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A man prepared to go on a long journey. He summoned his servants and entrusted his property to them. To one he gave five talents of money, to another two talents, and to another one talent, each according to his ability. Then he went on his journey. The man who had received the five talents went at once and put his money to work and gained five more.  So also, the one with the two talents gained two more. But the man who had received the one talent went off, dug a hole in the ground and hid his master's money.

After a long time the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them. The man who had received the five talents brought the other five. “Master,” he said, “you entrusted me with five talents. See, I have gained five more.” His master replied, “Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness!” The man with the two talents also came. “Master,” he said, “you entrusted me with two talents; see, I have gained two more.” His master replied, “Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness!” Then the man who had received the one talent came. “Master,” he said, “I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed. So I was afraid and went out and hid your talent in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you.” His master replied, “You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed? Well then, you should have put my money on deposit with the bankers, so that when I returned I would have received it back with interest. Take the talent from him and give it to the one who has the ten talents.

” Those who have will be given more, and will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him.

Early one morning, a landowner went to the marketplace and hired laborers to work in his vineyard for one denarius per day. Several more times throughout the long, hot day, he saw men standing idly in the marketplace and he hired them to work in his vineyard, all for the same pay. He even hired some laborers in the final hour of the day to work in his vineyard. When evening came, the landowner said to his foreman, "Call the workers together and pay them their wages, beginning with the last ones hired and going on to the first." When the men who had worked the whole day saw that they were paid no more than those who were hired later, they protested: “After all,” they said, “we have worked the whole day in the scorching heat!" The landowner replied, "Friend, I have done you no wrong. Didn't you agree with me to work for a denarius? Take what is yours, and be on your way. It is my choice to give to the last workers just as much as I give to the first. May I not do as I wish with what is mine? Or are you envious because I am generous?”

While he was in Bethany, visiting the home of Simon, a woman came to the house with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume, made of pure nard. She broke the jar and poured the perfume on his head. Some of those present were indignant, saying, “What a thoughtless waste. This expensive perfume could have been sold for more than a three hundred denarii and the money given to the poor!” They rebuked the woman harshly. Then Jesus spoke: “Leave her alone. Why are you shouting at her? She has done a beautiful thing to me. The poor you will always have with you, and you can help them any time you want. But you will not always have me.”

Jesus sat across from the place where the offerings were made and watched the crowd give their money to the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts. But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a fraction of a penny. Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, “This poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything—all she had to live on.”

A rich man asked Jesus, “What must I do to live forever?“ Jesus asked him if he knew the Ten Commandments. The man answered, “I have followed them all my life.“ Jesus looked at him fondly and said, “You still lack one thing. Sell your possessions and give the money to the poor. Follow me and you will find treasure in heaven.” This troubled the man, because he was very wealthy.

Jesus then said, “It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God. “

Someone in the crowd said to Jesus, “Master, tell my brother to divide his inheritance with me.” Jesus replied, “Who appointed me a judge or an arbiter between you two?”

And he told them this parable: “The land of a certain rich man produced a bountiful harvest. The rich man thought to himself, 'What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.' Then he said, 'This is what I'll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I'll say to myself, You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.' But God said to him, 'You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?' 

A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he planted, some seeds fell on the path and were trampled upon, and some were eaten by birds. Some seeds fell upon the rocks, and when they sprouted, the plants withered because they had no water. Still other seeds fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. And some seeds fell on good soil and yielded a crop a hundred times more than was sown.