Seventh Sunday after the Epiphany

3Verse 3. Joseph said to his brothers, “I am Joseph! Is my father still alive?” But they were unable to answer him, because they were terrified in his presence. 4Verse 4. Then Joseph said to his brothers, “Please come near me.” And they did so. “I am Joseph, your brother,” he said, “the one you sold into Egypt! 5Verse 5. And now, do not be distressed or angry with yourselves that you sold me into this place, because it was to save lives that God sent me before you. 6Verse 6. For the famine has covered the land these two years, and there will be five more years without plowing or harvesting. 7Verse 7. God sent me before you to preserve you as a remnant on the earth and to save your lives by a great deliverance. 8Verse 8. Therefore it was not you who sent me here, but God, who has made me a father to Pharaoh — lord of all his household and ruler over all the land of Egypt. 9Verse 9. Now return quickly to my father and tell him, ‘This is what your son Joseph says: God has made me lord of all Egypt. Come down to me without delay. 10Verse 10. You shall settle in the land of Goshen and be near me— you and your children and grandchildren, your flocks and herds, and everything you own. 11Verse 11. And there I will provide for you, because there will be five more years of famine. Otherwise, you and your household and everything you own will come to destitution.’ 15Verse 15. Joseph kissed each of his brothers as he wept over them. And afterward his brothers talked with him.

35Verse 35. But someone will ask, “How are the dead raised? With what kind of body will they come?” 36Verse 36. You fool! What you sow does not come to life unless it dies. 37Verse 37. And what you sow is not the body that will be, but just a seed, perhaps of wheat or something else. 38Verse 38. But God gives it a body as He has designed, and to each kind of seed He gives its own body. 42Verse 42. So will it be with the resurrection of the dead: What is sown is perishable; it is raised imperishable. 43Verse 43. It is sown in dishonor; it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness; it is raised in power. 44Verse 44. It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. 45Verse 45. So it is written: “The first man Adam became a living being”; the last Adam a life-giving spirit. 46Verse 46. The spiritual, however, was not first, but the natural, and then the spiritual. 47Verse 47. The first man was of the dust of the earth, the second man from heaven. 48Verse 48. As was the earthly man, so also are those who are of the earth; and as is the heavenly man, so also are those who are of heaven. 49Verse 49. And just as we have borne the likeness of the earthly man, so also shall we bear the likeness of the heavenly man. 50Verse 50. Now I declare to you, brothers, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable.

27Verse 27. But to those of you who will listen, I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, 28Verse 28. bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. 29Verse 29. If someone strikes you on one cheek, turn to him the other also. And if someone takes your cloak, do not withhold your tunic as well. 30Verse 30. Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what is yours, do not demand it back. 31Verse 31. Do to others as you would have them do to you. 32Verse 32. If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them. 33Verse 33. If you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do the same. 34Verse 34. And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, expecting to be repaid in full. 35Verse 35. But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them, expecting nothing in return. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High; for He is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. 36Verse 36. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. 37Verse 37. Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. 38Verse 38. Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you.”