Daily Readings - Fri Jun 19 2020
Deuteronomy
6"For you are a people holy to the LORD your God. The LORD your God has chosen you to be a people for his treasured possession, out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth.7It was not because you were more in number than any other people that the LORD set his love on you and chose you, for you were the fewest of all peoples,8but it is because the LORD loves you and is keeping the oath that he swore to your fathers, that the LORD has brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the house of slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt.9Know therefore that the LORD your God is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, to a thousand generations,10and repays to their face those who hate him, by destroying them. He will not be slack with one who hates him. He will repay him to his face.11You shall therefore be careful to do the commandment and the statutes and the rules that I command you today.
1 John
7Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God.8Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.9In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him.10In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.11Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.12No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us.13By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit.14And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world.15Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God.16So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.
Matthew
25At that time Jesus declared, "I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children;26yes, Father, for such was your gracious will.27All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.28Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.29Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.30For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light."
Sermon
In today’s readings, we are reminded of God’s profound love for us and our response to that love. The first reading from Deuteronomy emphasizes that God chose the Israelites not because of their size or strength, but simply because He loved them. This love is not random; it is tied to a covenant, a mutual commitment. Moses reminds the people to keep God’s commandments as a way of living out this covenant. The second reading from 1 John deepens this theme, telling us that love comes from God and that we are called to love one another. John reminds us that God’s love was revealed in the gift of His Son, Jesus, and that if we love one another, God’s love is perfected in us. Finally, in the Gospel, Jesus invites all who are burdened to come to Him, promising rest. He reveals that His yoke is easy and His burden light, contrasting the heavy weights of the world with the gentle load of following Him.
These readings are deeply connected. Deuteronomy sets the stage by showing God’s initiative in love and the importance of living according to His ways. 1 John builds on this by highlighting that love is not just a feeling but a way of life rooted in God’s very nature. The Gospel then brings us to Jesus, who is the ultimate expression of God’s love and the one who makes this love accessible to all. Jesus’ invitation is not just to believe in Him but to follow Him, to take on His way of life, which is marked by humility and trust in the Father.
As we reflect on these readings, let us ask ourselves: How am I responding to God’s love? Am I living out my faith in a way that reflects the covenant God has made with me? Am I taking on the yoke of Christ, which is easy and light, or am I still trying to carry the heavy burdens of the world on my own? Let us trust in God’s love, live out our faith with humility, and remember that true rest and peace come not from the world but from following Jesus. May we abide in God’s love and let that love flow through us to others.