Proper 18 (23)

1Verse 1. My brothers, as you hold out your faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ, do not show favoritism. 2Verse 2. Suppose a man comes into your meeting wearing a gold ring and fine clothes, and a poor man in shabby clothes also comes in. 3Verse 3. If you lavish attention on the man in fine clothes and say, “Here is a seat of honor,” but say to the poor man, “You must stand” or “Sit at my feet,” 4Verse 4. have you not discriminated among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts? 5Verse 5. Listen, my beloved brothers: Has not God chosen the poor of this world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom He promised those who love Him? 6Verse 6. But you have dishonored the poor. Is it not the rich who oppress you and drag you into court? 7Verse 7. Are they not the ones who blaspheme the noble name by which you have been called? 8Verse 8. If you really fulfill the royal law stated in Scripture, “Love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing well. 9Verse 9. But if you show favoritism, you sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors. 10Verse 10. Whoever keeps the whole law but stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it. 14Verse 14. What good is it, my brothers, if someone claims to have faith, but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? 15Verse 15. Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. 16Verse 16. If one of you tells him, “Go in peace; stay warm and well fed,” but does not provide for his physical needs, what good is that? 17Verse 17. So too, faith by itself, if it does not result in action, is dead.

24Verse 24. Jesus left that place and went to the region of Tyre. Not wanting anyone to know He was there, He entered a house, but was unable to escape their notice. 25Verse 25. Instead, a woman whose little daughter had an unclean spirit soon heard about Jesus, and she came and fell at His feet. 26Verse 26. Now she was a Greek woman of Syrophoenician origin, and she kept asking Jesus to drive the demon out of her daughter. 27Verse 27. “First let the children have their fill,” He said. “For it is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to the dogs.” 28Verse 28. “Yes, Lord,” she replied, “even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.” 29Verse 29. Then Jesus told her, “Because of this answer, you may go. The demon has left your daughter.” 30Verse 30. And she went home and found her child lying on the bed, and the demon was gone. 31Verse 31. Then Jesus left the region of Tyre and went through Sidon to the Sea of Galilee and into the region of the Decapolis. 32Verse 32. Some people brought to Him a man who was deaf and hardly able to speak, and they begged Jesus to place His hand on him. 33Verse 33. So Jesus took him aside privately, away from the crowd, and put His fingers into the man’s ears. Then He spit and touched the man’s tongue. 34Verse 34. And looking up to heaven, He sighed deeply and said to him, “Ephphatha!” (which means, “Be opened!” ). 35Verse 35. Immediately the man’s ears were opened and his tongue was released, and he began to speak plainly. 36Verse 36. Jesus ordered them not to tell anyone. But the more He ordered them, the more widely they proclaimed it. 37Verse 37. The people were utterly astonished and said, “He has done all things well! He makes even the deaf hear and the mute speak!”