Page 264 - Pleasant Words from the Gospe
P. 264

Pleasant Words from the Gospel






                   love to pray standing... on the street corners to be seen by
                   men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in
                   full. (Matthew, 6:5)


                   Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples: "... So you
                   must obey them and do everything they tell you. But do not do
                   what they do, for they do not practice what they preach. They
                   tie up heavy loads and put them on men's shoulders, but they
                   themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them. "Every-
                   thing they do is done for men to see..." (Matthew, 23:1-5)

                   [Jesus:] "Woe to you... you hypocrites! You are like white-
                   washed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the
                   inside are full of dead men's bones and everything unclean. In

                   the same way, on the outside you appear to people as right-
                   eous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wicked-
                   ness. (Matthew, 23:27-28)

                   When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for
                   they disfigure their faces to show men they are fasting...
                   (Matthew, 6:16)

                   They devour widows' houses and for a show make lengthy
                   prayers. Such men will be punished most severely. (Mark,
                   12:40; Luke 20:47)


                   Then Jesus said to his host, "... But when you give a banquet,
                   invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will
                   be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be re-
                   paid at the resurrection of the righteous." When one of those
                   at the table with him heard this, he said to Jesus, "Blessed is the
                   man who will eat at the feast in the kingdom of God [par-
                   adise]." (Luke, 14:12-15)





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