Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

4 And so, my brothers, I love you and want very much to be with you. I am very happy about you. And you are like a prize I have won in a race. My dear people, keep on standing firm and strong in the Lord.

² I beg Euodia and Syntyche to agree to work together. I ask them to be of the same mind in the Lord.

³ I beg you, my real helper, to help these women. They worked hard with me in telling the good news. Clement and my other helpers worked hard with me too. Their names are in God's Book of Life.

⁴ Always be glad for what the Lord has done, I will say it again, be glad.

⁵ Let everyone know that you think kindly of others before yourselves. The Lord is near.

⁶ Do not worry about anything. Talk to God about everything. Thank him for what you have. Ask him for what you need.

⁷ Then God will give you peace, a peace which is too wonderful to understand. That peace will keep your hearts and minds safe as you trust in Christ Jesus.

⁸ Here, my brothers, are some things I want you to think about. Think about things that are true, honest, right, clean and pure, things that are lovely, and things that are good to talk about. If they are good, and if they bring praise to God, think about these things.

⁹ I taught you, and you learned things from me. You heard the things I said, and you saw the things I did. Do these same things yourselves. Then God who gives peace will be with you.

22 Jesus told them other stories.

² He said, `The kingdom of heaven is like this. A king made a wedding for his son.

³ The king sent his servants to call the people who had been asked to the wedding. But they would not come.

⁴ `He sent other servants to call them. He said, "Tell those who were asked to the wedding that my dinner is cooked. The cows and bullocks have been killed. Everything is ready. Come now to the wedding."

⁵ `The people did not listen, but went away. One went to his farm. One went to his business.

⁶ The others caught his servants, treated them very badly, and killed them.

⁷ `The king was very angry. He sent his soldiers to kill the men who had killed his servants. And he burned their city.

⁸ Then he said to his servants, "The wedding is ready. But those who were asked to come were not good enough.

⁹ Go out on the roads. Call all the people you find to come to the wedding."

¹⁰ `So those servants went out on the roads. They brought all the people they could find, both bad and good people. Then the room was full of people for the wedding.

¹¹ `The king came in to look at the people. He saw one man there who was not wearing the right clothes for a wedding.

¹² The king said to him, "My friend, why did you come here without putting on the right clothes for a wedding?" The man did not answer.

¹³ Then the king said to his servants, "Tie his hands and his feet. Put him in a dark place outside. People there will cry and grind [make a noise with] their teeth."

¹⁴ `Many people are asked to come, but only a few are chosen.'