11th Sunday of Matthew

If to others I am not an apostle, yet at least I am to you; for you are the seal of my apostleship in the Lord.

³My defense to those who examine me is this: ⁴Have we no right to eat and to drink? ⁵Have we no right to take along a wife who is a believer, even as the rest of the apostles, and the brothers of the Lord, and Cephas? ⁶Or have only Barnabas and I no right to not work? ⁷What soldier ever serves at his own expense? Who plants a vineyard, and doesn’t eat of its fruit? Or who feeds a flock, and doesn’t drink from the flock’s milk?

⁸Do I speak these things according to the ways of men? Or doesn’t the law also say the same thing? ⁹For it is written in the law of Moses, “You shall not muzzle an ox while it treads out the grain.” Is it for the oxen that God cares, ¹⁰or does he say it assuredly for our sake? Yes, it was written for our sake, because he who plows ought to plow in hope, and he who threshes in hope should partake of his hope. ¹¹If we sowed to you spiritual things, is it a great thing if we reap your fleshly things?

¹²If others partake of this right over you, don’t we yet more? Nevertheless we didn’t use this right, but we bear all things, that we may cause no hindrance to the Good News of Christ.

Therefore the Kingdom of Heaven is like a certain king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. ²⁴When he had begun to settle, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents. ²⁵But because he couldn’t pay, his lord commanded him to be sold, with his wife, his children, and all that he had, and payment to be made. ²⁶The servant therefore fell down and knelt before him, saying, ‘Lord, have patience with me, and I will repay you all!’ ²⁷The lord of that servant, being moved with compassion, released him and forgave him the debt.

²⁸“But that servant went out and found one of his fellow servants who owed him one hundred denarii, and he grabbed him and took him by the throat, saying, ‘Pay me what you owe!’

²⁹“So his fellow servant fell down at his feet and begged him, saying, ‘Have patience with me, and I will repay you!’ ³⁰He would not, but went and cast him into prison until he should pay back that which was due. ³¹So when his fellow servants saw what was done, they were exceedingly sorry, and came and told their lord all that was done. ³²Then his lord called him in and said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you begged me. ³³Shouldn’t you also have had mercy on your fellow servant, even as I had mercy on you?’ ³⁴His lord was angry, and delivered him to the tormentors until he should pay all that was due to him. ³⁵So my heavenly Father will also do to you, if you don’t each forgive your brother from your hearts for his misdeeds.”