Daily Readings - Wed Oct 09 2019
Jonah
1But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was angry.2And he prayed to the LORD and said, "O LORD, is not this what I said when I was yet in my country? That is why I made haste to flee to Tarshish; for I knew that you are a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and relenting from disaster.3Therefore now, O LORD, please take my life from me, for it is better for me to die than to live."4And the LORD said, "Do you do well to be angry?"5Jonah went out of the city and sat to the east of the city and made a booth for himself there. He sat under it in the shade, till he should see what would become of the city.6Now the LORD God appointed a plant and made it come up over Jonah, that it might be a shade over his head, to save him from his discomfort. So Jonah was exceedingly glad because of the plant.7But when dawn came up the next day, God appointed a worm that attacked the plant, so that it withered.8When the sun rose, God appointed a scorching east wind, and the sun beat down on the head of Jonah so that he was faint. And he asked that he might die and said, "It is better for me to die than to live."9But God said to Jonah, "Do you do well to be angry for the plant?" And he said, "Yes, I do well to be angry, angry enough to die."10And the LORD said, "You pity the plant, for which you did not labor, nor did you make it grow, which came into being in a night and perished in a night.11And should not I pity Nineveh, that great city, in which there are more than 120,000 persons who do not know their right hand from their left, and also much cattle?"
Luke
1Now Jesus was praying in a certain place, and when he finished, one of his disciples said to him, "Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples."2And he said to them, "When you pray, say: "Father, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come.3Give us each day our daily bread,4and forgive us our sins, for we ourselves forgive everyone who is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation."
Sermon
The readings today invite us to reflect on prayer, compassion, and the relationship between our desires and God’s will. In the first reading from Jonah, we see the prophet’s frustration and anger when God spares the city of Nineveh. Jonah had grown attached to a plant that provided him shade, and when it withered, he was inconsolable. God used this moment to teach Jonah a lesson about compassion and the value of life, pointing out that Jonah grieved for a plant he did not even cultivate, while God was merciful to an entire city of people who did not know right from wrong. This story highlights Jonah’s limited perspective and God’s boundless mercy.
In the Gospel, Jesus teaches his disciples how to pray. The Lord’s Prayer, as it has come to be known, is a model of simplicity and depth. It begins with reverence for God’s name, a longing for His kingdom, and a request for daily bread. It then moves to forgiveness and protection from temptation. This prayer reminds us that our relationship with God should be rooted in humility, trust, and a recognition of our dependence on Him. It also calls us to live in harmony with others, forgiving as we are forgiven.
These readings connect in their emphasis on aligning our hearts with God’s will. Jonah’s anger and attachment to the plant reveal a lack of trust in God’s plan, while the Lord’s Prayer teaches us to seek God’s will above our own. In our daily lives, we are often like Jonah, clinging to things that are fleeting or focusing on our own desires rather than God’s larger purpose. The readings encourage us to pray with sincerity, to trust in God’s mercy, and to cultivate compassion for others, just as God has shown compassion to us. Let us strive to live with humility, gratitude, and a heart open to God’s will.