Daily Readings - Fri Nov 22 2024
Revelation
8Then the voice that I had heard from heaven spoke to me again, saying, "Go, take the scroll that is open in the hand of the angel who is standing on the sea and on the land."9So I went to the angel and told him to give me the little scroll. And he said to me, "Take and eat it; it will make your stomach bitter, but in your mouth it will be sweet as honey."10And I took the little scroll from the hand of the angel and ate it. It was sweet as honey in my mouth, but when I had eaten it my stomach was made bitter.11And I was told, "You must again prophesy about many peoples and nations and languages and kings."
Luke
45And he entered the temple and began to drive out those who sold,46saying to them, "It is written, 'My house shall be a house of prayer,' but you have made it a den of robbers."47And he was teaching daily in the temple. The chief priests and the scribes and the principal men of the people were seeking to destroy him,48but they did not find anything they could do, for all the people were hanging on his words.
Sermon
The readings today invite us to reflect on the call to prophesy, the purification of God’s house, and the commitment to living out God’s word in our lives. In the first reading from Revelation, John is given a scroll by an angel and told to eat it. The scroll is sweet in his mouth but bitter in his stomach, symbolizing the dual nature of God’s word. It brings joy and comfort but also challenges us to confront sin and injustice. This passage reminds us that receiving God’s word is not just about comfort but also about the difficult task of proclaiming truth, even when it leads to suffering.
In the Gospel, Jesus enters the temple and drives out those who were turning it into a marketplace. He reminds them that the temple is a house of prayer, not a place for commerce. This act of cleansing the temple is a powerful call to integrity and authenticity in our relationship with God. Just as the temple was meant to be a sacred space for prayer and worship, our hearts and lives must also be purified to make room for God’s presence. Jesus’ actions challenge us to examine our own lives and ensure that we are not allowing worldly distractions or selfish desires to take precedence over our commitment to God.
These readings are deeply connected. Both call us to embrace the word of God and to live it out faithfully, even when it is difficult. John’s experience of eating the scroll reminds us that God’s word must shape us from the inside out, transforming us and equipping us to share it with others. Jesus’ cleansing of the temple reminds us that this transformation must also lead to a purification of our lives and our communities. As we reflect on these readings, let us ask ourselves: Are we truly receiving God’s word and allowing it to transform us? Are we creating space in our lives for prayer and for God’s presence? May we be courageous in embracing the sweetness and bitterness of God’s word, and may we strive to live as temples of the Holy Spirit, dedicated to prayer, integrity, and the proclamation of God’s truth.