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The Letter to the Philippians Chapter 2: 1-12
The Letter to the Colossians Chapter 3: 12-17
The First Letter to the Thessalonians Chapter 4: 1-12
The First Letter of John Chapter 3: 18-24
The First Letter of John Chapter 4: 7-16
The First Letter of John Chapter 4: 16-21
The First Letter of John Chapter 15: 9-12
The Gospel According to John Chapter 2: 2-11
The Gospel According to John Chapter 15: 12-16
The Gospel According to John Chapter 17: 20-26
The Gospel According to Matthew Chapter 5:
1-12
The Gospel According to Matthew
Chapter 5: 13-16
The Gospel According to Matthew Chapter 19: 4-6, 13-15
The Gospel According to Matthew Chapter 22: 35-40
The Gospel According to Mark Chapter 10: 6-9, 13-16
Romans
8: 31b-35, 37-39
Romans 12: 1-2, 9-18
Revelation 19: 1,5 5-9a |
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Now in regard to the matters about which you
wrote: "It is a good thing for a man not to touch a woman," but because of cases
of immorality every man should have his own wife, and every woman her own husband. The
husband should fulfill his duty toward his wife, and likewise the wife toward her husband.
A wife does not have authority over her own body, but rather her husband, and similarly a
husband does not have authority over his own body, but rather his wife.
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Do not deprive
each other, except perhaps by mutual consent for a time, to be free for prayer, but then
return to one another, so that Satan may not tempt you through your lack of self-control.
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To the married, however, I give this
instruction (not I, but the Lord): a wife should not separate from her husband and if she
does separate she must either remain single or become reconciled to her husband-and a
husband should not divorce his wife.
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If I speak in human and angelic tongues but
do not have love, I am a resounding gong or a clashing cymbal. And if I have the gift of
prophecy and comprehend all mysteries and all knowledge; if I have all faith so as to move
mountains but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give away everything I own, and if I
hand my body over so that I may boast but do not have love, I gain nothing.
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Love is patient, love is kind. It is not jealous, (love) is not
pompous, it is not inflated, it is not rude, it does not seek its own interests, it is not
quick-tempered, it does not brood over injury, it does not rejoice over wrongdoing but
rejoices with the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things,
endures all things.
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Love never fails. If there are prophecies, they will be
brought to nothing; if tongues, they will cease; if knowledge, it will be brought to
nothing. For we know partially and we prophesy partially, but when the perfect comes, the
partial will pass away. When I was a child, I used to talk as a child, think as a child,
reason as a child; when I became a man, I put aside childish things. At present we see
indistinctly, as in a mirror, but then face to face. At present I know partially; then I
shall know fully, as I am fully known. So faith, hope, love remain, these three; but the
greatest of these is love.
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For the love of Christ impels us, once we
have come to the conviction that one died for all; therefore, all have died. He indeed
died for all, so that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who
for their sake died and was raised.
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Consequently, from now on we regard no one according
to the flesh; even if we once knew Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know him so
no longer. So whoever is in Christ is a new creation: the old things have passed away;
behold, new things have come.
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But God, who is rich in mercy, because of the
great love he had for us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, brought us to life
with Christ (by grace you have been saved), raised us up with him, and seated us with him
in the heavens in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come he might show the immeasurable
riches of his grace in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been
saved through faith, and this is not from you; it is the gift of God; It is not from
works, so no one may boast. For we are his handiwork, created in Christ Jesus for the good
works that God has prepared in advance, that we should live in them.
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For this reason I kneel before the Father,
from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that he may grant you in accord
with the riches of his glory to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in the inner
self, and that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, rooted and
grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the holy ones what is the
breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses
knowledge, so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.
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I, then, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to
live in a manner worthy of the call you have received, with all humility and gentleness,
with patience, bearing with one another through love, striving to preserve the unity of
the spirit through the bond of peace: one body and one Spirit, as you were also called to
the one hope of your call; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all,
who is over all and through all and in all.
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Therefore, putting away falsehood, speak the
truth, each one to his neighbor, for we are members one of another.
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So be imitators of God, as beloved children,
and live in love, as Christ loved us and handed himself over for us as a sacrificial
offering to God for a fragrant aroma.
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If there is any encouragement in Christ, any
solace in love, any participation in the Spirit, any compassion and mercy, complete my joy
by being of the same mind, with the same love, united in heart, thinking one thing. Do
nothing out of selfishness or out of vainglory; rather, humbly regard others as more
important than yourselves, each looking out not for his own interests, but [also] everyone
for those of others.
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Have among yourselves the same
attitude that is also yours in Christ Jesus, Who, though he was in the form of God, did
not regard equality with God something to be grasped. Rather, he emptied himself, taking
the form of a slave, coming in human likeness; and found human in appearance, he humbled
himself, becoming obedient to death, even death on a cross. Because of this, God greatly
exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, that at the name of
Jesus every knee should bend, of those in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and
every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
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Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy
and beloved, heartfelt compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience, bearing
with one another and forgiving one another, if one has a grievance against another; as the
Lord has forgiven you, so must you also do. And over all these put on love, that is, the
bond of perfection. And let the peace of Christ control your hearts, the peace into which
you were also called in one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you
richly, as in all wisdom you teach and admonish one another, singing psalms, hymns, and
spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or in
deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through
him.
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Finally, brothers, we earnestly ask and
exhort you in the Lord Jesus that, as you received from us how you should conduct
yourselves to please God-and as you are conducting yourselves-you do so even more. For you
know what instructions we gave you through the Lord Jesus.
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This is the will of God, your
holiness: that you refrain from immorality, that each of you know how to acquire a wife
for himself in holiness and honor, not in lustful passion as do the Gentiles who do not
know God; not to take advantage of or exploit a brother in this matter, for the Lord is an
avenger in all these things, as we told you before and solemnly affirmed. For God did not
call us to impurity but to holiness. Therefore, whoever disregards this, disregards not a
human being but God, who [also] gives his holy Spirit to you.
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On the subject of mutual charity you have no need for anyone to write you, for you
yourselves have been taught by God to love one another. Indeed, you do this for all the
brothers throughout Macedonia. Nevertheless we urge you, brothers, to progress even more,
and to aspire to live a tranquil life, to mind your own affairs, and to work with your
[own] hands, as we instructed you, that you may conduct yourselves properly toward
outsiders and not depend on anyone.
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Children, let us love not in word or speech
but in deed and truth.
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[Now] this is how we shall
know that we belong to the truth and reassure our hearts before him in whatever our hearts
condemn, for God is greater than our hearts and knows everything. Beloved, if [our] hearts
do not condemn us, we have confidence in God and receive from him whatever we ask, because
we keep his commandments and do what pleases him. And his commandment is this: we should
believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and love one another just as he commanded
us. Those who keep his commandments remain in him, and he in them, and the way we know
that ge remains in us is from the Spirit that he gave us.
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Beloved, let us love one another, because
love is of God; everyone who loves is begotten by God and knows God. Whoever is without
love does not know God, for God is love. In this way the love of God was revealed to us:
God sent his only Son into the world so that we might have life through him. In this is
love: not that we have loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as expiation for
our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also must love one another. No one has ever seen
God. Yet, if we love one another, God remains in us, and his love is brought to perfection
in us.
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This is how we know that we remain in him and
he in us, that he has given us of his Spirit. Moreover, we have seen and testify that the
Father sent his Son as savior of the world. Whoever acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of
God, God remains in him and he in God. We have come to know and to believe in the love God
has for us.
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God is love, and whoever remains in love remains in God and
God in him.
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God is love, and whoever remains in love
remains in God and God in him.
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In this is love
brought to perfection among us, that we have confidence on the day of judgment because as
he is, so are we in this world. There is no fear in love, but perfect love drives out fear
because fear has to do with punishment, and so one who fears in not yet perfect in love.
We love because he first loved us. If anyone says, "I love God," but hates his
brother, he is a liar; for whoever does not love a brother whom he has seen cannot love
God whom he has not seen. This is the commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must
also love his brother.
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Jesus said to his disciples:
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"As the
Father has loved me, so I have loved you. Remain in my love. If you keep my commandments
you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and remain
in his love. I have told you this so that my own joy may be in you and your joy be
complete. This is my commandment: love one another as I have loved you."
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There was a wedding at Cana in
Galilee. The mother of Jesus was there, and Jesus and his disciples
had also been invited. When they ran out of wine, since the wine
provided for the wedding was all finished, the mother of Jesus said
to him, "They have not wine." Jesus said, "Women, why turn to me? My
hour has not come yet." His mother said to the servants, "Do
whatever he tells you." There were six stone water jars standing
there, meant for the ablutions that are customary among the Jews:
each could hold twenty or thirty gallons. Jesus said to the
servants, "Fill the jars with water," and they filled them to the
brim. "Draw some out now," he told them, "and take it to the
steward." They did this; the steward tasted the water, and it had
turned into wine. Having no idea where it came from - only the
servants who had drawn the water knew - the steward called the
bridegroom and said, "People generally serve the best wine first,
and keep the chapter sort till the guests have had plenty to drink;
but you have kept the best wine till now."
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This was the first of the sings given by Jesus: it was given at Cana in
Galilee. He let his glory be seen and his disciples believed in him.
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Jesus said to his disciples:
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"This is
my commandment: Love one another as I have loved you. A man can have no greater love then
to lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends, if you do what I command you. I
shall not call you servants any more, because a servant does not know his master’s
business; I call you friends, because I have made known to you everything I have learnt
from my Father. You did not choose me, no, I chose you; and I commissioned you to go out
and to bear fruit, fruit that will last; and then the Father will give you anything you
ask him in my name."
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Jesus raised his eyes to heaven and prayed,
saying: "I pray not only for these, but also for those who through their words will
believe in me. May they all be one. Father, may they be one in us, as you are in me and I
am in you, so that the world may believe it was you who sent me. I have given them the
glory you have to me that they may be one as we are one. With me in them and you in me,
may they be so completely one that the world will realize that it was you who sent me and
that I have loved them as much as you loved me.
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"Father, I want those you have
given me to be with me where I am, so that they may always see the glory you have given me
because you loved me before the foundations of the world. Father, Righteous One, the world
has not known you, and these have known that you have sent me. I have made your name known
to them and will continue to make it known, so that the love with which you loved me may
be in them, and so that I may be in them."
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Seeing the crowds, he went up the hill. There
he sat down and was joined by is disciples. Then he began to speak. This is what he taught
them:
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"How happy are the poor in spirit;
theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Happy the gentle: they shall have
the earth for their heritage. Happy those who mourn: they shall be
comforted. Happy those who hunger and thirst for what is right:
they shall be satisfied. Happy the merciful: they shall have mercy
shown them. Happy the pure in heart: they shall see God. Happy the
peacemakers: they shall be called sons of God. Happy those who are
persecuted in the cause of right: theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
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"Happy are you when people abuse you and persecute you and speak all kinds of
calumny against you on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward will be great in
heaven."
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"You are the salt of the earth. But if
salt becomes tasteless, what can make it salty again? It is good for nothing, and can only
be thrown out to be trampled underfoot by men.
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"You are the light of the world. A
city built on a hilltop cannot be hidden. No one lights a lamp to put it under a tub; they
put it on the lamp-stand where it shines for everyone in the house. In the same way your
light must shine in the sight of men, so that, seeing your good works, they may give the
praise to your Father in heaven."
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He said in reply, "Have you not read
that from the beginning the Creator ‘made them male and female’ and said,
‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife,
and the two shall become one flesh. Therefore, what God has joined together, no human
being must separate.
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Then children were brought to
him that he might lay his hands on them and pray. The disciples rebuked them, but Jesus
said, "Let the children come to me, and do not prevent them; for the kingdom of
heaven belongs to such as these. After he placed his hands on them, he went away.
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To disconcert him, one of them put a
question, "Master, which is the greatest commandment of the law?" Jesus said,
"You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with
all your mind. This is the greatest and the first commandment. The second resembles it:
You must love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments hang the whole Law, and
the Prophets also."
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But from the beginning of creation, ‘God
made them male and female. For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother [and be
joined to his wife], and the two shall become one flesh.’ So they are no longer two
but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, no human being must separate."
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And
people were bring children to him that he might touch them, but the disciples rebuked
them. When Jesus saw this he became indignant and said to them, "Let the children
come to me; do not prevent them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Amen, I
say to you, whoever does not accept the kingdom of God like a child will not enter
it." Then he embraced them and blessed them, placing his hands on them.
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Since God did not spare his own Son, but gave
him up to benefit us all, we may be certain, after such a gift, that he will not refuse
anything he can give. Could anyone accuse those that God has chosen? When God acquits,
could anyone condemn? Could Christ Jesus? No! He not only died for us – he rose from
the dead, and there at God’s right hand he stands and pleads for us.
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Nothing
therefore can come between us and the love of Christ, even if we are troubled or worried,
or being persecuted, or lacking food or clothes, or being threatened or even attacked.
These are the trials through which we triumph, by the power of him who loved us.
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For I am certain of this: neither death nor life, no angel, no prince, nothing that
exists, nothing still to come, not any power, or height or depth, nor any created thing,
can ever come between us and the love of God made visible in Christ Jesus our Lord.
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Think of God’s mercy, my brothers, and
worship him, I beg you, in a way that is worthy of thinking beings, by offering your
living bodies as a holy sacrifice, truly pleasing to God. Do not model yourselves on the
behaviour of the world around you, but let your behaviour change, modeled by your new
mind. This is the only way to discover the will of God and know what is good, what it is
that God wants, what is the perfect thing to do.
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Do not let your love be a pretense, but
sincerely prefer good to evil. Love each other as much as brothers should, and have a
profound respect for each other. Work for the Lord with untiring effort and with
earnestness of spirit. If you have hope, this will make you cheerful. Do not give up if
trials come; and keep on praying. If any of the saints are in need you must share with
them; and you should make hospitality your special care.
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Bless those who persecute you: never curse them, bless them. Rejoice with those who
rejoice and be sad with those in sorrow. Treat everyone with equal kindness; never be
condescending but make real friends with the poor. Do not allow yourself to become
self-satisfied. Never repay evil with evil but let everyone see that you are interested
only in the highest ideals. Do all you can to live at peace with everyone.
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"I, John, seemed to hear the great sound
of a huge crowd in heaven, singing, ‘Alleluia! Victory and glory and power to our
God!’"
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Then a voice came from the throne; it said, "Praise our God, you
servants of his and all who, great or small, revere him." And I seemed to hear the
voices of a huge crowd, like the sound of the ocean or the great roar of thunder,
answering, "Alleluia! The reign of the Lord our God Almighty has begun; let us be
glad and joyful and give praise to God, because this is the time for the marriage of the
Lamb. His bride is ready, and she has been able to dress herself in dazzling white linen,
because her linen is made of the good deeds of the saints." The angel said,
"Write this: Happy are those who are invited to the wedding feast of the Lamb."
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