Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
The Third Vision: The Plumb Line
7 This is what he showed me: I saw the Lord standing by a wall that had been constructed with a plumb line. He had a plumb line in his hand.
8 The Lord said to me, “What do you see, Amos?”
I said, “A plumb line.”
Then the Lord said:
Look, I am about to set up a plumb line next to my people Israel.
I will no longer overlook their sin.
9 The high places of Isaac will be desolate,
and the sanctuaries of Israel will be ruined.
I will rise up against the house of Jeroboam with the sword.
Amos and Amaziah
10 Then Amaziah, the priest of Bethel, sent a message to Jeroboam king of Israel:[a]
Amos has conspired against you in the midst of the house of Israel. The land is not able to endure all of his words. 11 This is what Amos says: “Jeroboam will die by the sword, and Israel will certainly go into exile away from its own soil.”
12 Then Amaziah said to Amos, “You seer, get out of here! Flee to the land of Judah. You may eat food and prophesy there. 13 But you must never again prophesy at Bethel, for it is the sanctuary of the king and the national temple.”
14 Then Amos responded to Amaziah:
I was not a prophet, nor was I a son of a prophet. Rather, I was a sheep breeder and I took care of sycamore fig trees. 15 But the Lord took me from tending flocks, and the Lord said to me, “Go, prophesy to my people Israel.”
16 But now, hear the word of the Lord, you who are saying, “Do not prophesy against Israel” and “Do not preach[b] against the house of Isaac.”
17 This is what the Lord says: “Your wife will be a prostitute in the city, and your sons and your daughters will fall by the sword. Your land will be parceled out with a measuring line, and as for you, you will die upon unclean soil. And Israel will certainly go into exile far away from its own soil.”
Psalm 82
Woe to Corrupt Rulers
Heading
A psalm by Asaph.
Judgment on Corrupt Rulers
1 God is standing in the assembly of God.
In the midst of the gods[a] he renders judgment.
God’s Verdict
2 How long will you judge unjustly Interlude
and show favoritism to the wicked?
3 Judge in favor of the weak and the fatherless.
Acquit the oppressed and the poor.
4 Rescue the weak and the needy.
Deliver them from the hand of the wicked.
5 They do not know. They do not understand.
They walk around in darkness.
All the foundations of the earth are shaken.
6 I myself said, “You are ‘gods,’
and you are all ‘sons of the Most High.’
7 But you will die like men.
You will fall like any other ruler.”
Prayer
8 Rise up, O God. Judge the earth,
for you will take possession of all the nations.
Greeting
1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,
2 To the holy and faithful brothers[a] in Christ at Colossae:
Grace to you and peace from God our Father.[b]
Paul’s Prayer for the Colossians
3 We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, 4 because we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and the love that you have for all the saints 5 because of the hope that is stored up for you in heaven. You have already heard about this in the word of truth, the gospel 6 that is present with you now. The gospel is bearing fruit and growing in the entire world, just as it also has been doing among you from the day you heard it and came to know the grace of God in truth. 7 You learned this from Epaphras, our dear fellow servant, who is a faithful minister of Christ on your[c] behalf. 8 He is the one who told us about your love in the Spirit.[d]
9 For this reason, from the day we heard about your love, we also have not stopped praying for you. We keep asking that you would be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding, 10 so that you might live in a way that is worthy of the Lord. Our goal is that you please him by bearing fruit in every kind of good work and by growing in the knowledge of God, 11 as you are being strengthened with all power because of his glorious might working in you. Then you will have complete endurance and patience, joyfully 12 giving thanks to the Father, who qualified us[e] to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light.
What the Father Did Through Christ
13 The Father rescued us from the domain of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, 14 in whom we have redemption,[f] the forgiveness of sins.
The Good Samaritan
25 Just then, an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus, saying, “Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
26 “What is written in the law?” he asked him. “What do you read there?”
27 He replied, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind;[a] and, love your neighbor as yourself.”[b]
28 He said to him, “You have answered correctly. Do this, and you will live.”
29 But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”
30 Jesus replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho. He fell among robbers who stripped him, beat him, and went away, leaving him half dead. 31 It just so happened that a priest was going down that way. But when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. 32 In the same way, a Levite also happened to go there, but when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. 33 A Samaritan, as he traveled, came to where the man was. When he saw him, he felt sorry for the man. 34 He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring oil and wine on them. He put him on his own animal, took him to an inn, and took care of him. 35 The next day, when he left, he took out two denarii,[c] gave them to the innkeeper, and said, ‘Take care of him. Whatever extra you spend, I will repay you when I return.’ 36 Which of these three do you think acted like a neighbor to the man who fell among robbers?”
37 “The one who showed mercy to him,” he replied.
Then Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.”
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.