But the angel said to him:

Do not be afraid, Zechariah,
because your prayer has been heard.
Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son,
and you will name him John.

For he will be great in the sight of the Lord
and will never drink wine or beer.
He will be filled with the Holy Spirit
while still in his mother’s womb.

And he will go before Him
in the spirit and power of Elijah,
to turn the hearts of fathers
to their children,
and the disobedient
to the understanding of the righteous,
to make ready for the Lord a prepared people.

The angel replied to her:

“The Holy Spirit will come upon you,
and the power of the Most High will overshadow you.
Therefore, the holy One to be born
will be called the Son of God.

and to offer a sacrifice (according to what is stated in the law of the Lord: a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons).

Then Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about Him spread throughout the entire vicinity.

The Spirit of the Lord is on Me,
because He has anointed Me
to preach good news to the poor.
He has sent Me
to proclaim freedom to the captives
and recovery of sight to the blind,
to set free the oppressed,

Amazement came over them all, and they kept saying to one another, “What is this message? For He commands the unclean spirits with authority and power, and they come out!”

On one of those days while He was teaching, Pharisees and teachers of the law were sitting there who had come from every village of Galilee and Judea, and also from Jerusalem. And the Lord’s power to heal was in Him.

During those days He went out to the mountain to pray and spent all night in prayer to God.

The whole crowd was trying to touch Him, because power was coming out from Him and healing them all.

Then looking up at His disciples, He said:

You who are poor are blessed,
because the kingdom of God is yours.

bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.

He replied to them, “Go and report to John the things you have seen and heard: The blind receive their sight, the lame walk, those with skin diseases are healed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor are told the good news.

But the seed in the good ground—these are the ones who, having heard the word with an honest and good heart, hold on to it and by enduring, bear fruit.

“Someone did touch Me,” said Jesus. “I know that power has gone out from Me.”

Summoning the Twelve, He gave them power and authority over all the demons, and power to heal diseases.

About eight days after these words, He took along Peter, John, and James and went up on the mountain to pray.

He told them: “The harvest is abundant, but the workers are few. Therefore, pray to the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest.

Look, I have given you the authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and over all the power of the enemy; nothing will ever harm you.

He was praying in a certain place, and when He finished, one of His disciples said to Him, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John also taught his disciples.”

He said to them, “Whenever you pray, say:

Father,
Your name be honored as holy.
Your kingdom come.

As He was saying these things, a woman from the crowd raised her voice and said to Him, “The womb that bore You and the one who nursed You are blessed!”

Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Make money-bags for yourselves that won’t grow old, an inexhaustible treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys.

Perhaps it will bear fruit next year, but if not, you can cut it down.’”

On the contrary, when you host a banquet, invite those who are poor, maimed, lame, or blind.

“So the slave came back and reported these things to his master. Then in anger, the master of the house told his slave, ‘Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the city, and bring in here the poor, maimed, blind, and lame!’

Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple.

But a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, was left at his gate.

One day the poor man died and was carried away by the angels to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried.

He then told them a parable on the need for them to pray always and not become discouraged:

“Two men went up to the temple complex to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.

You know the commandments:

Do not commit adultery;
do not murder;
do not steal;
do not bear false witness;
honor your father and mother.”

When Jesus heard this, He told him, “You still lack one thing: Sell all that you have and distribute it to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow Me.”

But Zacchaeus stood there and said to the Lord, “Look, I’ll give half of my possessions to the poor, Lord! And if I have extorted anything from anyone, I’ll pay back four times as much!”

He also saw a poor widow dropping in two tiny coins.

“I tell you the truth,” He said. “This poor widow has put in more than all of them.

Then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.

When He reached the place, He told them, “Pray that you may not enter into temptation.”

Then He withdrew from them about a stone’s throw, knelt down, and began to pray,

“Why are you sleeping?” He asked them. “Get up and pray, so that you won’t enter into temptation.”

But from now on, the Son of Man will be seated at the right hand of the Power of God.”

Look, the days are coming when they will say, ‘The women without children, the wombs that never bore and the breasts that never nursed, are fortunate!’