Daily Readings - Mon Sep 04 2023

¹³And we do not want you to be ignorant, brothers, concerning those who are sleeping, so as not to be sorrowful, like these others who do not have hope¹⁴For if we believe that Jesus has died and risen again, so also will God bring back with Jesus those who sleep in him¹⁵For we say this to you, in the Word of the Lord: that we who are alive, who remain until the return of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep¹⁶For the Lord himself, with a command and with the voice of an Archangel and with a trumpet of God, shall descend from heaven. And the dead, who are in Christ, shall rise up first¹⁷Next, we who are alive, who are remaining, shall be taken up quickly together with them into the clouds to meet Christ in the air. And in this way, we shall be with the Lord always¹⁸Therefore, console one another with these words

Luke

Chapter 4

¹⁶And he went to Nazareth, where he had been raised. And he entered into the synagogue, according to his custom, on the Sabbath day. And he rose up to read¹⁷And the book of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. And as he unrolled the book, he found the place where it was written¹⁸"The Spirit of the Lord is upon me; because of this, he has anointed me. He has sent me to evangelize the poor, to heal the contrite of heart¹⁹to preach forgiveness to captives and sight to the blind, to release the broken into forgiveness, to preach the acceptable year of the Lord and the day of retribution.²⁰And when he had rolled up the book, he returned it to the minister, and he sat down. And the eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fixed on him²¹Then he began to say to them, "On this day, this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.²²And everyone gave testimony to him. And they wondered at the words of grace that proceeded from his mouth. And they said, "Is this not the son of Joseph?²³And he said to them: "Certainly, you will recite to me this saying, ‘Physician, heal yourself.’ The many great things that we have heard were done in Capernaum, do here also in your own country.²⁴Then he said: "Amen I say to you, that no prophet is accepted in his own country²⁵In truth, I say to you, there were many widows in the days of Elijah in Israel, when the heavens were closed for three years and six months, when a great famine had occurred throughout the entire land²⁶And to none of these was Elijah sent, except to Zarephath of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow²⁷And there were many lepers in Israel under the prophet Elisha. And none of these was cleansed, except Naaman the Syrian.²⁸And all those in the synagogue, upon hearing these things, were filled with anger²⁹And they rose up and drove him beyond the city. And they brought him all the way to the edge of the mount, upon which their city had been built, so that they might thrown him down violently³⁰But passing through their midst, he went away

Sermon

In today's readings, we encounter two profound themes: hope in the face of loss and the challenge of rejection in fulfilling our mission. The first reading from 1 Thessalonians offers comfort to those grieving, reminding them of the hope found in the resurrection. Paul assures the Thessalonians that their deceased loved ones will rise again with Jesus, urging them to find solace in this promise. This passage is set against the backdrop of a community coping with loss, seeking reassurance in their faith. The Gospel from Luke presents Jesus in his hometown synagogue, where he proclaims his mission to serve the marginalized. Initially, the crowd is impressed, but when he challenges their parochialism, they turn hostile. This narrative highlights the reality of rejection that can accompany living out one's faith. Jesus's experience teaches us that following God's call may lead to opposition, yet we must remain steadfast. These readings connect by balancing hope with the challenges of discipleship. While we have the assurance of eternal life, we must also embrace the difficulties of standing up for our beliefs. In our daily lives, we may face sorrow or rejection, but the readings encourage us to hold onto hope and trust in God's plan. The moral lesson here is the endurance of faith amidst adversity, trusting that our efforts to live as disciples will ultimately find fulfillment in God's time.