Daily Readings - Fri Dec 13 2019
Isaiah
17Thus says the LORD, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: "I am the LORD your God, who teaches you to profit, who leads you in the way you should go.18Oh that you had paid attention to my commandments! Then your peace would have been like a river, and your righteousness like the waves of the sea;19your offspring would have been like the sand, and your descendants like its grains; their name would never be cut off or destroyed from before me."
Matthew
16"But to what shall I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling to their playmates,17"'We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we sang a dirge, and you did not mourn.'18For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, 'He has a demon.'19The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, 'Look at him! A glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!' Yet wisdom is justified by her deeds."
Sermon
In today's readings, we encounter two profound messages that invite us to reflect on our response to God's call and the wisdom of living according to His will. The first reading from Isaiah presents God as a Redeemer and Teacher, urging the people to heed His commandments for the sake of peace and prosperity. The prophet emphasizes that had the people listened, their peace would have flowed like a river, and their justice like the waves of the sea. This passage, likely addressed to the Israelites during or after the exile, serves as a reminder of God's faithfulness and the importance of obedience.
The Gospel from Matthew offers a complementary yet contrasting perspective. Jesus laments the current generation's inability to recognize wisdom, whether it comes in the form of John the Baptist's austerity or His own communal eating and drinking. John's ascetic lifestyle was met with accusations of demon possession, while Jesus' social engagements led to criticism of being a glutton and a friend of sinners. Jesus' point is clear: wisdom is not judged by external appearances but by the fruit it bears. This passage challenges us to look beyond superficial judgments and to discern the deeper truth of God's message.
Together, these readings remind us that following God's will requires us to move beyond the noise of criticism and societal expectations. Isaiah calls us to trust in God's teachings, while Matthew invites us to embrace the wisdom that comes from living out our faith authentically. In our daily lives, this means being open to God's guidance, even when it challenges us, and trusting that true peace and justice come from walking in His ways. Let us strive to be people of discernment, recognizing that wisdom is not in what others say about us, but in how we live out our faith with integrity and love.