Luke 6:1-31

One Sabbath day, Jesus and his disciples were walking through a field of ripe wheat. His disciples plucked some heads of grain, rubbed the husks off with their hands, and ate them. This infuriated some of the Jewish religious leaders. They said to Jesus, “Why are you allowing your disciples to harvest grain on the Sabbath? Don’t you know it’s not permissible according to the law?” Jesus replied, “Haven’t you read the Scriptures? Haven’t you read what King David did when he was hungry? He entered the sanctuary of God, took the bread of God’s presence right off the sacred table, and shared it with his men. It was only lawful for the priests to eat the bread of God’s presence. You need to know that the Son of Man is no slave to the Sabbath, for I am master over the Sabbath.” On another Sabbath, Jesus was teaching in the synagogue. In the room with him was a man with a deformed right hand. Everyone watched Jesus closely, especially the Jewish religious leaders and the religious scholars, to see if Jesus would heal on a Sabbath, for they were eager to find a reason to accuse him of breaking the Jewish laws. Jesus, knowing their every thought, said to the man with the deformed hand, “Come and stand here in the middle of the room.” So he got up and came forward. Jesus said to all who were there, “Let me ask you a question. Which is better: to heal or to do harm on the Sabbath? I have come to save a life, but you have come to find a life to destroy.” One by one Jesus looked into the eyes of each person in the room. Then he said to the man, “Stretch out your arm and open your hand!” With everyone watching intently, he stretched out his arm, and his hand was completely healed! The room erupted with bitter rage, and from that moment on, the religious leaders plotted among themselves about how they might harm Jesus. After leaving the synagogue, Jesus went into the high hills to spend the whole night in prayer to God. At daybreak, he called together all of his followers and selected twelve from among them, and he appointed them to be his apostles. Here are their names: Simon, whom he named Peter; Andrew, Peter’s brother; Jacob; John; Philip; Bartholomew; Matthew; Thomas; Jacob the son of Alpheus; Simon, known as a fiery political zealot; Judah the son of Jacob; and Judas the locksmith, who later betrayed Jesus. Jesus and his apostles came down from the hillside to a level field, where a large number of his disciples waited, along with a massive crowd: people from all over Judea, Jerusalem, and the coastal district of Tyre and Sidon. They had all come to listen to the Word so that they could be healed of their diseases and be set free from tormenting demonic powers. The entire crowd eagerly tried to come near Jesus, to touch him to receive healing, because a tangible, supernatural power emanated from him and healed all who came close to him. Looking intently at his followers, Jesus began his sermon. “How enriched you become when you are a beggar, for you will experience the reality of God’s kingdom. “How filled you become when you are consumed with hunger and desire, for you will be completely satisfied. “How content you become when you weep with complete brokenness, for you will laugh with unrestrained joy. “How favored you become when you are hated, excommunicated, or slandered, or when your name is spoken of as evil because of your love for me, the Son of Man. “I promise you that as you experience these things, you will celebrate and dance with overflowing joy, and the heavenly reward of your faith will be abundant, because you are being treated the same way as your forefathers the prophets. “But what sorrows await those of you who are rich in this life only, for you have already received all the comfort you’ll ever get. “What sorrows await those of you who are content with yourselves, for hunger and emptiness will come to you. “What sorrows await those of you who laugh now, having received all your joy in this life only, for grief and wailing will come to you. “What sorrows await those of you who are always honored and lauded by others, for that’s how your forefathers treated every false prophet.” “But I say to you who hear, love your enemies and do something wonderful for them in return for their hatred. When someone curses you, bless that person in return. When others mistreat and harass you, accept it as your mission to pray for them. To those who despise you, continue to serve them and minister to them. If someone takes away your coat, give him as a gift your shirt as well. When someone comes to beg from you, give to that person what you have. When things are wrongly taken from you, do not demand they be given back. The way you want others to treat you is how you should treat everyone else.