Daily Readings - Fri Jul 30 2021
Leviticus
1And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying4Therefore, these are the feasts of the Lord, which you must celebrate in their times5The first month, the fourteenth day of the month, at evening, is the Passover of the Lord6And the fifteenth day of this month is the solemnity of the unleavened bread of the Lord. For seven days shall you eat unleavened bread7The first day shall be greatly honored and holy to you; you shall do no servile work in it8But you shall offer a sacrifice with fire, for seven days, to the Lord. Then the seventh day shall be more honored and more holy; and you shall do no servile work in it9And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying10Speak to the sons of Israel, and you shall say to them: When you will have entered into the land which I will give to you, and you will have harvested your grain fields, you shall carry the sheaves of grain, the first-fruits of your harvest, to the priest11He shall lift up a sheaf before the Lord, on the day after the Sabbath, so that it may be acceptable for you, and he shall sanctify it15Therefore, you shall number from the day after the Sabbath, in which you offered a sheaf of the first-fruits, seven full weeks16all the way to the day after the completion of the seventh week, that is, fifty days, and then you shall offer a new sacrifice to the Lord27The tenth day of this seventh month shall be the day of atonement; it shall be most honored, and it shall be called holy. And you shall afflict your souls on that day, and you shall offer a holocaust to the Lord34Say to the sons of Israel: From the fifteenth day of this seventh month, there shall be the Feast of Tabernacles: seven days for the Lord35The first day shall be called most honored and most holy; you shall do no servile work in it36And for seven days you shall offer holocausts to the Lord. Likewise, the eighth day shall be most honored and most holy, and you shall offer holocausts to the Lord. For it is the day of assembly and gathering. You shall do no servile work in it37These are the feasts of the Lord, which you shall call most honored and most holy, and in them you shall offer oblations to the Lord: holocausts and libations according to the rite of each particular day
Matthew
54And arriving in his own country, he taught them in their synagogues, so much so that they wondered and said: "How can such wisdom and power be with this one55Is this not the son of a workman? Is not his mother called Mary, and his brothers, James, and Joseph, and Simon, and Jude56And his sisters, are they not all with us? Therefore, from where has this one obtained all these things?57And they took offense at him. But Jesus said to them, "A prophet is not without honor, except in his own country and in his own house.58And he did not work many miracles there, because of their unbelief
Sermon
The readings today invite us to reflect on the importance of faith, tradition, and the challenges of recognizing God’s presence in our lives. In the first reading from Leviticus, we hear about the sacred feasts and rituals that marked the life of the Israelites. These feasts—such as the Passover, the Feast of Unleavened Bread, and the Feast of Tabernacles—were not just cultural traditions but deeply spiritual practices that connected the people to God’s saving actions in their history. They were moments of communal worship, gratitude, and remembrance, reminding the Israelites of their covenant with God and their dependence on Him for life and sustenance.
In the Gospel, we see Jesus returning to his hometown, where he is met with skepticism and even offense by those who knew him as a child. Despite his wisdom and miracles, the people struggle to see beyond his familiar identity as “the son of a carpenter.” This passage highlights the tension between familiarity and faith. Jesus’ neighbors fail to recognize the divine in their midst because they are limited by their own expectations and prejudices. As Jesus says, “A prophet is not without honor, except in his own country and in his own house.” Their unbelief hinders God’s work, and Jesus is unable to perform many miracles there.
These readings remind us that faith requires openness and humility. The Israelites’ feasts were rooted in a deep trust in God’s providence, while Jesus’ neighbors allowed their familiarity and pride to blind them to the truth. In our own lives, we may face similar challenges—moments when we fail to recognize God’s presence in the ordinary or when our preconceptions prevent us from embracing His grace. Let us strive to approach God with the humility and trust of the Israelites, and to see beyond the familiar to the divine that is always at work among us.