Daily Readings - Sat Aug 12 2017

First Reading - Deuteronomy 6.4-13

⁴Listen, O Israel: the Lord our God is one Lord⁵You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength⁶And these words, which I instruct to you this day, shall be in your heart⁷And you shall explain them to your sons. And you shall meditate upon them sitting in your house, and walking on a journey, when lying down and when rising up⁸And you shall bind them like a sign on your hand, and they shall be placed and shall move between your eyes⁹And you shall write them at the threshold and on the doors of your house¹⁰And when the Lord your God will have led you into the land, about which he swore to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and when he will have given to you great and excellent cities, which you did not build¹¹houses full of goods, which you did not amass; cisterns, which you did not dig; vineyards and olive groves, which you did not plant¹²and when you will have eaten and been satisfied¹³take care diligently, lest you forget the Lord, who led you away from the land of Egypt, from the house of servitude. You shall fear the Lord your God, and you shall serve him alone, and you shall swear by his name

Gospel - Matthew 17.14-20

Matthew

Chapter 17

¹⁴And when he had arrived at the multitude, a man approached him, falling to his knees before him, saying:¹⁵"Lord, take pity on my son, for he is an epileptic, and he suffers harm. For he frequently falls into fire, and often also into water¹⁶And I brought him to your disciples, but they were not able to cure him."¹⁷Then Jesus responded by saying: "What an unbelieving and perverse generation! How long shall I be with you? How long shall I endure you? Bring him here to me."¹⁸And Jesus rebuked him, and the demon went out of him, and the boy was cured from that hour¹⁹Then the disciples approached Jesus privately and said, "Why were we unable to cast him out?"²⁰Jesus said to them: "Because of your unbelief. Amen I say to you, certainly, if you will have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it shall move. And nothing will be impossible for you

Sermon

The readings today remind us of the central call to faith and love in our relationship with God. In Deuteronomy, Moses exhorts the people to love God with all their heart, soul, and strength, and to pass on this love and the commandments to their children. This passage, known as the Shema, is a cornerstone of Jewish and Christian faith, emphasizing the oneness of God and the total dedication required of His people. It also warns against forgetting God’s blessings, especially when prosperity and comfort come, urging us to remain faithful and grateful. In the Gospel, we see a father’s desperate plea for his suffering son, and Jesus’ response highlights the importance of faith. The disciples’ failure to heal the boy is attributed to their lack of faith, but Jesus assures them that even a small amount of faith can move mountains. These readings are deeply connected. Both emphasize the necessity of unwavering faith in God. In Deuteronomy, faith is expressed through loving obedience and gratitude, while in Matthew, it is demonstrated through trust in God’s power to overcome even the most daunting challenges. Together, they remind us that faith is not just intellectual assent but a lived commitment that shapes our actions and attitudes. Just as the Israelites were called to remember God’s covenant and blessings, we too are called to trust in God’s providence, even when circumstances seem impossible. In our daily lives, these readings invite us to reflect on the state of our faith. Are we like the disciples, sometimes faltering in our trust? Or are we like the father, persistent in prayer and hopeful in God’s mercy? Let us ask ourselves: Do we love God with all our heart, soul, and strength? Are we passing on this love and faith to others? And when we face trials, do we turn to God with the humility and trust of the father in the Gospel? May we learn to live out our faith with greater fidelity, remembering that even a mustard seed of faith can accomplish great things in God’s hands.