Psalm 107:1–9

¹Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good,
for his steadfast love endures forever!
²Let the redeemed of the Lord say so,
whom he has redeemed from trouble
³and gathered in from the lands,
from the east and from the west,
from the north and from the south.

⁴Some wandered in desert wastes,
finding no way to a city to dwell in;
⁵hungry and thirsty,
their soul fainted within them.
⁶Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble,
and he delivered them from their distress.
⁷He led them by a straight way
till they reached a city to dwell in.
⁸Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love,
for his wondrous works to the children of men!
⁹For he satisfies the longing soul,
and the hungry soul he fills with good things.

Old Testament Reading Proverbs 17

¹Better is a dry morsel with quiet
than a house full of feasting with strife.
²A servant who deals wisely will rule over a son who acts shamefully
and will share the inheritance as one of the brothers.
³The crucible is for silver, and the furnace is for gold,
and the Lord tests hearts.
⁴An evildoer listens to wicked lips,
and a liar gives ear to a mischievous tongue.
⁵Whoever mocks the poor insults his Maker;
he who is glad at calamity will not go unpunished.
⁶Grandchildren are the crown of the aged,
and the glory of children is their fathers.
⁷Fine speech is not becoming to a fool;
still less is false speech to a prince.
⁸A bribe is like a magic stone in the eyes of the one who gives it;
wherever he turns he prospers.
⁹Whoever covers an offense seeks love,
but he who repeats a matter separates close friends.
¹⁰A rebuke goes deeper into a man of understanding
than a hundred blows into a fool.
¹¹An evil man seeks only rebellion,
and a cruel messenger will be sent against him.
¹²Let a man meet a she-bear robbed of her cubs
rather than a fool in his folly.
¹³If anyone returns evil for good,
evil will not depart from his house.
¹⁴The beginning of strife is like letting out water,
so quit before the quarrel breaks out.
¹⁵He who justifies the wicked and he who condemns the righteous
are both alike an abomination to the Lord.
¹⁶Why should a fool have money in his hand to buy wisdom
when he has no sense?
¹⁷A friend loves at all times,
and a brother is born for adversity.
¹⁸One who lacks sense gives a pledge
and puts up security in the presence of his neighbor.
¹⁹Whoever loves transgression loves strife;
he who makes his door high seeks destruction.
²⁰A man of crooked heart does not discover good,
and one with a dishonest tongue falls into calamity.
²¹He who sires a fool gets himself sorrow,
and the father of a fool has no joy.
²²A joyful heart is good medicine,
but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.
²³The wicked accepts a bribe in secret
to pervert the ways of justice.
²⁴The discerning sets his face toward wisdom,
but the eyes of a fool are on the ends of the earth.
²⁵A foolish son is a grief to his father
and bitterness to her who bore him.
²⁶To impose a fine on a righteous man is not good,
nor to strike the noble for their uprightness.
²⁷Whoever restrains his words has knowledge,
and he who has a cool spirit is a man of understanding.
²⁸Even a fool who keeps silent is considered wise;
when he closes his lips, he is deemed intelligent.

New Testament Reading John 16:17–33

¹⁷So some of his disciples said to one another, “What is this that he says to us, ‘A little while, and you will not see me, and again a little while, and you will see me’; and, ‘because I am going to the Father’?” ¹⁸So they were saying, “What does he mean by ‘a little while’? We do not know what he is talking about.” ¹⁹Jesus knew that they wanted to ask him, so he said to them, “Is this what you are asking yourselves, what I meant by saying, ‘A little while and you will not see me, and again a little while and you will see me’? ²⁰Truly, truly, I say to you, you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice. You will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn into joy. ²¹When a woman is giving birth, she has sorrow because her hour has come, but when she has delivered the baby, she no longer remembers the anguish, for joy that a human being has been born into the world. ²²So also you have sorrow now, but I will see you again and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you. ²³In that day you will ask nothing of me. Truly, truly, I say to you, whatever you ask of the Father in my name, he will give it to you. ²⁴Until now you have asked nothing in my name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.

²⁵“I have said these things to you in figures of speech. The hour is coming when I will no longer speak to you in figures of speech but will tell you plainly about the Father. ²⁶In that day you will ask in my name, and I do not say to you that I will ask the Father on your behalf; ²⁷for the Father himself loves you, because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God. ²⁸I came from the Father and have come into the world, and now I am leaving the world and going to the Father.”

²⁹His disciples said, “Ah, now you are speaking plainly and not using figurative speech! ³⁰Now we know that you know all things and do not need anyone to question you; this is why we believe that you came from God.” ³¹Jesus answered them, “Do you now believe? ³²Behold, the hour is coming, indeed it has come, when you will be scattered, each to his own home, and will leave me alone. Yet I am not alone, for the Father is with me. ³³I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”