December 14, 2026

2When Balaam looked up and saw Israel encamped, tribe by tribe, the spirit of God came upon him, 3and he recited his poem: The oracle of Balaam, son of Beor, the oracle of the man whose eye is true, 4The oracle of one who hears what God says, and knows what the Most High knows, Of one who sees what the Almighty sees, in rapture and with eyes unveiled: 5How pleasant are your tents, Jacob; your encampments, Israel! 6Like palm trees spread out, like gardens beside a river, Like aloes the LORD planted, like cedars beside water; 7Water will drip from their buckets, their seed will have plentiful water; Their king will rise higher than Agag and their dominion will be exalted. 15Then he recited his poem: The oracle of Balaam, son of Beor, the oracle of the man whose eye is true, 16The oracle of one who hears what God says, and knows what the Most High knows, Of one who sees what the Almighty sees, in rapture and with eyes unveiled. 17I see him, though not now; I observe him, though not near: A star shall advance from Jacob, and a scepter shall rise from Israel, That will crush the brows of Moab, and the skull of all the Sethites,

4Make known to me your ways, LORD; teach me your paths. 5Guide me by your fidelity and teach me, for you are God my savior, for you I wait all the day long. 6Remember your compassion and your mercy, O LORD, for they are ages old. 7Remember no more the sins of my youth; remember me according to your mercy, because of your goodness, LORD. 8II - Good and upright is the LORD, therefore he shows sinners the way, 9He guides the humble in righteousness, and teaches the humble his way.

8Show us, LORD, your mercy; grant us your salvation.

23When he had come into the temple area, the chief priests and the elders of the people approached him as he was teaching and said, “By what authority are you doing these things? And who gave you this authority?” 24Jesus said to them in reply, “I shall ask you one question, and if you answer it for me, then I shall tell you by what authority I do these things. 25Where was John’s baptism from? Was it of heavenly or of human origin?” They discussed this among themselves and said, “If we say ‘Of heavenly origin,’ he will say to us, ‘Then why did you not believe him?’ 26But if we say, ‘Of human origin,’ we fear the crowd, for they all regard John as a prophet.” 27So they said to Jesus in reply, “We do not know.” He himself said to them, “Neither shall I tell you by what authority I do these things. The Parable of the Two Sons.