Daily Readings - Fri Oct 13 2017
Joel
13Put on sackcloth and lament, O priests; wail, O ministers of the altar. Go in, pass the night in sackcloth, O ministers of my God! Because grain offering and drink offering are withheld from the house of your God.14Consecrate a fast; call a solemn assembly. Gather the elders and all the inhabitants of the land to the house of the LORD your God, and cry out to the LORD.15Alas for the day! For the day of the LORD is near, and as destruction from the Almighty it comes.
1Blow a trumpet in Zion; sound an alarm on my holy mountain! Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble, for the day of the LORD is coming; it is near,2a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and thick darkness! Like blackness there is spread upon the mountains a great and powerful people; their like has never been before, nor will be again after them through the years of all generations.
Luke
15But some of them said, "He casts out demons by Beelzebul, the prince of demons,"16while others, to test him, kept seeking from him a sign from heaven.17But he, knowing their thoughts, said to them, "Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, and a divided household falls.18And if Satan also is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand? For you say that I cast out demons by Beelzebul.19And if I cast out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore they will be your judges.20But if it is by the finger of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.21When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own palace, his goods are safe;22but when one stronger than he attacks him and overcomes him, he takes away his armor in which he trusted and divides his spoil.23Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.24"When the unclean spirit has gone out of a person, it passes through waterless places seeking rest, and finding none it says, 'I will return to my house from which I came.'25And when it comes, it finds the house swept and put in order.26Then it goes and brings seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they enter and dwell there. And the last state of that person is worse than the first."
Sermon
The readings today invite us to reflect on the urgency of repentance and the reality of spiritual warfare. In the first reading from Joel, we hear a call to lamentation and fasting as the day of the Lord approaches. Joel paints a vivid picture of a people unprepared for the judgment that is near, urging them to gather and cry out to God. This is not a call to fear, but to conversion—a reminder that our lives must be oriented toward God if we are to stand firm when the day of reckoning comes.
In the Gospel, Jesus confronts the accusations of those who attribute His power to cast out demons to Beelzebub, the prince of demons. Jesus’ response is both a rebuke and a revelation. He points out the absurdity of Satan working against himself, and then shifts the focus to the true nature of His mission: the kingdom of God has come upon them. The parable of the strong man and the unclean spirit drives home the point that to be neutral in this spiritual battle is to be complicit in evil. Jesus makes it clear: we are either gathering with Him or scattering; there is no middle ground.
These readings challenge us to examine our own lives. Are we prepared to meet the Lord? Are we actively aligning ourselves with His will, or are we passively allowing the forces of darkness to take hold? Joel’s call to repentance and Jesus’ warning about spiritual complacency remind us that our faith must be lived with urgency and intentionality. Let us not be like the man who, having been freed from an unclean spirit, leaves his house empty and unguarded. Instead, let us fill our hearts with the presence of God, through prayer, repentance, and a life of love. The kingdom of God is near; let us be ready.