Nothing Stays Hidden
1Meanwhile the crowd had gathered in their tens of thousands, so that they were trampling one another, and he began to speak, first of all to his disciples: “Be on guard against the yeast of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. 2There is nothing veiled that will not be unveiled, nothing hidden that will not be known. 3So whatever you have said in the dark will be heard in daylight, and what you have whispered in the inner rooms will be shouted from the rooftops. 4I tell you, my friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that can do nothing more. 5I will show you whom to fear: fear the one who, after killing, has authority to throw into Gehenna. Yes, I tell you, fear him. 6Are not five sparrows sold for two assarions? And not one of them is overlooked by God. 7Why, even the hairs of your head have all been counted. Do not be afraid; you are worth more than a great many sparrows. 8I tell you, everyone who acknowledges me before others, the Son of Man will acknowledge before the angels of God; 9but whoever disowns me before others will be disowned before the angels of God. 10And everyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven; but for the one who slanders the Holy Spirit there will be no forgiveness. 11When they haul you before the synagogues and the rulers and the authorities, do not worry about how you will defend yourselves or what you will say, 12for the Holy Spirit will teach you at that very hour what must be said.”
The Rich Man and His Barns
13Someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.” 14He answered him, “My friend, who appointed me judge or arbitrator over you?” 15Then he said to them, “Look out and guard yourselves against greed of every kind, because a person’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.” 16And he told them a parable: “The land of a certain rich man produced a fine harvest, 17and he reasoned to himself, ‘What shall I do? I have nowhere to store my crops.’ 18Then he said, ‘Here is what I will do: I will pull down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. 19And I will say to myself: you have plenty of good things laid up for many years; take it easy, eat, drink, enjoy yourself.’ 20But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life is being demanded back from you. And all you have made ready — whose will it be?’ 21That is how it goes for the one who piles up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.”
Ravens, Lilies, and Anxiety
22He said to his disciples, “That is why I tell you: do not fret about your life, what you will eat, or about your body, what you will wear. 23For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing. 24Think about the ravens: they do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn, and God feeds them. How much more valuable you are than the birds! 25And which of you by fretting can add a single cubit to his span of life? 26If you cannot manage even the smallest thing, why fret about the rest? 27Think about the lilies, how they grow: they neither labor nor spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his glory was dressed like one of them. 28If that is how God clothes the grass, which is in the field today and thrown into the oven tomorrow, how much more will he clothe you — you of little faith! 29So do not go chasing after what you will eat and what you will drink, and do not be unsettled. 30All the nations of the world run after such things; your Father knows that you need them. 31Instead, seek his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well. 32Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has chosen gladly to give you the kingdom. 33Sell what you own and give it away as alms. Make yourselves purses that do not wear out, an inexhaustible treasure in the heavens, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. 34For where your treasure is, there your heart will be too.
Servants Who Stay Awake
35Keep your belts fastened and your lamps burning, 36and be like people waiting for their master to come home from the wedding feast, so that when he arrives and knocks they can open to him at once. 37Blessed are those servants whom the master finds awake when he comes. Truly I tell you, he will fasten his own belt, seat them at the table, and come and wait on them. 38Whether he comes in the second watch or the third and finds them so, blessed are they. 39Understand this: if the owner of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have let his house be broken into. 40You too must be ready, because the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.” 41Peter said, “Lord, are you telling this parable to us, or to everyone?” 42The Lord answered, “Who, then, is the trustworthy and shrewd manager whom his master will put in charge of the household staff, to hand out their ration of grain at the right time? 43Blessed is that servant whom his master finds at work when he comes. 44Truly I tell you, he will put him in charge of everything he owns. 45But if that servant says in his heart, ‘My master is taking his time,’ and starts beating the servant boys and girls, and eating and drinking and getting drunk, 46the master of that servant will arrive on a day he is not expecting and at an hour he does not know, and will cut him in two and assign him a place among the unfaithful. 47The servant who knew his master’s will and did not get ready or act on it will be beaten with many blows. 48But the one who did not know, and did what deserved a beating, will be beaten with few. From everyone who has been given much, much will be required; and from the one entrusted with much, still more will be demanded.
Fire, Not Peace
49I came to throw fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already blazing! 50I have a baptism to undergo, and what pressure I am under until it is finished! 51Do you suppose I came to bring peace to the earth? No, I tell you, but division. 52From now on there will be five in one house divided, three against two and two against three. 53They will be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against the mother-in-law.”
Reading the Present Moment
54He said to the crowds as well: “When you see a cloud rising in the west you say at once, ‘Rain is coming,’ and so it does. 55And when the south wind blows you say, ‘It will be scorching,’ and it is. 56You hypocrites! You know how to read the face of the earth and the sky. How is it that you do not know how to read the present moment? 57And why do you not judge for yourselves what is right? 58As you are going with your accuser before a magistrate, do your best to settle with him on the way, or he may drag you to the judge, and the judge hand you over to the bailiff, and the bailiff throw you into prison. 59I tell you, you will not get out of there until you have paid the very last lepton.”
