Daily Readings - Thu Oct 15 2020

¹Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God,To the saints who are in Ephesus, and are faithful in Christ Jesus:²Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.³Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places,⁴even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love⁵he predestined us for adoption through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will,⁶to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved.⁷In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace,⁸which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight⁹making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ¹⁰as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.

Luke

Chapter 11

⁴⁷Woe to you! For you build the tombs of the prophets whom your fathers killed.⁴⁸So you are witnesses and you consent to the deeds of your fathers, for they killed them, and you build their tombs.⁴⁹Therefore also the Wisdom of God said, 'I will send them prophets and apostles, some of whom they will kill and persecute,'⁵⁰so that the blood of all the prophets, shed from the foundation of the world, may be charged against this generation,⁵¹from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, who perished between the altar and the sanctuary. Yes, I tell you, it will be required of this generation.⁵²Woe to you lawyers! For you have taken away the key of knowledge. You did not enter yourselves, and you hindered those who were entering."⁵³As he went away from there, the scribes and the Pharisees began to press him hard and to provoke him to speak about many things,⁵⁴lying in wait for him, to catch him in something he might say.

Sermon

In today’s readings, we encounter two powerful reflections on God’s plan for humanity and the call to live out our faith authentically. The first reading from Ephesians reminds us of the abundant blessings God has poured out upon us in Christ. Paul writes that before the foundation of the world, God chose us to be holy and blameless in his sight, predestining us for adoption as his children through Jesus Christ. This passage emphasizes God’s eternal plan of love and grace, which culminates in the redemption we have through the blood of Christ. It is a beautiful reminder of our identity as beloved children of God and the profound wisdom of his will to unite all things in Christ. The Gospel from Luke presents a stark contrast to this divine plan of love. Jesus addresses the Pharisees, criticizing them for honoring the prophets with tombs while rejecting the message of the prophets—and ultimately, the message of Jesus himself. He condemns their hypocrisy, pointing out that while they claim to reverence the prophets of old, they are complicit in the same spirit of rejection and violence that led to the prophets’ deaths. Jesus also rebukes the lawyers for taking away the key of knowledge, preventing others from entering the kingdom while refusing to enter themselves. This passage serves as a warning against religious hypocrisy and the dangers of knowledge without humility or action. Together, these readings call us to reflect on how we live out our faith. The Ephesians passage invites us to embrace our identity as beloved and blessed children of God, while the Gospel challenges us to examine whether our words and actions align with the truth of God’s love. Are we living as true followers of Christ, or are we like the Pharisees, more concerned with appearances than with the substance of faith? Let us ask ourselves: Do we use our knowledge and gifts to build up others, or do we hoard them? Do we recognize the grace God has given us, or do we take it for granted? As we go about our daily lives, let us strive to live with integrity and humility, mindful of the great love God has shown us. May we not only hear the Word of God but also put it into practice, allowing the grace of Christ to transform us and guide us in all we do. In this way, we can truly honor God and fulfill our calling as his children.