Daily Bible Readings for Tuesday August 23, 2011

Reading 1, 1 Thes 2:1-8

1 You know yourselves, my brothers, that our visit to you has not been pointless.

2 Although, as you know, we had received rough treatment and insults at Philippi, God gave us the courage to speak his gospel to you fearlessly, in spite of great opposition.

3 Our encouragement to you does not come from any delusion or impure motives or trickery.

4 No, God has approved us to be entrusted with the gospel, and this is how we preach, seeking to please not human beings but God who tests our hearts.

5 Indeed, we have never acted with the thought of flattering anyone, as you know, nor as an excuse for greed, God is our witness;

6 nor have we ever looked for honour from human beings, either from you or anybody else,

7 when we could have imposed ourselves on you with full weight, as apostles of Christ. Instead, we lived unassumingly among you. Like a mother feeding and looking after her children,

8 we felt so devoted to you, that we would have been happy to share with you not only the gospel of God, but also our own lives, so dear had you become.

Responsorial Psalm, Psalms 139:1-3, 4-5

1 [For the choirmaster Of David Psalm] Yahweh, you examine me and know me,

2 you know when I sit, when I rise, you understand my thoughts from afar.

3 You watch when I walk or lie down, you know every detail of my conduct.

4 A word is not yet on my tongue before you, Yahweh, know all about it.

5 You fence me in, behind and in front, you have laid your hand upon me.

Gospel, Mt 23:23-26

23 'Alas for you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You pay your tithe of mint and dill and cummin and have neglected the weightier matters of the Law-justice, mercy, good faith! These you should have practised, those not neglected.

24 You blind guides, straining out gnats and swallowing camels!

25 'Alas for you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of cup and dish and leave the inside full of extortion and intemperance.

26 Blind Pharisee! Clean the inside of cup and dish first so that it and the outside are both clean.