Tuesday, October 28, 2025 | Luke 6:12-16

One of those at table with Jesus said to him,"Blessed is the one who will dine in the Kingdom of God."He replied to him,"A man gave a great dinner to which he invited many.When the time for the dinner came,he dispatched his servant to say to those invited,'Come, everything is now ready.'But one by one, they all began to excuse themselves.The first said to him,'I have purchased a field and must go to examine it;I ask you, consider me excused.'And another said, 'I have purchased five yoke of oxenand am on my way to evaluate them;I ask you, consider me excused.'And another said, 'I have just married a woman,and therefore I cannot come.'The servant went and reported this to his master.Then the master of the house in a rage commanded his servant,'Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the townand bring in here the poor and the crippled, the blind and the lame.'The servant reported, 'Sir, your orders have been carried outand still there is room.'The master then ordered the servant,'Go out to the highways and hedgerowsand make people come in that my home may be filled.For, I tell you, none of those men who were invited will taste my dinner.'"

On a sabbath Jesus went to dineat the home of one of the leading Pharisees.He said to the host who invited him,"When you hold a lunch or a dinner,do not invite your friends or your brothers or sistersor your relatives or your wealthy neighbors,in case they may invite you back and you have repayment.Rather, when you hold a banquet,invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind;blessed indeed will you be because of their inability to repay you.For you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous."

Jesus said to the crowds:“Everything that the Father gives me will come to me,and I will not reject anyone who comes to me,because I came down from heaven not to do my own willbut the will of the one who sent me.And this is the will of the one who sent me,that I should not lose anything of what he gave me,but that I should raise it on the last day.For this is the will of my Father,that everyone who sees the Son and believes in himmay have eternal life,and I shall raise him on the last day.”

When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain,and after he had sat down, his disciples came to him.He began to teach them, saying:"Blessed are the poor in spirit,for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven.Blessed are they who mourn,for they will be comforted.Blessed are the meek,for they will inherit the land.Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness,for they will be satisfied.Blessed are the merciful,for they will be shown mercy.Blessed are the clean of heart,for they will see God.Blessed are the peacemakers,for they will be called children of God.Blessed are they who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness,for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven.Blessed are you when they insult you and persecute youand utter every kind of evil against you falsely because of me.Rejoice and be glad,for your reward will be great in heaven."

On a sabbath Jesus went to dineat the home of one of the leading Pharisees,and the people there were observing him carefully.In front of him there was a man suffering from dropsy.Jesus spoke to the scholars of the law and Pharisees in reply, asking,"Is it lawful to cure on the sabbath or not?"But they kept silent; so he took the man and,after he had healed him, dismissed him.Then he said to them"Who among you, if your son or ox falls into a cistern,would not immediately pull him out on the sabbath day?"But they were unable to answer his question.

Some Pharisees came to Jesus and said,"Go away, leave this area because Herod wants to kill you."He replied, "Go and tell that fox,'Behold, I cast out demons and I perform healings today and tomorrow,and on the third day I accomplish my purpose.Yet I must continue on my way today, tomorrow, and the following day,for it is impossible that a prophet should dieoutside of Jerusalem.'"Jerusalem, Jerusalem,you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you,how many times I yearned to gather your children togetheras a hen gathers her brood under her wings,but you were unwilling!Behold, your house will be abandoned.But I tell you, you will not see me until the time comes when you say,Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord."

Jesus passed through towns and villages,teaching as he went and making his way to Jerusalem.Someone asked him,“Lord, will only a few people be saved?”He answered them, “Strive to enter through the narrow gate,for many, I tell you, will attempt to enterbut will not be strong enough.After the master of the house has arisen and locked the door,then will you stand outside knocking and saying,‘Lord, open the door for us.’He will say to you in reply,‘I do not know where you are from.’And you will say,‘We ate and drank in your company and you taught in our streets.’Then he will say to you,‘I do not know where you are from.Depart from me, all you evildoers!’And there will be wailing and grinding of teethwhen you see Abraham, Isaac, and Jacoband all the prophets in the Kingdom of Godand you yourselves cast out.And people will come from the east and the westand from the north and the southand will recline at table in the Kingdom of God.For behold, some are last who will be first,and some are first who will be last.”

Jesus went up to the mountain to pray,and he spent the night in prayer to God.When day came, he called his disciples to himself,and from them he chose Twelve, whom he also named Apostles:Simon, whom he named Peter, and his brother Andrew,James, John, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew,Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus,Simon who was called a Zealot,and Judas the son of James,and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor.

Jesus was teaching in a synagogue on the sabbath.And a woman was there who for eighteen yearshad been crippled by a spirit;she was bent over, completely incapable of standing erect.When Jesus saw her, he called to her and said,"Woman, you are set free of your infirmity."He laid his hands on her,and she at once stood up straight and glorified God.But the leader of the synagogue,indignant that Jesus had cured on the sabbath,said to the crowd in reply,"There are six days when work should be done.Come on those days to be cured, not on the sabbath day."The Lord said to him in reply, "Hypocrites!Does not each one of you on the sabbathuntie his ox or his ass from the mangerand lead it out for watering?This daughter of Abraham,whom Satan has bound for eighteen years now,ought she not to have been set free on the sabbath dayfrom this bondage?"When he said this, all his adversaries were humiliated;and the whole crowd rejoiced at all the splendid deeds done by him.

Jesus addressed this parableto those who were convinced of their own righteousnessand despised everyone else."Two people went up to the temple area to pray;one was a Pharisee and the other was a tax collector.The Pharisee took up his position and spoke this prayer to himself,'O God, I thank you that I am not like the rest of humanity --greedy, dishonest, adulterous -- or even like this tax collector.I fast twice a week, and I pay tithes on my whole income.'But the tax collector stood off at a distanceand would not even raise his eyes to heavenbut beat his breast and prayed,'O God, be merciful to me a sinner.'I tell you, the latter went home justified, not the former;for whoever exalts himself will be humbled,and the one who humbles himself will be exalted."