Old Testament Reading   Proverbs 25:6–14

⁶Do not put yourself forward in the king’s presence or stand in the place of the great, ⁷for it is better to be told, “Come up here,” than to be put lower in the presence of a noble. What your eyes have seen ⁸do not hastily bring into court, for what will you do in the end, when your neighbor puts you to shame? ⁹Argue your case with your neighbor himself, and do not reveal another’s secret, ¹⁰lest he who hears you bring shame upon you, and your ill repute have no end. ¹¹A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in a setting of silver. ¹²Like a gold ring or an ornament of gold is a wise reprover to a listening ear. ¹³Like the cold of snow in the time of harvest is a faithful messenger to those who send him; he refreshes the soul of his masters. ¹⁴Like clouds and wind without rain is a man who boasts of a gift he does not give.

Epistle         Ephesians 4:1–6

¹I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, ²with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, ³eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. ⁴There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call— ⁵one Lord, one faith, one baptism, ⁶one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.

Holy Gospel    Luke 14:1–11

¹One Sabbath, when [Jesus] went to dine at the house of a ruler of the Pharisees, they were watching him carefully. ²And behold, there was a man before him who had dropsy. ³And Jesus responded to the lawyers and Pharisees, saying, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath, or not?” ⁴But they remained silent. Then he took him and healed him and sent him away. ⁵And he said to them, “Which of you, having a son or an ox that has fallen into a well on a Sabbath day, will not immediately pull him out?” ⁶And they could not reply to these things. ⁷Now he told a parable to those who were invited, when he noticed how they chose the places of honor, saying to them, ⁸“When you are invited by someone to a wedding feast, do not sit down in a place of honor, lest someone more distinguished than you be invited by him, ⁹and he who invited you both will come and say to you, ‘Give your place to this person,’ and then you will begin with shame to take the lowest place. ¹⁰But when you are invited, go and sit in the lowest place, so that when your host comes he may say to you, ‘Friend, move up higher.’ Then you will be honored in the presence of all who sit at table with you. ¹¹For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”

P This is the Gospel of the Lord.