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Psalm 36

1  Sin whispers to the wicked, in the depths of their heart; ♦︎
   there is no fear of God before their eyes.
2  They flatter themselves in their own eyes ♦︎
   that their abominable sin will not be found out.
3  The words of their mouth are unrighteous and full of deceit; ♦︎
   they have ceased to act wisely and to do good.
4  They think out mischief upon their beds
      and have set themselves in no good way; ♦︎
   nor do they abhor that which is evil.
5  Your love, O Lord, reaches to the heavens ♦︎
   and your faithfulness to the clouds.
6  Your righteousness stands like the strong mountains,
      your justice like the great deep; ♦︎
   you, Lord, shall save both man and beast.
7  How precious is your loving mercy, O God! ♦︎
   All mortal flesh shall take refuge
      under the shadow of your wings.
8  They shall be satisfied with the abundance of your house; ♦︎
   they shall drink from the river of your delights.
9  For with you is the well of life ♦︎
   and in your light shall we see light.
10  O continue your loving-kindness to those who know you ♦︎
   and your righteousness to those who are true of heart.
11  Let not the foot of pride come against me, ♦︎
   nor the hand of the ungodly thrust me away.
12  There are they fallen, all who work wickedness. ♦︎
   They are cast down and shall not be able to stand.

Psalm 146

1  Alleluia.
      Praise the Lord, O my soul:
      while I live will I praise the Lord; ♦︎
   as long as I have any being,
      I will sing praises to my God.
2  Put not your trust in princes,
      nor in any human power, ♦︎
   for there is no help in them.
3  When their breath goes forth, they return to the earth; ♦︎
   on that day all their thoughts perish.
4  Happy are those who have the God of Jacob for their help, ♦︎
   whose hope is in the Lord their God;
5  Who made heaven and earth,
      the sea and all that is in them; ♦︎
   who keeps his promise for ever;
6  Who gives justice to those that suffer wrong ♦︎
   and bread to those who hunger.
7  The Lord looses those that are bound; ♦︎
   the Lord opens the eyes of the blind;
8  The Lord lifts up those who are bowed down; ♦︎
   the Lord loves the righteous;
9  The Lord watches over the stranger in the land;
      he upholds the orphan and widow; ♦︎
   but the way of the wicked he turns upside down.
10  The Lord shall reign for ever, ♦︎
   your God, O Zion, throughout all generations.
      Alleluia.

²¹ Take courage, my children, cry to God,
   and he will deliver you from the power and hand of the enemy.
²² For I have put my hope in the Everlasting to save you,
   and joy has come to me from the Holy One,
because of the mercy that will soon come to you
   from your everlasting saviour.^*
23 For I sent you out with sorrow and weeping,
   but God will give you back to me with joy and gladness for ever.
²⁴ For as the neighbours of Zion have now seen your capture,
   so they soon will see your salvation by God,
which will come to you with great glory
   and with the splendour of the Everlasting.
²⁵ My children, endure with patience the wrath that has come upon you from God.
Your enemy has overtaken you,
   but you will soon see their destruction
   and will tread upon their necks.
²⁶ My pampered children have travelled rough roads;
   they were taken away like a flock carried off by the enemy.

²⁷ Take courage, my children, and cry to God,
   for you will be remembered by the one who brought this upon you.

¹³And Israel said to Joseph, ‘Are not your brothers pasturing the flock at Shechem? Come, I will send you to them.’ He answered, ‘Here I am.’ ¹⁴So he said to him, ‘Go now, see if it is well with your brothers and with the flock; and bring word back to me.’ So he sent him from the valley of Hebron.

He came to Shechem, ¹⁵and a man found him wandering in the fields; the man asked him, ‘What are you seeking?’ ¹⁶‘I am seeking my brothers,’ he said; ‘tell me, please, where they are pasturing the flock.’ ¹⁷The man said, ‘They have gone away, for I heard them say, “Let us go to Dothan.” ’ So Joseph went after his brothers, and found them at Dothan. ¹⁸They saw him from a distance, and before he came near to them, they conspired to kill him. ¹⁹They said to one another, ‘Here comes this dreamer. ²⁰Come now, let us kill him and throw him into one of the pits; then we shall say that a wild animal has devoured him, and we shall see what will become of his dreams.’

True Greatness

18At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, ‘Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?’ ²He called a child, whom he put among them, ³and said, ‘Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. ⁴Whoever becomes humble like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. ⁵Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me.

Temptations to Sin

6 ‘If any of you put a stumbling-block before one of these little ones who believe in me, it would be better for you if a great millstone were fastened around your neck and you were drowned in the depth of the sea. ⁷Woe to the world because of stumbling-blocks! Occasions for stumbling are bound to come, but woe to the one by whom the stumbling-block comes!

8 ‘If your hand or your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away; it is better for you to enter life maimed or lame than to have two hands or two feet and to be thrown into the eternal fire. ⁹And if your eye causes you to stumble, tear it out and throw it away; it is better for you to enter life with one eye than to have two eyes and to be thrown into the hell^* of fire.

The Parable of the Lost Sheep

10 ‘Take care that you do not despise one of these little ones; for, I tell you, in heaven their angels continually see the face of my Father in heaven.^*