Daily Catholic Mass Readings for October 30, 2017
First Reading: Romans 8.11-17
11If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.12So then, brothers, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh.13For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.14For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.15For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, "Abba! Father!"16The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God,17and if children, then heirs--heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.
Psalm 68
1God shall arise, his enemies shall be scattered; and those who hate him shall flee before him!2As smoke is driven away, so you shall drive them away; as wax melts before fire, so the wicked shall perish before God!3But the righteous shall be glad; they shall exult before God; they shall be jubilant with joy!4Sing to God, sing praises to his name; lift up a song to him who rides through the deserts; his name is the LORD; exult before him!5Father of the fatherless and protector of widows is God in his holy habitation.6God settles the solitary in a home; he leads out the prisoners to prosperity, but the rebellious dwell in a parched land.7O God, when you went out before your people, when you marched through the wilderness, Selah8the earth quaked, the heavens poured down rain, before God, the One of Sinai, before God, the God of Israel.9Rain in abundance, O God, you shed abroad; you restored your inheritance as it languished;10your flock found a dwelling in it; in your goodness, O God, you provided for the needy.11The Lord gives the word; the women who announce the news are a great host:12"The kings of the armies--they flee, they flee!" The women at home divide the spoil--13though you men lie among the sheepfolds--the wings of a dove covered with silver, its pinions with shimmering gold.14When the Almighty scatters kings there, let snow fall on Zalmon.15O mountain of God, mountain of Bashan; O many-peaked mountain, mountain of Bashan!16Why do you look with hatred, O many-peaked mountain, at the mount that God desired for his abode, yes, where the LORD will dwell forever?17The chariots of God are twice ten thousand, thousands upon thousands; the Lord is among them; Sinai is now in the sanctuary.18You ascended on high, leading a host of captives in your train and receiving gifts among men, even among the rebellious, that the LORD God may dwell there.19Blessed be the Lord, who daily bears us up; God is our salvation. Selah20Our God is a God of salvation, and to GOD, the Lord, belong deliverances from death.21But God will strike the heads of his enemies, the hairy crown of him who walks in his guilty ways.22The Lord said, "I will bring them back from Bashan, I will bring them back from the depths of the sea,23that you may strike your feet in their blood, that the tongues of your dogs may have their portion from the foe."24Your procession is seen, O God, the procession of my God, my King, into the sanctuary--25the singers in front, the musicians last, between them virgins playing tambourines:26"Bless God in the great congregation, the LORD, O you who are of Israel's fountain!"27There is Benjamin, the least of them, in the lead, the princes of Judah in their throng, the princes of Zebulun, the princes of Naphtali.28Summon your power, O God, the power, O God, by which you have worked for us.29Because of your temple at Jerusalem kings shall bear gifts to you.30Rebuke the beasts that dwell among the reeds, the herd of bulls with the calves of the peoples. Trample underfoot those who lust after tribute; scatter the peoples who delight in war.31Nobles shall come from Egypt; Cush shall hasten to stretch out her hands to God.32O kingdoms of the earth, sing to God; sing praises to the Lord, Selah33to him who rides in the heavens, the ancient heavens; behold, he sends out his voice, his mighty voice.34Ascribe power to God, whose majesty is over Israel, and whose power is in the skies.35Awesome is God from his sanctuary; the God of Israel--he is the one who gives power and strength to his people. Blessed be God!
Gospel: Luke 13.10-17
10Now he was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath.11And there was a woman who had had a disabling spirit for eighteen years. She was bent over and could not fully straighten herself.12When Jesus saw her, he called her over and said to her, "Woman, you are freed from your disability."13And he laid his hands on her, and immediately she was made straight, and she glorified God.14But the ruler of the synagogue, indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, said to the people, "There are six days in which work ought to be done. Come on those days and be healed, and not on the Sabbath day."15Then the Lord answered him, "You hypocrites! Does not each of you on the Sabbath untie his ox or his donkey from the manger and lead it away to water it?16And ought not this woman, a daughter of Abraham whom Satan bound for eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the Sabbath day?"17As he said these things, all his adversaries were put to shame, and all the people rejoiced at all the glorious things that were done by him.
Sermon
The readings today invite us to reflect on the transformative power of the Spirit of God and the freedom it brings. In the first reading from Romans, St. Paul reminds us that the Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead dwells within us, making us children of God. This Spirit calls us to live not according to the flesh, which leads to death, but to mortify the deeds of the flesh and embrace the life of the Spirit. As sons and daughters of God, we are heirs of his glory, but this also means sharing in Christ’s sufferings so that we may be glorified with him.
In the Gospel, Jesus encounters a woman who has been bent over for eighteen years, a vivid image of spiritual and physical bondage. Jesus, moved by compassion, heals her on the Sabbath, sparking controversy with the synagogue ruler. Jesus defends his action by pointing out the hypocrisy of rigidly observing the Sabbath while neglecting the freedom and healing that God’s Spirit offers. The woman, a daughter of Abraham, is freed from her infirmity, and the crowd rejoices at the glory of God revealed in her healing.
Together, these readings remind us that the Spirit of God brings life, freedom, and healing. We are called to live as children of God, open to the Spirit’s work in us and through us. Like the woman in the Gospel, we must allow Jesus to set us free from the burdens that weigh us down, whether they are physical, emotional, or spiritual. Let us not be bound by fear or rigid traditions, but instead, embrace the Spirit’s transformative power and live as heirs of God’s glory.