Psalm 135
The Old Testament reading is taken from the Prophet Jeremiah, chapter 22, verses 1-9 & 13-17
Judgment against wicked kings
22 This is what the Lord says: ‘Go down to the palace of the king of Judah and proclaim this message there: 2 “Hear the word of the Lord to you, king of Judah, you who sit on David’s throne – you, your officials and your people who come through these gates. 3 This is what the Lord says: do what is just and right. Rescue from the hand of the oppressor the one who has been robbed. Do no wrong or violence to the foreigner, the fatherless or the widow, and do not shed innocent blood in this place. 4 For if you are careful to carry out these commands, then kings who sit on David’s throne will come through the gates of this palace, riding in chariots and on horses, accompanied by their officials and their people. 5 But if you do not obey these commands, declares the Lord, I swear by myself that this palace will become a ruin.”’
6 For this is what the Lord says about the palace of the king of Judah:
‘Though you are like Gilead to me,
like the summit of Lebanon,
I will surely make you like a wasteland,
like towns not inhabited.
7 I will send destroyers against you,
each man with his weapons,
and they will cut up your fine cedar beams
and throw them into the fire.
8 ‘People from many nations will pass by this city and will ask one another, “Why has the Lord done such a thing to this great city?” 9 And the answer will be: “Because they have forsaken the covenant of the Lord their God and have worshipped and served other gods.”’
13 ‘Woe to him who builds his palace by unrighteousness,
his upper rooms by injustice,
making his own people work for nothing,
not paying them for their labour.
14 He says, “I will build myself a great palace
with spacious upper rooms.”
So he makes large windows in it,
panels it with cedar
and decorates it in red.
15 ‘Does it make you a king
to have more and more cedar?
Did not your father have food and drink?
He did what was right and just,
so all went well with him.
16 He defended the cause of the poor and needy,
and so all went well.
Is that not what it means to know me?’
declares the Lord.
17 ‘But your eyes and your heart
are set only on dishonest gain,
on shedding innocent blood
and on oppression and extortion.’
The New Testament reading is taken from Luke, chapter 14. Verses 27-33
27 And whoever does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.
28 ‘Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Won’t you first sit down and estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to complete it? 29 For if you lay the foundation and are not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule you, 30 saying, “This person began to build and wasn’t able to finish.”
31 ‘Or suppose a king is about to go to war against another king. Won’t he first sit down and consider whether he is able with ten thousand men to oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand? 32 If he is not able, he will send a delegation while the other is still a long way off and will ask for terms of peace. 33 In the same way, those of you who do not give up everything you have cannot be my disciples.