Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Plea for Forgiveness. 15 [a]Now that their father was dead, Joseph’s brothers became fearful and thought, “Suppose Joseph has been nursing a grudge against us and now most certainly will pay us back in full for all the wrong we did him!” 16 So they sent to Joseph and said: “Before your father died, he gave us these instructions: 17 ‘Thus you shall say to Joseph: Please forgive the criminal wrongdoing of your brothers, who treated you harmfully.’ So now please forgive the crime that we, the servants of the God of your father, committed.” When they said this to him, Joseph broke into tears. 18 Then his brothers also proceeded to fling themselves down before him and said, “We are your slaves!” 19 But Joseph replied to them: “Do not fear. Can I take the place of God? 20 Even though you meant harm to me, God meant it for good, to achieve this present end, the survival of many people.(A) 21 So now, do not fear. I will provide for you and for your children.” By thus speaking kindly to them, he reassured them.(B)
Psalm 103[a]
Praise of Divine Goodness
1 Of David.
I
Bless the Lord, my soul;
all my being, bless his holy name!
2 Bless the Lord, my soul;
and do not forget all his gifts,
3 Who pardons all your sins,
and heals all your ills,
4 Who redeems your life from the pit,(A)
and crowns you with mercy and compassion,
5 Who fills your days with good things,
so your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.[b]
II
6 The Lord does righteous deeds,
brings justice to all the oppressed.(B)
7 He made known his ways to Moses,
to the Israelites his deeds.
8 Merciful and gracious is the Lord,
slow to anger, abounding in mercy.(A)
9 He will not always accuse,
and nurses no lasting anger;
10 He has not dealt with us as our sins merit,
nor requited us as our wrongs deserve.
III
11 For as the heavens tower over the earth,
so his mercy towers over those who fear him.(B)
12 As far as the east is from the west,
so far has he removed our sins from us.
13 As a father has compassion on his children,
so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him.
Chapter 14
To Live and Die for Christ. 1 [a]Welcome anyone who is weak in faith,(A) but not for disputes over opinions.(B) 2 One person believes that one may eat anything, while the weak person eats only vegetables.(C) 3 The one who eats must not despise the one who abstains, and the one who abstains must not pass judgment on the one who eats; for God has welcomed him.(D) 4 Who are you to pass judgment on someone else’s servant? Before his own master he stands or falls. And he will be upheld, for the Lord is able to make him stand.(E) 5 [For] one person considers one day more important than another, while another person considers all days alike.(F) Let everyone be fully persuaded in his own mind.[b] 6 Whoever observes the day, observes it for the Lord. Also whoever eats, eats for the Lord, since he gives thanks to God; while whoever abstains, abstains for the Lord and gives thanks to God. 7 None of us lives for oneself, and no one dies for oneself. 8 For if we live, we live for the Lord,[c] and if we die, we die for the Lord; so then, whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s.(G) 9 For this is why Christ died and came to life, that he might be Lord of both the dead and the living.(H) 10 Why then do you judge your brother? Or you, why do you look down on your brother? For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of God;(I) 11 for it is written:
“As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bend before me,
and every tongue shall give praise to God.”(J)
12 So [then] each of us shall give an account of himself [to God].(K)
21 (A)Then Peter approaching asked him, “Lord, if my brother sins against me, how often must I forgive him? As many as seven times?” 22 [a]Jesus answered, “I say to you, not seven times but seventy-seven times. 23 (B)That is why the kingdom of heaven may be likened to a king who decided to settle accounts with his servants. 24 [b]When he began the accounting, a debtor was brought before him who owed him a huge amount. 25 Since he had no way of paying it back, his master ordered him to be sold, along with his wife, his children, and all his property, in payment of the debt. 26 [c]At that, the servant fell down, did him homage, and said, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay you back in full.’ 27 Moved with compassion the master of that servant let him go and forgave him the loan. 28 When that servant had left, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a much smaller amount.[d] He seized him and started to choke him, demanding, ‘Pay back what you owe.’ 29 Falling to his knees, his fellow servant begged him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay you back.’ 30 But he refused. Instead, he had him put in prison until he paid back the debt. 31 Now when his fellow servants saw what had happened, they were deeply disturbed, and went to their master and reported the whole affair. 32 His master summoned him and said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you your entire debt because you begged me to. 33 (C)Should you not have had pity on your fellow servant, as I had pity on you?’ 34 Then in anger his master handed him over to the torturers until he should pay back the whole debt.[e] 35 [f](D)So will my heavenly Father do to you, unless each of you forgives his brother from his heart.”
Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.