Do not forsake your friend or the friend of your father, and do not run to your brother’s house when troubles befall you; far better is a friend nearby than a brother who is far away.
I am pulled in opposite directions. My desire is to depart and to be with Christ, for that is far better, but, it is a more urgent need for you that I remain in the body.
But Jesus has now received a ministry that is far superior, for he is the mediator of a far better covenant that has been established on better promises.
Then he led them out as far as Bethany, and lifting up his hands he blessed them. While he was blessing them, he departed from them and was taken up to heaven.
In the netherworld, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham, far off, and Lazarus by his side. And he called out, ‘Father Abraham, have pity on me. Send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am in agony in these flames.’
Gaze upon the birds in the sky. They do not sow or reap or store in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of far greater value than they?
To him who in all things is able through the power that is at work within us to accomplish abundantly far more than all we can ask or imagine, to him be glory in the Church and in Christ Jesus through all generations, forever and ever. Amen.
The tax collector, however, stood some distance away and would not even raise his eyes to heaven. Rather, he kept beating his breast as he said, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner.’
Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? And yet not one of them is forgotten in God’s sight. Even the hairs on your head have all been counted. Do not be afraid. You are worth far more than any number of sparrows.
Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them can fall to the ground without your Father’s knowledge. Even the hairs on your head have all been counted. So do not be afraid; you are worth far more than any number of sparrows.
So if anyone says to you, ‘Behold, he is in the wilderness,’ do not go out there. If they say, ‘Behold, he is in the inner rooms,’ do not believe it. For just as lightning comes from the east and is visible even in the west, so will the coming of the Son of Man be.