Thursday 21 September 2028

1I therefore, the prisoner in the Lord,beg you to walk worthily of the calling withwhich you were called,2with all lowliness and humility,with patience, bearing with one another in love,3being eager to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.4There is one body and one Spirit,even as you also were called in one hope of your calling,5one Lord, one faith, one baptism,6one God and Father of all,who is over all and through all and in us all.7But to each one of us,the grace was given according to the measure of the gift of Christ.

· · · verses 8–10 are not read11He gave some to be apostles;and some, prophets;and some, evangelists;and some, shepherds and teachers;12for the perfecting of the saints,to the work of serving,to the building up of the body of Christ,13until we all attain to the unity of the faithand of the knowledge of the Son of God,to a full grown man,to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ,

2The heavens declare the glory of God.The expanse shows his handiwork.3Day after day they pour out speech,and night after night they display knowledge.

4There is no speech nor languagewhere their voice is not heard.5Their voice has gone out through all the earth,their words to the end of the world.In them he has set a tent for the sun,

9As Jesus passed by from there,he saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax collection office.He said to him, “Follow me.”He got up and followed him.10As he sat in the house,behold, many tax collectors and sinners cameand sat down with Jesus and his disciples.11When the Pharisees saw it,they said to his disciples,“Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?”

12When Jesus heard it,he said to them, “Thosewho are healthy have no need for a physician,but those who are sick do.13But you go and learn what this means:‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice,’for I came not to call the righteous,but sinners to repentance.”