Daily Readings - Thu Jul 14 2022
Isaiah
7The path of the righteous is level; you make level the way of the righteous.8In the path of your judgments, O LORD, we wait for you; your name and remembrance are the desire of our soul.9My soul yearns for you in the night; my spirit within me earnestly seeks you. For when your judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world learn righteousness.12O LORD, you will ordain peace for us; you have done for us all our works.16O LORD, in distress they sought you; they poured out a whispered prayer when your discipline was upon them.17Like a pregnant woman who writhes and cries out in her pangs when she is near to giving birth, so were we because of you, O LORD;18we were pregnant, we writhed, but we have given birth to wind. We have accomplished no deliverance in the earth, and the inhabitants of the world have not fallen.19Your dead shall live; their bodies shall rise. You who dwell in the dust, awake and sing for joy! For your dew is a dew of light, and the earth will give birth to the dead.
Sermon
The readings today invite us to reflect on the journey of trust and hope in the midst of life’s challenges. In the first reading from Isaiah, we hear the voice of a people enduring hardship and yearning for God’s justice and peace. The prophet describes the upright path of the just, which is not always easy, but it is the path that aligns with God’s will. The people have suffered, cried out in anguish, and even felt as though their efforts to bring about salvation have been in vain. Yet, amidst this tribulation, there is a glimmer of hope: the promise that God will bring life out of death, and that His people will rise again. The passage reminds us that our struggles are not without purpose, and that God’s plan is always at work, even when we cannot see it clearly.
In the Gospel, Jesus offers a comforting invitation to all who are weary and burdened. He calls us to come to Him, to take on His yoke, and to learn from His meekness and humility. Jesus promises rest for our souls, not because the journey will become easy, but because His yoke is sweet and His burden is light. This is not a promise to remove our struggles, but rather to transform the way we carry them. By trusting in Jesus and following His example, we can find peace in the midst of life’s storms.
These readings are deeply connected. Both Isaiah and Jesus remind us that faith is not about avoiding difficulties but about trusting God in the midst of them. When we feel overwhelmed, we are called to turn to God, to lean on His wisdom, and to embrace the humility that allows us to see His plan unfolding. In our daily lives, this means surrendering our need to control everything and instead learning to walk in trust, even when the path is uncertain. Let us remember that our struggles are not in vain, and that God’s peace is always within reach when we yoke ourselves to Him. May we, like the people in Isaiah, hold fast to hope, and may we, like the disciples, find rest in Jesus.