Daily Readings - Sat Aug 12 2017
Deuteronomy
4"Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one.5You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.6And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart.7You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.8You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes.9You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.10"And when the LORD your God brings you into the land that he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give you--with great and good cities that you did not build,11and houses full of all good things that you did not fill, and cisterns that you did not dig, and vineyards and olive trees that you did not plant--and when you eat and are full,12then take care lest you forget the LORD, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.13It is the LORD your God you shall fear. Him you shall serve and by his name you shall swear.
Matthew
14And when they came to the crowd, a man came up to him and, kneeling before him,15said, "Lord, have mercy on my son, for he is an epileptic and he suffers terribly. For often he falls into the fire, and often into the water.16And I brought him to your disciples, and they could not heal him."17And Jesus answered, "O faithless and twisted generation, how long am I to be with you? How long am I to bear with you? Bring him here to me."18And Jesus rebuked him, and the demon came out of him, and the boy was healed instantly.19Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, "Why could we not cast it out?"20He said to them, "Because of your little faith. For truly, I say to you, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will 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.