<p class="bodytext">Jesus said to them, &#8220;Have you never read in the scriptures:p> <p class="otpoetry">&#8216;<i><b>The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstoneb>.i><n id="1" />p> <p class="otpoetry"><b><i>This is from the Lord, and it is marvelous in our eyesi>b>&#8217;?<n id="2" />p>

Jesus<n id="1" /> said to him, &#8220;&#8216;<b><i>Lovei>b><n id="2" /> <b><i>the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mindi>b>.&#8217;<n id="3" />

<t /><p class="bodytext">&#8220;Who then is the faithful and wise slave,<n id="1" /> whom the master has put in charge of his household, to give the other slaves<n id="2" /> their food at the proper time?

The<n id="1" /> one who had received the five talents came and brought five more, saying, &#8216;Sir,<n id="2" /> you entrusted me with five talents. See, I have gained five more.&#8217;

Then the one who had received the one talent came and said, &#8216;Sir, I knew that you were a hard man, harvesting where you did not sow, and gathering where you did not scatter seed,

But his master answered,<n id="1" /> &#8216;Evil and lazy slave! So you knew that I harvest where I didn&#8217;t sow and gather where I didn&#8217;t scatter?

Then they too will answer,<n id="1" /> &#8216;Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not give you whatever you needed?&#8217;

But<n id="1" /> Jesus<n id="2" /> did not permit him to do so. Instead, he said to him, &#8220;Go to your home and to your people and tell them what the Lord has done for you,<n id="3" /> that he had mercy on you.&#8221;

<b><i>Lovei>b><n id="1" /> <b><i>the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strengthi>b>.&#8217;<n id="2" />

All<n id="1" /> who heard these things<n id="2" /> kept them in their hearts,<n id="3" /> saying, &#8220;What then will this child be?&#8221;<n id="4" /> For the Lord&#8217;s hand<n id="5" /> was indeed with him.p>

<p class="bodytext">As it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet,p> <p class="otpoetry"><b><i>&#8220;The voicei>b><n id="1" /> <b><i>of one shouting in the wilderness:i>b><n id="2" />p> <p class="otpoetry"><b><i>&#8216;Prepare the way for the Lord,i>b>p> <p class="otpoetry"><b><i>makei>b><n id="3" /> <i><b>his paths straightb>.i>p>

and sent them to Jesus<n id="1" /> to ask,<n id="2" /> &#8220;Are you the one who is to come,<n id="3" /> or should we look for another?&#8221;

<t /><p class="bodytext">After this<n id="1" /> the Lord appointed seventy-two<n id="2" /> others and sent them on ahead of him two by two into every town<n id="3" /> and place where he himself was about to go.

He<n id="1" /> said to them, &#8220;The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Therefore ask the Lord of the harvest<n id="2" /> to send out<n id="3" /> workers into his harvest.

But Martha was distracted<n id="1" /> with all the preparations she had to make,<n id="2" /> so<n id="3" /> she came up to him and said, &#8220;Lord, don&#8217;t you care<n id="4" /> that my sister has left me to do all the work<n id="5" /> alone? Tell<n id="6" /> her to help me.&#8221;

<t /><p class="bodytext">Now<n id="1" /> Jesus<n id="2" /> was praying in a certain place. When<n id="3" /> he stopped, one of his disciples said to him, &#8220;Lord, teach us to pray, just as John<n id="4" /> taught<n id="5" /> his disciples.&#8221;

But the Lord said to him, &#8220;Now you Pharisees clean<n id="1" /> the outside of the cup and the plate, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness.<n id="2" />

Blessed are those slaves<n id="1" /> whom their master finds alert<n id="2" /> when he returns! I tell you the truth,<n id="3" /> he will dress himself to serve,<n id="4" /> have them take their place at the table,<n id="5" /> and will come<n id="6" /> and wait on them!<n id="7" />

But if<n id="1" /> that<n id="2" /> slave should say to himself,<n id="3" /> &#8216;My master is delayed<n id="4" /> in returning,&#8217; and he begins to beat<n id="5" /> the other<n id="6" /> slaves, both men and women,<n id="7" /> and to eat, drink, and get drunk,

then the master of that slave will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he does not foresee, and will cut him in two,<n id="1" /> and assign him a place with the unfaithful.<n id="2" />