Peace of Our Savior Lutheran Church and Preschool - WELS

Luke 16:1-31

Luke 16

The Shrewd Manager

¹ Jesus also said to his disciples, “There was a rich man who had a manager who was accused of wasting his possessions. ² The rich man called him in and said to him, ‘What is this that I hear about you? Give an account of your management, because you can no longer be manager.’

³ “The manager said to himself, ‘What will I do, since my master is taking away the management position from me? I am not strong enough to dig. I am ashamed to beg. ⁴ I know what I will do, so that when I am removed from my position as manager, people will receive me into their houses.’

⁵ “He called each one of his master’s debtors to him. He asked the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’ ⁶ He said, ‘Six hundred gallons ^[1] of olive oil.’ He said to him, ‘Take your bill, sit down quickly, and write three hundred.’ ⁷ Then he said to another, ‘How much do you owe?’ And he said, ‘Six hundred bushels ^[2] of wheat.’ He said to him, ‘Take your bill and write four hundred and eighty.’

⁸ “The master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly. For the children ^[3] of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own generation ^[4] than the children of the light are. ⁹ I tell you, make friends for yourselves with unrighteous mammon, ^[5] so that when it runs out, they will welcome you into the eternal dwellings. ¹⁰ The person who is faithful with very little is also faithful with much. And the person who is unrighteous with very little is also unrighteous with much. ¹¹ So if you have not been faithful with unrighteous mammon, who will entrust you with what is really valuable? ¹² If you have not been faithful with what belongs to someone else, who will give you something to be your own? ¹³ No servant can serve two masters. Indeed, either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and mammon.”

¹⁴ The Pharisees, who loved money, also heard all these things and sneered at him. ¹⁵ He said to them, “You are the ones who justify yourselves in the sight of people, but God knows your hearts. In fact, what is highly regarded among people is an abomination in God’s sight. ¹⁶ The Law and the Prophets were until John. Since that time the good news of the kingdom of God is proclaimed, and everyone is trying to force his way into it. ^[6]

¹⁷ “It is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for even one part of a letter in the Law to fail. ¹⁸ Anyone who divorces his wife and marries another is committing adultery, and the man who marries a woman divorced from her husband is committing adultery.

The Rich Man and Poor Lazarus

¹⁹ “There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen, living in luxury every day. ²⁰ A beggar named Lazarus had been laid at his gate. Lazarus was covered with sores and ²¹ longed to be fed with what fell from the rich man’s table. Besides this, the dogs also came and licked his sores. ²² Eventually the beggar died, and the angels carried him to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried. ²³ In hell, ^[7] where he was in torment, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham far away and Lazarus at his side. ²⁴ He called out and said, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me! Send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in misery in this flame.’

²⁵ “But Abraham said, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, and Lazarus received bad things. But now he is comforted here, and you are in misery. ²⁶ Besides all this, a great chasm has been set in place between us and you, so that those who want to cross from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us.’

²⁷ “He said, ‘Then I beg you, father, send him to my father’s home, ²⁸ because I have five brothers—to warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.’

²⁹ “Abraham said, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets. Let them listen to them.’

³⁰ “‘No, father Abraham,’ he said, ‘but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.’

³¹ “Abraham replied to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.’”

Luke 15

The Lost Sheep

¹ All the tax collectors and sinners were coming to Jesus to hear him. ² But the Pharisees and the experts in the law were complaining, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.”

³ He told them this parable: ⁴ “Which one of you, if you had one hundred sheep and lost one of them, would not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness and go after the one that was lost until he finds it? ⁵ And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders ⁶ and goes home. Then he calls together his friends and his neighbors, telling them, ‘Rejoice with me, because I have found my lost sheep!’ ⁷ I tell you, in the same way there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous people who do not need to repent.

The Lost Coin

⁸ “Or what woman who has ten silver coins, ^[1] if she loses one coin, would not light a lamp, sweep the house, and search carefully until she finds it? ⁹ And when she finds it, she calls together her friends and neighbors and says, ‘Rejoice with me, because I have found the lost coin.’ ¹⁰ In the same way, I tell you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”

The Lost Son

¹¹ Jesus said, “A certain man had two sons. ¹² The younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me my share of the estate.’ So he divided his property between them. ¹³ Not many days later, the younger son gathered together all that he had and traveled to a distant country. There he wasted his wealth with reckless living. ¹⁴ After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that country, and he began to be in need. ¹⁵ He went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, who sent him into his fields to feed pigs. ¹⁶ He would have liked to fill his stomach with the carob pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything.

¹⁷ “When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have more than enough bread, and I am dying from hunger! ¹⁸ I will get up, go to my father, and tell him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight. ¹⁹ I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Make me like one of your hired servants.”’

²⁰ “He got up and went to his father. While he was still far away, his father saw him and was filled with compassion. He ran, hugged his son, and kissed him. ²¹ The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’

²² “But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick, bring out the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. ²³ Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let us eat and celebrate, ²⁴ because this son of mine was dead and is alive again. He was lost and is found.’ Then they began to celebrate.

²⁵ “His older son was in the field. As he approached the house, he heard music and dancing. ²⁶ He called one of the servants and asked what was going on. ²⁷ The servant told him, ‘Your brother is here! Your father killed the fattened calf, because he has received him back safe and sound.’ ²⁸ The older brother was angry and refused to go in. His father came out and began to plead with him.

²⁹ “He answered his father, ‘Look, these many years I’ve been serving you, and I never disobeyed your command, but you never gave me even a young goat so that I could celebrate with my friends. ³⁰ But when this son of yours arrived after wasting your property with prostitutes, you killed the fattened calf for him!’

³¹ “The father said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that I have is yours. ³² But it was fitting to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again. He was lost and is found.’”

Luke 14:25-35

Luke 14

The Cost

²⁵ Large crowds were traveling with Jesus. He turned and said to them, ²⁶ “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. ²⁷ Whoever does not carry his own cross and follow me cannot be my disciple. ²⁸ For which of you, if he wants to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost to see if he has enough to complete it? ²⁹ Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, everyone who sees it will begin to ridicule him, ³⁰ saying, ‘This fellow began to build, but was not able to finish.’ ³¹ Or what king, as he goes out to confront another king in war, will not first sit down and consider if he is able with ten thousand to oppose the one who comes against him with twenty thousand? ³² And if he is not able, he sends out a delegation and asks for terms of peace while his opponent is still far away. ³³ So then, any one of you who does not say farewell to all his own possessions cannot be my disciple. ³⁴ Salt is good, but if the salt has lost its flavor, how will it become salty again? ³⁵ It is not fit for the soil or for the manure pile. It is thrown away. The one who has ears to hear, let him hear.”

Luke 14:1-24

Luke 14

Jesus in a Pharisee’s Home

¹ One Sabbath day, when Jesus went into the house of a leader of the Pharisees to eat bread, they were watching him closely.

² Right in front of him was a man who was suffering from swelling of his body. ^{[1] 3} Jesus addressed the legal experts and Pharisees, saying, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath or not?”

⁴ But they were silent. So he took hold of the man, healed him, and let him go. ⁵ He said to them, “Which of you, if your son ^[2] or an ox would fall into a well on a Sabbath day, would not immediately pull him out?”

⁶ And they could not reply to these things.

⁷ When he noticed how they were selecting the places of honor, he told the invited guests a parable. ⁸ “When you are invited by someone to a wedding banquet, do not recline in the place of honor, or perhaps someone more distinguished than you may have been invited by him. ⁹ The one who invited both of you may come and tell you, ‘Give this man your place.’ Then you will begin, with shame, to take the lowest place.

¹⁰ “But when you are invited, go and recline in the lowest place, so that when the one who invited you comes, he will tell you, ‘Friend, move up to a higher place.’ Then you will have honor in the presence of all who are reclining at the table with you.

¹¹ “Yes, everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.”

¹² He also said to the one who had invited him, “When you make a dinner or a supper, do not invite your friends, or your brothers, or your relatives, or rich neighbors, so that perhaps they may also return the favor and pay you back.

¹³ “But when you make a feast, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, ¹⁴ and you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you. Certainly, you will be repaid in the resurrection of the righteous.”

The Parable of the Great Banquet

¹⁵ When one of those at the table with him heard these things, he said to Jesus, “Blessed is the one who will feast in the kingdom of God!”

¹⁶ Jesus said to him, “A certain man made a great banquet and invited many people. ¹⁷ When it was time for the banquet, he sent out his servant to tell those who were invited, ‘Come, because everything is now ready.’ ¹⁸ But they all alike began to make excuses.

“The first one told him, ‘I bought a field, and I need to go and see it. I ask you to excuse me.’

¹⁹ “Another one said, ‘I bought five yoke of oxen, and I am going to try them out. I ask you to excuse me.’

²⁰ “Still another said, ‘I just got married, and so I am unable to attend.’

²¹ “The servant arrived and reported these things to his master. Then the master of the house was angry and said to his servant, ‘Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the town, and bring in here the poor, the crippled, the blind, and the lame.’

²² “The servant said, ‘Master, what you commanded has been done, and there is still room.’

²³ “Then the master said to the servant, ‘Go out into the highways and hedges, and urge them to come in, so that my house may be filled. ²⁴ Yes, I tell you that none of those men who were invited will taste my banquet.’”

Luke 13:18-35

Luke 13

Mustard Seed and Yeast

¹⁸ Then Jesus asked, “What is the kingdom of God like, and to what will I compare it? ¹⁹ It is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his garden. It grew and became a large tree, and the birds of the air nested in its branches.”

²⁰ Again he said, “To what will I compare the kingdom of God? ²¹ It is like yeast, which a woman took and mixed into a bushel ^[1] of flour until it was all leavened.”

The Narrow Door

²² He went on his way from one town and village to another, teaching, and making his way to Jerusalem. ²³ Someone said to him, “Lord, are only a few going to be saved?”

He said to them, ²⁴ “Strive to enter through the narrow door, because many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able. ²⁵ Once the master of the house gets up and shuts the door, you will begin to stand outside and knock on the door, saying, ‘Lord, open for us!’ He will tell you in reply, ‘I don’t know you or where you come from.’ ²⁶ Then you will begin to say, ‘We ate and drank in your presence, and you taught in our streets.’ ²⁷ And he will say, ‘I don’t know where you come from. Depart from me, all you evildoers.’ ²⁸ There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth when you see Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, but you yourselves thrown outside. ²⁹ People will come from east and west, from north and south, and will recline at the table in the kingdom of God. ³⁰ And note this: Some are last who will be first, and some are first who will be last.”

Jesus Warns Jerusalem

³¹ In that very hour, some Pharisees came to him and said, “Leave, and go away from here, because Herod wants to kill you.”

³² He said to them, “Go tell that fox, ‘Look, I am going to drive out demons and heal people today and tomorrow, and on the third day I will reach my goal. ³³ Nevertheless, I must go on my way today and tomorrow and the next day, because it cannot be that a prophet would be killed outside Jerusalem!’

³⁴ “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those sent to her! How often I have wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing! ³⁵ Look, your house is left to you desolate. I tell you, you will not see me until the time comes when you will say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!’” ^[2]