Daily Readings - Wed Jan 30 2019
Hebrews
11And every priest stands daily at his service, offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins.12But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God,13waiting from that time until his enemies should be made a footstool for his feet.14For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.15And the Holy Spirit also bears witness to us; for after saying,16"This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my laws on their hearts, and write them on their minds,"17then he adds, "I will remember their sins and their lawless deeds no more."18Where there is forgiveness of these, there is no longer any offering for sin.
Mark
1Again he began to teach beside the sea. And a very large crowd gathered about him, so that he got into a boat and sat in it on the sea, and the whole crowd was beside the sea on the land.2And he was teaching them many things in parables, and in his teaching he said to them:3"Listen! A sower went out to sow.4And as he sowed, some seed fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured it.5Other seed fell on rocky ground, where it did not have much soil, and immediately it sprang up, since it had no depth of soil.6And when the sun rose it was scorched, and since it had no root, it withered away.7Other seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no grain.8And other seeds fell into good soil and produced grain, growing up and increasing and yielding thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold."9And he said, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear."10And when he was alone, those around him with the twelve asked him about the parables.11And he said to them, "To you has been given the secret of the kingdom of God, but for those outside everything is in parables,12so that "they may indeed see but not perceive, and may indeed hear but not understand, lest they should turn and be forgiven."13And he said to them, "Do you not understand this parable? How then will you understand all the parables?14The sower sows the word.15And these are the ones along the path, where the word is sown: when they hear, Satan immediately comes and takes away the word that is sown in them.16And these are the ones sown on rocky ground: the ones who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with joy.17And they have no root in themselves, but endure for a while; then, when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately they fall away.18And others are the ones sown among thorns. They are those who hear the word,19but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it proves unfruitful.20But those that were sown on the good soil are the ones who hear the word and accept it and bear fruit, thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold."
Sermon
In today’s readings, we encounter profound truths about God’s plan and our response to it. The letter to the Hebrews reminds us of the superiority of Christ’s sacrifice over the repeated offerings of the old covenant. While priests once offered sacrifices daily, unable to eradicate sin, Christ’s single sacrifice achieves what the old covenant could not, offering redemption once and for all. This passage highlights the fulfillment of Jeremiah’s prophecy, where God’s laws are inscribed on hearts and minds, and sins are no longer remembered. The Gospel, on the other hand, presents Jesus’ parable of the sower, illustrating how the word of God is received in different hearts. The parable teaches us about the varying responses to God’s word, from rejection by the hardened heart to abundant fruit in the fertile heart.
The context of these readings is deeply rooted in the theological and pastoral concerns of their audiences. Hebrews was written to Jewish Christians, reassuring them of the superiority of Christ’s sacrifice and the new covenant’s efficacy. Mark’s parable reflects Jesus’ concern for His disciples’ understanding and the broader crowd’s spiritual state, emphasizing the importance of receptive hearts. Together, these readings connect by highlighting God’s ultimate plan: Christ’s sacrifice paves the way for the word of God to take root in human hearts, leading to a fruitful life.
In our daily lives, these readings challenge us to examine how we receive God’s word. Do we let it take root, or do we allow the pressures of life to choke it out? The moral lesson here is clear: true faith is not superficial but deeply rooted, enduring through trials and producing abundant fruit. Just as Christ’s sacrifice is sufficient, our response must be wholehearted, nurturing fertile soil where God’s word can flourish. Let us strive to be the good soil, allowing God’s word to transform us and bear fruit in our lives.