurrection of the just.”
The Holy Bible, Modern English Version. Copyright © 2014 by Military Bible Association. Published and distributed by Charisma House.