Daily Readings - Mon Jul 31 2023
Exodus
15Then Moses turned and went down from the mountain with the two tablets of the testimony in his hand, tablets that were written on both sides; on the front and on the back they were written.16The tablets were the work of God, and the writing was the writing of God, engraved on the tablets.17When Joshua heard the noise of the people as they shouted, he said to Moses, "There is a noise of war in the camp."18But he said, "It is not the sound of shouting for victory, or the sound of the cry of defeat, but the sound of singing that I hear."19And as soon as he came near the camp and saw the calf and the dancing, Moses' anger burned hot, and he threw the tablets out of his hands and broke them at the foot of the mountain.20He took the calf that they had made and burned it with fire and ground it to powder and scattered it on the water and made the people of Israel drink it.21And Moses said to Aaron, "What did this people do to you that you have brought such a great sin upon them?"22And Aaron said, "Let not the anger of my lord burn hot. You know the people, that they are set on evil.23For they said to me, 'Make us gods who shall go before us. As for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.'24So I said to them, 'Let any who have gold take it off.' So they gave it to me, and I threw it into the fire, and out came this calf."30The next day Moses said to the people, "You have sinned a great sin. And now I will go up to the LORD; perhaps I can make atonement for your sin."31So Moses returned to the LORD and said, "Alas, this people have sinned a great sin. They have made for themselves gods of gold.32But now, if you will forgive their sin--but if not, please blot me out of your book that you have written."33But the LORD said to Moses, "Whoever has sinned against me, I will blot out of my book.34But now go, lead the people to the place about which I have spoken to you; behold, my angel shall go before you. Nevertheless, in the day when I visit, I will visit their sin upon them."
Matthew
31He put another parable before them, saying, "The kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his field.32It is the smallest of all seeds, but when it has grown it is larger than all the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches."33He told them another parable. "The kingdom of heaven is like leaven that a woman took and hid in three measures of flour, till it was all leavened."34All these things Jesus said to the crowds in parables; indeed, he said nothing to them without a parable.35This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet: "I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter what has been hidden since the foundation of the world."
Sermon
Today’s readings invite us to reflect on the nature of faith, sin, and the transformative power of God’s presence in our lives. In the first reading from Exodus, we witness a dramatic moment in the history of God’s people. Moses, having received the tablets of the Ten Commandments from God, descends from the mountain only to find the Israelites worshipping a golden calf. Their impatience and lack of faith lead them to construct an idol, which angers Moses. He smashes the tablets, symbolizing the broken covenant, and confronts Aaron, who tries to excuse their sin. Moses then intercedes for the people, asking God to forgive their grave offense. This passage reminds us of the human tendency to turn away from God and the importance of intercession and mercy.
In the Gospel, Jesus uses two parables to describe the kingdom of heaven: the mustard seed and the leaven. The mustard seed, though small, grows into a tree that shelters the birds, while the leaven, though hidden, transforms the entire batch of dough. These parables teach us that the kingdom of God begins in humility and obscurity but gradually transforms everything it touches. Just as the mustard seed requires care and time to grow, and the leaven works quietly to ferment the dough, so too does the kingdom of God work in our lives through patience, faith, and trust.
The readings are connected by the theme of transformation. In Exodus, the people’s sin is met with God’s mercy and Moses’ intercession, offering a path to renewal. In the Gospel, the parables encourage us to trust in the slow but sure work of God’s grace. In our daily lives, we are called to recognize the ways in which God is at work, even in the smallest and most hidden ways. Like the mustard seed, our faith may seem insignificant, but with care and perseverance, it can grow into something extraordinary. And like the leaven, God’s grace can transform even the darkest corners of our hearts and the world around us. Let us ask for the faith to trust in God’s plan and the patience to let his kingdom grow in us and through us.