Daily Readings - Mon Apr 09 2018
Isaiah
10Again the LORD spoke to Ahaz,11"Ask a sign of the LORD your God; let it be deep as Sheol or high as heaven."12But Ahaz said, "I will not ask, and I will not put the LORD to the test."13And he said, "Hear then, O house of David! Is it too little for you to weary men, that you weary my God also?14Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.
Hebrews
4For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.5Consequently, when Christ came into the world, he said, "Sacrifices and offerings you have not desired, but a body have you prepared for me;6in burnt offerings and sin offerings you have taken no pleasure.7Then I said, 'Behold, I have come to do your will, O God, as it is written of me in the scroll of the book.'"8When he said above, "You have neither desired nor taken pleasure in sacrifices and offerings and burnt offerings and sin offerings" (these are offered according to the law),9then he added, "Behold, I have come to do your will." He abolishes the first in order to establish the second.10And by that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.
Luke
26In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth,27to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin's name was Mary.28And he came to her and said, "Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!"29But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be.30And the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.31And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus.32He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David,33and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end."34And Mary said to the angel, "How will this be, since I am a virgin?"35And the angel answered her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy--the Son of God.36And behold, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren.37For nothing will be impossible with God."38And Mary said, "Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word." And the angel departed from her.
Sermon
The readings today invite us to reflect on the profound mystery of God’s plan of salvation and the role of faith in our lives. In the first reading from Isaiah, we hear the prophet’s invitation to King Ahaz to ask for a sign, a gesture of trust in God’s providence. Ahaz’s refusal is met with the promise of a greater sign: a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, Emmanuel, “God is with us.” This passage, written centuries before Christ, points to the coming Messiah and the fulfillment of God’s promise to be with his people.
The Gospel reading brings us to the moment when this promise is fulfilled. The Angel Gabriel announces to Mary that she will bear a son, Jesus, who will be the Son of the Most High and reign forever. Mary’s response, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. Let it be done to me according to your word,” is a model of faith and surrender. She does not understand how this will happen, but she trusts in God’s plan. This moment, the Annunciation, is the hinge of salvation history, where the Word of God becomes flesh in the womb of Mary.
The second reading from Hebrews bridges the Old and New Testaments, emphasizing that Christ’s sacrifice is the ultimate fulfillment of God’s plan. The blood of oxen and goats could never take away sin, but the sacrifice of Christ’s body, offered once for all, sanctifies us and makes us holy. This reading reminds us that our faith is rooted in the sacrifice of Christ, who came to do the will of the Father.
In our daily lives, these readings call us to trust in God’s plan, even when it seems impossible or unclear. Like Mary, we are invited to surrender to God’s will, knowing that He is always with us. The moral lesson is clear: faith is not about understanding every detail but about trusting in God’s love and providence. Let us ask for the grace to say, like Mary, “Let it be done to me according to your word,” and to live each day with the confidence that God is with us, Emmanuel.