The First Lesson
Ecclesiasticus 35:10-19
10 Give unto the most High according as he hath enriched thee; and as thou hast gotten, give with a cheerful eye.
11 For the Lord recompenseth, and will give thee seven times as much.
12 Do not think to corrupt with gifts; for such he will not receive: and trust not to unrighteous sacrifices; for the Lord is judge, and with him is no respect of persons.
13 He will not accept any person against a poor man, but will hear the prayer of the oppressed.
14 He will not despise the supplication of the fatherless; nor the widow, when she poureth out her complaint.
15 Do not the tears run down the widow's cheeks? and is not her cry against him that causeth them to fall?
16 He that serveth the Lord shall be accepted with favour, and his prayer shall reach unto the clouds.
17 The prayer of the humble pierceth the clouds: and till it come nigh, he will not be comforted; and will not depart, till the most High shall behold to judge righteously, and execute judgment.
18 For the Lord will not be slack, neither will the Mighty be patient toward them, till he have smitten in sunder the loins of the unmerciful, and repayed vengeance to the heathen; till he have taken away the multitude of the proud, and broken the sceptre of the unrighteous;
19 Till he have rendered to every man according to his deeds, and to the works of men according to their devices; till he have judged the cause of his people, and made them to rejoice in his mercy.
The Second Lesson
Mark 12:38-44
38 And he said unto them in his doctrine, Beware of the scribes, which love to go in long clothing, and love salutations in the marketplaces,
39 And the chief seats in the synagogues, and the uppermost rooms at feasts:
40 Which devour widows' houses, and for a pretence make long prayers: these shall receive greater damnation.
41 And Jesus sat over against the treasury, and beheld how the people cast money into the treasury: and many that were rich cast in much.
42 And there came a certain poor widow, and she threw in two mites, which make a farthing.
43 And he called unto him his disciples, and saith unto them, Verily I say unto you, That this poor widow hath cast more in, than all they which have cast into the treasury:
44 For all they did cast in of their abundance; but she of her want did cast in all that she had, even all her living.
