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Mt. 15: 21-38
The
Canaanite Woman’s Faith
And Jesus went away from there and withdrew to the
district of Tyre and Sidon. And behold, a Canaanite
woman from that region came out and cried, "Have mercy
on me, O Lord, Son of David; my daughter is severely
possessed by a demon." But he did not answer her a word.
And his disciples came and begged him, saying, "Send her
away, for she is crying after us." He answered, "I was
sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel." But
she came and knelt before him, saying, "Lord, help me."
And he answered, "It is not fair to take the children's
bread and throw it to the dogs." She said, "Yes, Lord,
yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their
masters' table." Then Jesus answered her, "O woman,
great is your faith! Be it done for you as you desire."
And her daughter was healed instantly. And Jesus went on
from there and passed along the Sea of Galilee.
And he went up on the mountain, and sat down there. And
great crowds came to him, bringing with them the lame,
the maimed, the blind, the dumb, and many others, and
they put them at his feet, and he healed them, so that
the throng wondered, when they saw the dumb speaking,
the maimed whole, the lame walking, and the blind
seeing; and they glorified the God of Israel. Then Jesus
called his disciples to him and said, "I have compassion
on the crowd, because they have been with me now three
days, and have nothing to eat; and I am unwilling to
send them away hungry, lest they faint on the way." And
the disciples said to him, "Where are we to get bread
enough in the desert to feed so great a crowd?" And
Jesus said to them, "How many loaves have you?" They
said, "Seven, and a few small fish." And commanding the
crowd to sit down on the ground, he took the seven
loaves and the fish, and having given thanks he broke
them and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples
gave them to the crowds. And they all ate and were
satisfied; and they took up seven baskets full of the
broken pieces left over. Those who ate were four
thousand men, besides women and children.
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Mt. 18:1-18
True
Greatness
At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, "Who
is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?" And calling
to him a child, he put him in the midst of them, and
said, "Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become
like children, you will never enter the kingdom of
heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child, he is
the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.
"Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me;
but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe
in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great
millstone fastened round his neck and to be drowned in
the depth of the sea. "Woe to the world for temptations
to sin! For it is necessary that temptations come, but
woe to the man by whom the temptation comes! And if your
hand or your foot causes you to sin, cut it off and
throw it away; it is better for you to enter life maimed
or lame than with two hands or two feet to be thrown
into the eternal fire. And if your eye causes you to
sin, pluck it out and throw it away; it is better for
you to enter life with one eye than with two eyes to be
thrown into the hell of fire.
"See that you do not despise one of these little ones;
for I tell you that in heaven their angels always behold
the face of my Father who is in heaven. What do you
think? If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them has
gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the
mountains and go in search of the one that went astray?
And if he finds it, truly, I say to you, he rejoices
over it more than over the ninety-nine that never went
astray. So it is not the will of my Father who is in
heaven that one of these little ones should perish. "If
your brother sins against you, go and tell him his
fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you,
you have gained your brother. But if he does not listen,
take one or two others along with you, that every word
may be confirmed by the evidence of two or three
witnesses. If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to
the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the
church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax
collector. Truly, I say to you, whatever you bind on
earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose
on earth shall be loosed in heaven.
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Mt 20:1-16
The
Laborers in the Vineyard
"For the kingdom of heaven is like a householder who
went out early in the morning to hire laborers for
his vineyard. After agreeing with the laborers for a
denarius a day, he sent them into his vineyard. And
going out about the third hour he saw others
standing idle in the market place; and to them he
said, `You go into the vineyard too, and whatever is
right I will give you.' So they went. Going out
again about the sixth hour and the ninth hour, he
did the same. And about the eleventh hour he went
out and found others standing; and he said to them,
`Why do you stand here idle all day?' They said to
him, `Because no one has hired us.' He said to them,
`You go into the vineyard too.' And when evening
came, the owner of the vineyard said to his steward,
`Call the laborers and pay them their wages,
beginning with the last, up to the first.'
And when
those hired about the eleventh hour came, each of
them received a denarius. Now when the first came,
they thought they would receive more; but each of
them also received a denarius. And on receiving it
they grumbled at the householder, saying, `These
last worked only one hour, and you have made them
equal to us who have borne the burden of the day and
the scorching heat.' But he replied to one of them,
`Friend, I am doing you no wrong; did you not agree
with me for a denarius? Take what belongs to you,
and go; I choose to give to this last as I give to
you. Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what
belongs to me? Or do you begrudge my generosity?' So
the last will be first, and the first last."
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Lk. 8:41-56
A Girl
Restored to Life and a Woman Healed
And there came a man named Ja'irus, who was a ruler
of the synagogue; and falling at Jesus' feet he
besought him to come to his house, for he had an
only daughter, about twelve years of age, and she
was dying. As he went, the people pressed round him.
And a woman who had had a flow of blood for twelve
years and could not be healed by any one, came up
behind him, and touched the fringe of his garment;
and immediately her flow of blood ceased. And Jesus
said, "Who was it that touched me?"
When all denied
it, Peter said, "Master, the multitudes surround you
and press upon you!" But Jesus said, "Some one
touched me; for I perceive that power has gone forth
from me." And when the woman saw that she was not
hidden, she came trembling, and falling down before
him declared in the presence of all the people why
she had touched him, and how she had been
immediately healed. And he said to her, "Daughter,
your faith has made you well; go in peace."
While he was
still speaking, a man from the ruler's house came
and said, "Your daughter is dead; do not trouble the
Teacher any more." But Jesus on hearing this
answered him, "Do not fear; only believe, and she
shall be well." And when he came to the house, he
permitted no one to enter with him, except Peter and
John and James, and the father and mother of the
child. And all were weeping and bewailing her; but
he said, "Do not weep; for she is not dead but
sleeping." And they laughed at him, knowing that she
was dead. But taking her by the hand he called,
saying, "Child, arise." And her spirit returned, and
she got up at once; and he directed that something
should be given her to eat. And her parents were
amazed; but he charged them to tell no one what had
happened.
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