Lessons for October 15, 2006 – Nineteenth Sunday after Pentecost

The first Lesson

Amos 5:6-7, 10-15
 
    Come back to the Lord and live! If you don't, he will roar through Israel like a fire, devouring you completely. Your gods in Bethel certainly won't be able to quench the flames! 7 You wicked people! You twist justice, making it a bitter pill for the poor and oppressed. Righteousness and fair play are meaningless fictions to you. 10 How you hate honest judges! How you despise people who tell the truth! 11 You trample the poor and steal what little they have through taxes and unfair rent. Therefore, you will never live in the beautiful stone houses you are building. You will never drink wine from the lush vineyards you are planting. 12 For I know the vast number of your sins and rebellions. You oppress good people by taking bribes and deprive the poor of justice in the courts. 13 So those who are wise will keep quiet, for it is an evil time. 14 Do what is good and run from evil—that you may live! Then the Lord God Almighty will truly be your helper, just as you have claimed he is. 15 Hate evil and love what is good; remodel your courts into true halls of justice. Perhaps even yet the Lord God Almighty will have mercy on his people who remain.  (NLT)

Psalm 90:12-17
 
L.  Teach us to make the most of our time, so that we may grow in wisdom.
C.  O Lord, come back to us! How long will you delay?
L.  Take pity on your servants! 
C.  Satisfy us in the morning with your unfailing love, so we may sing for joy to the end of our lives.
L.  Give us gladness in proportion to our former misery! Replace the evil years with good. 
C.  Let us see your miracles again; let our children see your glory at work. 
L.  And may the Lord our God show us his approval and make our efforts successful.
C.  Yes, make our efforts successful!
 
The second lesson

Hebrews 4:12-16
 
    For the word of God is full of living power. It is sharper than the sharpest knife, cutting deep into our innermost thoughts and desires. It exposes us for what we really are. 13 Nothing in all creation can hide from him. Everything is naked and exposed before his eyes. This is the God to whom we must explain all that we have done. 14 That is why we have a great High Priest who has gone to heaven, Jesus the Son of God. Let us cling to him and never stop trusting him. 15 This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same temptations we do, yet he did not sin. 16 So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it.
 
The Gospel Lesson

Mark 10:17-31
 
    As he was starting out on a trip, a man came running up to Jesus, knelt down, and asked, "Good Teacher, what should I do to get eternal life?" 18 "Why do you call me good?" Jesus asked. "Only God is truly good. 19 But as for your question, you know the commandments: 'Do not murder. Do not commit adultery. Do not steal. Do not testify falsely. Do not cheat. Honor your father and mother.' " 20 "Teacher," the man replied, "I've obeyed all these commandments since I was a child." 21 Jesus felt genuine love for this man as he looked at him. "You lack only one thing," he told him. "Go and sell all you have and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me." 22 At this, the man's face fell, and he went sadly away because he had many possessions. 23 Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, "How hard it is for rich people to get into the Kingdom of God!" 24 This amazed them. But Jesus said again, "Dear children, it is very hard to get into the Kingdom of God. 25 It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the Kingdom of God!" 
26 The disciples were astounded. "Then who in the world can be saved?" they asked. 
27 Jesus looked at them intently and said, "Humanly speaking, it is impossible. But not with God. Everything is possible with God." 28 Then Peter began to mention all that he and the other disciples had left behind. "We've given up everything to follow you," he said. 29 And Jesus replied, "I assure you that everyone who has given up house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or property, for my sake and for the Good News, 30 will receive now in return, a hundred times over, houses, brothers, sisters, mothers, children, and property—with persecutions. And in the world to come they will have eternal life. 31 But many who seem to be important now will be the least important then, and those who are considered least here will be the greatest then."  (NLT)