Lessons for October 23, 2005 – Twenty third Sunday after Pentecost The first lesson Leviticus 19:1-2, 15-18 The Lord also said to Moses, 2"Say this to the entire community of Israel: You must be holy because I, the Lord your God, am holy. "Always judge your neighbors fairly, neither favoring the poor nor showing deference to the rich. 16"Do not spread slanderous gossip among your people. "Do not try to get ahead at the cost of your neighbor's life, for I am the Lord. 17"Do not nurse hatred in your heart for any of your relatives. "Confront your neighbors directly so you will not be held guilty for their crimes. 18"Never seek revenge or bear a grudge against anyone, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord. (NLT) Psalm 1 L. Oh, the joys of those who do not follow the advice of the wicked, C. or stand around with sinners, or join in with scoffers. L. But they delight in doing everything the Lord wants; day and night they think about his law. C. They are like trees planted along the riverbank, bearing fruit each season without fail. L. Their leaves never wither, and in all they do, they prosper. C. But this is not true of the wicked. They are like worthless chaff, scattered by the wind. L. They will be condemned at the time of judgment. Sinners will have no place among the godly. C. For the Lord watches over the path of the godly, but the path of the wicked leads to destruction. (NLT) The second lesson 1 Thessalonians. 2:1-8 You yourselves know, dear brothers and sisters, that our visit to you was not a failure. 2You know how badly we had been treated at Philippi just before we came to you and how much we suffered there. Yet our God gave us the courage to declare his Good News to you boldly, even though we were surrounded by many who opposed us. 3So you can see that we were not preaching with any deceit or impure purposes or trickery. 4For we speak as messengers who have been approved by God to be entrusted with the Good News. Our purpose is to please God, not people. He is the one who examines the motives of our hearts. 5Never once did we try to win you with flattery, as you very well know. And God is our witness that we were not just pretending to be your friends so you would give us money! 6As for praise, we have never asked for it from you or anyone else. 7As apostles of Christ we certainly had a right to make some demands of you, but we were as gentle among you as a mother feeding and caring for her own children. 8We loved you so much that we gave you not only God's Good News but our own lives, too. (NLT) The Gospel Lesson Matthew 22:34-46 34 Hearing that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, the Pharisees got together. 35 One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question: 36 "Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?" 37 Jesus replied: "'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' 40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments." 41 While the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them, 42 "What do you think about the Christ? Whose son is he?" "The son of David," they replied. 43 He said to them, "How is it then that David, speaking by the Spirit, calls him 'Lord'? For he says, 44 "'The Lord said to my Lord: "Sit at my right hand until I put your enemies under your feet." ' 45 If then David calls him 'Lord,' how can he be his son?" 46 No one could say a word in reply, and from that day on no one dared to ask him any more questions. (NIV)