Christ Church of Berkeley

Pr 13:7 One person pretends to be rich, yet has nothing;
another pretends to be poor, yet has great wealth.

* * *

Pr 24:30 I went past the field of a sluggard,
past the vineyard of someone who has no sense;
Pr 24:31 thorns had come up everywhere,
the ground was covered with weeds,
and the stone wall was in ruins.
Pr 24:32 I applied my heart to what I observed
and learned a lesson from what I saw:
Pr 24:33 A little sleep, a little slumber,
a little folding of the hands to rest—
Pr 24:34 and poverty will come on you like a thief
and scarcity like an armed man.

* * *

Pr 28:19 Those who work their land will have abundant food,
but those who chase fantasies will have their fill of poverty.
Pr 28:20 A faithful person will be richly blessed,
but one eager to get rich will not go unpunished.
Pr 28:21 To show partiality is not good—
yet a person will do wrong for a piece of bread.
Pr 28:22 The stingy are eager to get rich
and are unaware that poverty awaits them.

* * *

Pr 19:17 Those who are kind to the poor lend to the Lord,
and he will reward them for what they have done.

Pr 30:7 “Two things I ask of you, Lord;
do not refuse me before I die:
8 Keep falsehood and lies far from me;
give me neither poverty nor riches,
but give me only my daily bread.
9 Otherwise, I may have too much and disown you
and say, ‘Who is the Lord?’
Or I may become poor and steal,
and so dishonor the name of my God.

* * *

Pr 31:8 Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves,
for the rights of all who are destitute.
9 Speak up and judge fairly;
defend the rights of the poor and needy.

* * *

Pr 11:10 When the righteous prosper, the city rejoices;
when the wicked perish, there are shouts of joy.
11 Through the blessing of the upright a city is exalted,
but by the mouth of the wicked it is destroyed.

3 By wisdom a house is built,
and through understanding it is established;

4 through knowledge its rooms are filled
with rare and beautiful treasures.

5 A wise man has great power,
and a man of knowledge increases strength;

6 for waging war you need guidance,
and for victory many advisers.

7 Wisdom is too high for a fool;
in the assembly at the gate he has nothing to say.

8 He who plots evil
will be known as a schemer.

9 The schemes of folly are sin,
and men detest a mocker.

10 If you falter in times of trouble,
how small is your strength!

11 Rescue those being led away to death;
hold back those staggering toward slaughter.

12 If you say, “But we knew nothing about this,“
does not he who weighs the heart perceive it?
Does not he who guards your life know it?
Will he not repay each person according to what he has done?

13 Eat honey, my son, for it is good;
honey from the comb is sweet to your taste.

14 Know also that wisdom is sweet to your soul;
if you find it, there is a future hope for you,
and your hope will not be cut off.

Pr 3:27 Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due,
when it is in your power to act.
Pr 3:28 Do not say to your neighbor,
“Come back tomorrow and I’ll give it to you”—
when you already have it with you.
* * *
Pr 11:1 The Lord detests dishonest scales,
but accurate weights find favor with him.
Pr 11:2 When pride comes, then comes disgrace,
but with humility comes wisdom.
Pr 11:3 The integrity of the upright guides them,
but the unfaithful are destroyed by their duplicity.
* * *
Pr 21:4 Haughty eyes and a proud heart—
the unplowed field of the wicked—produce sin.
Pr 21:13 Those who shut their ears to the cry of the poor
will also cry out and not be answered.
* * *
Pr 23:10 Do not move an ancient boundary stone
or encroach on the fields of the fatherless,
Pr 23:11 for their Defender is strong;
he will take up their case against you.

1 The proverbs of Solomon son of David, king of Israel:

  2 for gaining wisdom and instruction;
    for understanding words of insight;

  3 for receiving instruction in prudent behavior,
    doing what is right and just and fair;

  4 for giving prudence to those who are simple,
    knowledge and discretion to the young—

  5 let the wise listen and add to their learning,
    and let the discerning get guidance—

  6 for understanding proverbs and parables,
    the sayings and riddles of the wise.

  7 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge,
    but fools despise wisdom and instruction.

9 To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everyone else, Jesus told this parable: 10 “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.‘

  13 “But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.‘

  14 “I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.“

14 The Pharisees, who loved money, heard all this and were sneering at Jesus. 15 He said to them, “You are the ones who justify yourselves in the eyes of others, but God knows your hearts. What people value highly is detestable in God’s sight.

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19 “There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day. 20 At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores 21 and longing to eat what fell from the rich man’s table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores.

  22 “The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried. 23 In Hades, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side. 24 So he called to him, ‘Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.‘

  25 “But Abraham replied, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony. 26 And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been set in place, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us.‘

  27 “He answered, ‘Then I beg you, father, send Lazarus to my family, 28 for I have five brothers. Let him warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.‘

  29 “Abraham replied, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them listen to them.‘

  30 “ ‘No, father Abraham,‘ he said, ‘but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.‘

  31 “He said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.‘ “

1 Jesus told his disciples: “There was a rich man whose manager was accused of wasting his possessions. 2 So he called him in and asked him, ‘What is this I hear about you? Give an account of your management, because you cannot be manager any longer.‘

  3 “The manager said to himself, ‘What shall I do now? My master is taking away my job. I’m not strong enough to dig, and I’m ashamed to beg— 4 I know what I’ll do so that, when I lose my job here, people will welcome me into their houses.‘

  5 “So he called in each one of his master’s debtors. He asked the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?‘

  6 “ ‘Nine hundred gallons of olive oil,‘ he replied.
    “The manager told him, ‘Take your bill, sit down quickly, and make it four hundred and fifty.‘

  7 “Then he asked the second, ‘And how much do you owe?‘
    “ ‘A thousand bushels of wheat,‘ he replied.
    “He told him, ‘Take your bill and make it eight hundred.‘

  8 “The master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly. For the people of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own kind than are the people of the light. 9 I tell you, use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings.

  10 “Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much. 11 So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches? 12 And if you have not been trustworthy with someone else’s property, who will give you property of your own?

  13 “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.“

1 One Sabbath, when Jesus went to eat in the house of a prominent Pharisee, he was being carefully watched. 2 There in front of him was a man suffering from abnormal swelling of his body. 3 Jesus asked the Pharisees and experts in the law, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath or not?“ 4 But they remained silent. So taking hold of the man, he healed him and sent him on his way.

  5 Then he asked them, “If one of you has a child or an ox that falls into a well on the Sabbath day, will you not immediately pull it out?“ 6 And they had nothing to say.

  7 When he noticed how the guests picked the places of honor at the table, he told them this parable: 8 “When someone invites you to a wedding feast, do not take the place of honor, for a person more distinguished than you may have been invited. 9 If so, the host who invited both of you will come and say to you, ‘Give this person your seat.‘ Then, humiliated, you will have to take the least important place. 10 But when you are invited, take the lowest place, so that when your host comes, he will say to you, ‘Friend, move up to a better place.‘ Then you will be honored in the presence of all the other guests. 11 For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.“

  12 Then Jesus said to his host, “When you give a luncheon or dinner, do not invite your friends, your brothers or sisters, your relatives, or your rich neighbors; if you do, they may invite you back and so you will be repaid. 13 But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, 14 and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.“

15 When one of those at the table with him heard this, he said to Jesus, “Blessed are those who will eat at the feast in the kingdom of God.“

  16 Jesus replied: “A certain man was preparing a great banquet and invited many guests. 17 At the time of the banquet he sent his servant to tell those who had been invited, ‘Come, for everything is now ready.‘

  18 “But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said, ‘I have just bought a field, and I must go and see it. Please excuse me.‘

  19 “Another said, ‘I have just bought five yoke of oxen, and I’m on my way to try them out. Please excuse me.‘

  20 “Still another said, ‘I just got married, so I can’t come.‘

  21 “The servant came back and reported this to his master. Then the owner of the house became angry and ordered his servant, ‘Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the town and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame.‘

  22 “ ‘Sir,‘ the servant said, ‘what you ordered has been done, but there is still room.‘

  23 “Then the master told his servant, ‘Go out to the roads and country lanes and compel them to come in, so that my house will be full. 24 I tell you, not one of those who were invited will get a taste of my banquet.‘ “

1 Now there were some present at that time who told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices. 2 Jesus answered, “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans because they suffered this way? 3 I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish. 4 Or those eighteen who died when the tower in Siloam fell on them—do you think they were more guilty than all the others living in Jerusalem? 5 I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish.“

  6 Then he told this parable: “A man had a fig tree growing in his vineyard, and he went to look for fruit on it but did not find any. 7 So he said to the man who took care of the vineyard, ‘For three years now I’ve been coming to look for fruit on this fig tree and haven’t found any. Cut it down! Why should it use up the soil?‘

  8 “ ‘Sir,‘ the man replied, ‘leave it alone for one more year, and I’ll dig around it and fertilize it. 9 If it bears fruit next year, fine! If not, then cut it down.‘ “