He answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.”
If you, then, despite your evil nature, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!
Therefore, whatever you have said in the dark will be heard in the daylight, and what you have whispered behind closed doors will be shouted from the housetops.
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.
After this, he said to the crowd, “Take care to be on your guard against all kinds of greed. Life does not depend upon an abundance of one’s possessions.”
Do not be concerned about your life and what you will have to eat, or about your body and what you will wear. For life is more than food, and the body is more than clothing.
But the one who did not know those wishes, and who acted in such a manner as to deserve a beating, will be beaten less severely. Much will be demanded of a person to whom much has been given, and even more will be asked of a person to whom more has been entrusted.
On one Sabbath as Jesus was teaching in the synagogue, a woman was present, possessed by a spirit that had crippled her for eighteen years. She was bent over and completely unable to stand up straight. When Jesus saw her, he called her forward and said, “Woman, you are freed from your infirmity.” Then he laid his hands on her, and immediately she stood up straight and began praising God.
But the leader of the synagogue was indignant because Jesus had effected a cure on the Sabbath, and he said to the assembled people, “There are six days when work is permitted. Come on those days and be cured, and not on the Sabbath.” The Lord said to him in reply, “You hypocrites! Is there a single one of you who does not untie his ox or his donkey and lead it from its stall to give it water on the Sabbath? Should not this woman, a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has held bound for eighteen long years, be set free from this bondage on the Sabbath?” At these words, all his adversaries were put to shame, and the people rejoiced at all the wonderful things he was doing.
Which one of you, intending to build a tower, would not first sit down and estimate the cost, to see whether he has sufficient funds for its completion?
In the same way, I tell you, there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous people who have no need of repentance.
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.’
If your brother should sin, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him. Even if he wrongs you seven times a day, and comes back to you seven times to say, ‘I am sorry,’ you must forgive him.
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.’
Then he took bread, and after giving thanks he broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body, which will be given for you. Do this in memory of me.”
I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one will ever snatch them from my hand. My Father who has given them to me is greater than all, and no one can snatch them out of the Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.