Romans 12:1-21

[1]I appeal to you therefore, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. [2]Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God -- what is good and acceptable and perfect.

[3]For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of yourself more highly than you ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. [4]For as in one body we have many members, and not all the members have the same function, [5]so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually we are members one of another. [6]We have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us: prophecy, in proportion to faith; [7]ministry, in ministering; the teacher, in teaching; [8]the exhorter, in exhortation; the giver, in generosity; the leader, in diligence; the compassionate, in cheerfulness.

[9]Let love be genuine; hate what is evil, hold fast to what is good; [10]love one another with mutual affection; outdo one another in showing honor. [11]Do not lag in zeal, be ardent in spirit, serve the Lord. [12]Rejoice in hope, be patient in suffering, persevere in prayer. [13]Contribute to the needs of the saints; extend hospitality to strangers.

[14]Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. [15]Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. [16]Live in harmony with one another; do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly; do not claim to be wiser than you are. [17]Do not repay anyone evil for evil, but take thought for what is noble in the sight of all. [18]If it is possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. [19]Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave room for the wrath of God; for it is written, "Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord." [20]No, "if your enemies are hungry, feed them; if they are thirsty, give them something to drink; for by doing this you will heap burning coals on their heads." [21]Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

Luke 7:36-50

[36]One of the Pharisees asked Jesus to eat with him, and he went into the Pharisee's house and took his place at the table. [37]And a woman in the city, who was a sinner, having learned that he was eating in the Pharisee's house, brought an alabaster jar of ointment. [38]She stood behind him at his feet, weeping, and began to bathe his feet with her tears and to dry them with her hair. Then she continued kissing his feet and anointing them with the ointment. [39]Now when the Pharisee who had invited him saw it, he said to himself, "If this man were a prophet, he would have known who and what kind of woman this is who is touching him -- that she is a sinner." [40]Jesus spoke up and said to him, "Simon, I have something to say to you." "Teacher," he replied, "speak." [41]"A certain creditor had two debtors; one owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. [42]When they could not pay, he canceled the debts for both of them. Now which of them will love him more?" [43]Simon answered, "I suppose the one for whom he canceled the greater debt." And Jesus said to him, "You have judged rightly." [44]Then turning toward the woman, he said to Simon, "Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave me no water for my feet, but she has bathed my feet with her tears and dried them with her hair. [45]You gave me no kiss, but from the time I came in she has not stopped kissing my feet. [46]You did not anoint my head with oil, but she has anointed my feet with ointment. [47]Therefore, I tell you, her sins, which were many, have been forgiven; hence she has shown great love. But the one to whom little is forgiven, loves little." [48]Then he said to her, "Your sins are forgiven." [49]But those who were at the table with him began to say among themselves, "Who is this who even forgives sins?" [50]And he said to the woman, "Your faith has saved you; go in peace."

Jeremiah 31:23-25

[23]Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: Once more they shall use

these words in the land of Judah and in its towns when I restore their fortunes:   

    "The LORD bless you, O abode of righteousness,   

         O holy hill!"   

[24]And Judah and all its towns shall live there together, and the farmers and those who wander with their flocks.   

[25] I will satisfy the weary,   

         and all who are faint I will replenish.

 

Jeremiah 31:15-22

[15] Thus says the LORD:   

    A voice is heard in Ramah,   

         lamentation and bitter weeping.   

    Rachel is weeping for her children;   

         she refuses to be comforted for her children,   

         because they are no more.   

[16] Thus says the LORD:   

    Keep your voice from weeping,   

         and your eyes from tears;   

    for there is a reward for your work,   

                                                           says the LORD:   

         they shall come back from the land of the enemy;   

[17] there is hope for your future,   

                                                           says the LORD:   

         your children shall come back to their own country.

[18] Indeed I heard Ephraim pleading:   

    "You disciplined me, and I took the discipline;   

         I was like a calf untrained.   

    Bring me back, let me come back,   

         for you are the LORD my God.   

[19] For after I had turned away I repented;   

         and after I was discovered, I struck my thigh;   

    I was ashamed, and I was dismayed   

         because I bore the disgrace of my youth."   

[20] Is Ephraim my dear son?   

         Is he the child I delight in?   

    As often as I speak against him,   

         I still remember him.   

    Therefore I am deeply moved for him;   

         I will surely have mercy on him,   

                                                           says the LORD.

[21] Set up road markers for yourself,   

         make yourself signposts;   

    consider well the highway,   

         the road by which you went.   

    Return, O virgin Israel,   

         return to these your cities.   

[22] How long will you waver,   

         O faithless daughter?   

    For the LORD has created a new thing on the earth:   

         a woman encompasses a man.

Jeremiah 31:1-14

[1]At that time, says the LORD, I will be the God of all the families of Israel, and they shall be my people.   

[2] Thus says the LORD:   

    The people who survived the sword   

         found grace in the wilderness;   

    when Israel sought for rest,   

[3] the LORD appeared to him from far away.   

    I have loved you with an everlasting love;   

         therefore I have continued my faithfulness to you.   

[4] Again I will build you, and you shall be built,   

         O virgin Israel!   

    Again you shall take your tambourines,   

         and go forth in the dance of the merrymakers.   

[5] Again you shall plant vineyards   

         on the mountains of Samaria;   

    the planters shall plant,   

         and shall enjoy the fruit.   

[6] For there shall be a day when sentinels will call   

         in the hill country of Ephraim:   

    "Come, let us go up to Zion,   

         to the LORD our God."

[7] For thus says the LORD:   

    Sing aloud with gladness for Jacob,   

         and raise shouts for the chief of the nations;   

    proclaim, give praise, and say,   

         "Save, O LORD, your people,   

         the remnant of Israel."   

[8] See, I am going to bring them from the land of the north,   

         and gather them from the farthest parts of the earth,   

    among them the blind and the lame,   

         those with child and those in labor, together;   

         a great company, they shall return here.   

[9] With weeping they shall come,   

         and with consolations I will lead them back,   

    I will let them walk by brooks of water,   

         in a straight path in which they shall not stumble;   

    for I have become a father to Israel,   

         and Ephraim is my firstborn.

[10] Hear the word of the LORD, O nations,   

         and declare it in the coastlands far away;   

    say, "He who scattered Israel will gather him,   

         and will keep him as a shepherd a flock."   

[11] For the LORD has ransomed Jacob,   

         and has redeemed him from hands too strong for him.   

[12] They shall come and sing aloud on the height of Zion,   

         and they shall be radiant over the goodness of the LORD,   

    over the grain, the wine, and the oil,   

         and over the young of the flock and the herd;   

    their life shall become like a watered garden,   

         and they shall never languish again.   

[13] Then shall the young women rejoice in the dance,   

         and the young men and the old shall be merry.   

    I will turn their mourning into joy,   

         I will comfort them, and give them gladness for sorrow.   

[14] I will give the priests their fill of fatness,   

         and my people shall be satisfied with my bounty,   

          says the LORD.

 

Luke 6:27-38

[27]"But I say to you that listen, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, [28]bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. [29]If anyone strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also; and from anyone who takes away your coat do not withhold even your shirt. [30]Give to everyone who begs from you; and if anyone takes away your goods, do not ask for them again.
[31]Do to others as you would have them do to you.

[32]"If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. [33]If you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. [34]If you lend to those from whom you hope to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to receive as much again. [35]But love your enemies, do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return. Your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High; for he is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked. [36]Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.

[37]"Do not judge, and you will not be judged; do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven; [38]give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap; for the measure you give will be the measure you get back."

Colossians 1:15-23

[15]He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation; [16]for in him all things in heaven and on earth were created, things visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or powers -- all things have been created through him and for him. [17]He himself is before all things, and in him all things hold together. [18]He is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that he might come to have first place in everything. [19]For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, [20]and through him God was pleased to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, by making peace through the blood of his cross.

[21]And you who were once estranged and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, [22]he has now reconciled in his fleshly body through death, so as to present you holy and blameless and irreproachable before him -- [23]provided that you continue securely established and steadfast in the faith, without shifting from the hope promised by the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven. I, Paul, became a servant of this gospel.