The Good Samaritan, by Jacopo Bassano, oil on canvas, c. 1562-63 at the National Gallery in London

Prime Timers

The Prime Timers were a Bible study group at St. Martin's for eight years. One of the goals of our founder, Jackie Rose, was to have a weekly web page for the group and all the pages are still online here. The group disbanded but the readings below are being kept up to date.

Lectionary readings

The Readings for Sunday, July 10, are from Lectionary Year C, Sunday Closest to July 13 - Proper 10: Amos 7:7-17 or Deuteronomy 30:9-14; Psalm 82 or Psalm 25:1-9; Colossians 1:1-14 and Luke 10:25-37. The text is from the Revised Standard Version w/Apocrypha *

Amos 7:7-17

⁷ This is what he showed me: the Lord was standing beside a wall built with a plumb line, with a plumb line in his hand. ⁸ And the Lord said to me,0 "Amos, what do you see?" And I said, "A plumb line." Then the Lord said,

    "See, I am setting a plumb line in the midst of my people Israel; I will never     again pass them by; ⁹ the high places of Isaac shall be made desolate,
         and the sanctuaries of Israel shall be laid waste,
         and I will rise against the house of Jeroboam with the sword."

¹⁰ Then Amaziah, the priest of Bethel, sent to King Jeroboam of Israel, saying, "Amos has conspired against you in the very center of the house of Israel; the land is not able to bear all his words. ¹¹ For thus Amos has said,

    "Jeroboam shall die by the sword,
         and Israel must go into exile away from his land.' "

¹² And Amaziah said to Amos, "O seer, go, flee away to the land of Judah, earn your bread there, and prophesy there; ¹³ but never again prophesy at Bethel, for it is the king's sanctuary, and it is a temple of the kingdom."

¹⁴ Then Amos answered Amaziah, "I am no prophet, nor a prophet's son; but I am a herdsman, and a dresser of sycamore trees, ¹⁵ and the Lord took me from following the flock, and the Lord said to me, "Go, prophesy to my people Israel.'

    ¹⁶ "Now therefore hear the word of the Lord.
     You say, "Do not prophesy against Israel,
         and do not preach against the house of Isaac.'
     ¹⁷ Therefore thus says the Lord:
        "Your wife shall become a prostitute in the city,
             and your sons and your daughters shall fall by the sword,
             and your land shall be parceled out by line;
         you yourself shall die in an unclean land,
             and Israel shall surely go into exile away from its land.' "

or Deuteronomy 30:9-14

⁹ and the Lord your God will make you abundantly prosperous in all your undertakings, in the fruit of your body, in the fruit of your livestock, and in the fruit of your soil. For the Lord will again take delight in prospering you, just as he delighted in prospering your ancestors, ¹⁰ when you obey the Lord your God by observing his commandments and decrees that are written in this book of the law, because you turn to the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul. ¹¹ Surely, this commandment that I am commanding you today is not too hard for you, nor is it too far away. ¹² It is not in heaven, that you should say, "Who will go up to heaven for us, and get it for us so that we may hear it and observe it?" ¹³ Neither is it beyond the sea, that you should say, "Who will cross to the other side of the sea for us, and get it for us so that we may hear it and observe it?" ¹⁴ No, the word is very near to you; it is in your mouth and in your heart for you to observe.

Psalm 82

¹ God has taken his place in the divine council;
     in the midst of the gods he holds judgment:

² "How long will you judge unjustly
     and show partiality to the wicked? (Selah)

³ Give justice to the weak and the orphan;
     maintain the right of the lowly and the destitute.

⁴ Rescue the weak and the needy;
     deliver them from the hand of the wicked."

⁵ They have neither knowledge nor understanding,
     they walk around in darkness;
     all the foundations of the earth are shaken.

⁶ I say, "You are gods,
     children of the Most High, all of you;

⁷ nevertheless, you shall die like mortals,
     and fall like any prince."

⁸ Rise up, O God, judge the earth;
     for all the nations belong to you!

or Psalm 25:1-9

¹ To you, O Lord, I lift up my soul.
     ² O my God, in you I trust;
     do not let me be put to shame;
     do not let my enemies exult over me.

³ Do not let those who wait for you be put to shame;
     let them be ashamed who are wantonly treacherous.

⁴ Make me to know your ways, O Lord;
     teach me your paths.

⁵ Lead me in your truth, and teach me,
     for you are the God of my salvation;
     for you I wait all day long.

⁶ Be mindful of your mercy, O Lord,
     and of your steadfast love,
     for they have been from of old.

⁷ Do not remember the sins of my youth or my transgressions;
     according to your steadfast love remember me,
     for your goodness' sake, O Lord!

⁸ Good and upright is the Lord;
     therefore he instructs sinners in the way.

⁹ He leads the humble in what is right,
     and teaches the humble his way.

Colossians 1:1-14

¹ Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,

² To the saints and faithful brothers and sisters in Christ in Colossae:

Grace to you and peace from God our Father.

³ In our prayers for you we always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, ⁴ for we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love that you have for all the saints, ⁵ because of the hope laid up for you in heaven. You have heard of this hope before in the word of the truth, the gospel ⁶ that has come to you. Just as it is bearing fruit and growing in the whole world, so it has been bearing fruit among yourselves from the day you heard it and truly comprehended the grace of God. ⁷ This you learned from Epaphras, our beloved fellow servant. He is a faithful minister of Christ on your behalf, ⁸ and he has made known to us your love in the Spirit. ⁹ For this reason, since the day we heard it, we have not ceased praying for you and asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of God's will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, ¹⁰ so that you may lead lives worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, as you bear fruit in every good work and as you grow in the knowledge of God. ¹¹ May you be made strong with all the strength that comes from his glorious power, and may you be prepared to endure everything with patience, while joyfully ¹² giving thanks to the Father, who has enabled you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the light. ¹³ He has rescued us from the power of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of his beloved Son, ¹⁴ in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

Luke 10:25-37

²⁵ Just then a lawyer stood up to test Jesus. "Teacher," he said, "what must I do to inherit eternal life?" ²⁶ He said to him, "What is written in the law? What do you read there?" ²⁷ He answered, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself." ²⁸ And he said to him, "You have given the right answer; do this, and you will live." ²⁹ But wanting to justify himself, he asked Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?" ³⁰ Jesus replied, "A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell into the hands of robbers, who stripped him, beat him, and went away, leaving him half dead. ³¹ Now by chance a priest was going down that road; and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. ³² So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. ³³ But a Samaritan while traveling came near him; and when he saw him, he was moved with pity. ³⁴ He went to him and bandaged his wounds, having poured oil and wine on them. Then he put him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. ³⁵ The next day he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said, "Take care of him; and when I come back, I will repay you whatever more you spend.' ³⁶ Which of these three, do you think, was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers?" ³⁷ He said, "The one who showed him mercy." Jesus said to him, "Go and do likewise."

Thanks to Bible Study Tools for today's text.