Daily Readings - Fri Jan 17 2025
Hebrews
1Therefore, while the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us fear lest any of you should seem to have failed to reach it.2For good news came to us just as to them, but the message they heard did not benefit them, because they were not united by faith with those who listened.3For we who have believed enter that rest, as he has said, "As I swore in my wrath, 'They shall not enter my rest,'"although his works were finished from the foundation of the world.4For he has somewhere spoken of the seventh day in this way: "And God rested on the seventh day from all his works."5And again in this passage he said, "They shall not enter my rest."11Let us therefore strive to enter that rest, so that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience.
Mark
1And when he returned to Capernaum after some days, it was reported that he was at home.2And many were gathered together, so that there was no more room, not even at the door. And he was preaching the word to them.3And they came, bringing to him a paralytic carried by four men.4And when they could not get near him because of the crowd, they removed the roof above him, and when they had made an opening, they let down the bed on which the paralytic lay.5And when Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, "My son, your sins are forgiven."6Now some of the scribes were sitting there, questioning in their hearts,7"Why does this man speak like that? He is blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?"8And immediately Jesus, perceiving in his spirit that they thus questioned within themselves, said to them, "Why do you question these things in your hearts?9Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, 'Rise, take up your bed and walk'?10But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins"--he said to the paralytic--11"I say to you, rise, pick up your bed, and go home."12And he rose and immediately picked up his bed and went out before them all, so that they were all amazed and glorified God, saying, "We never saw anything like this!"
Sermon
The readings today invite us to reflect on the power of faith and the promise of God’s rest. In the first reading from Hebrews, we are reminded that God’s rest is not merely a physical reprieve but a spiritual state of trust and surrender. The author warns us not to fall into the same disbelief as those who heard God’s Word but did not act on it. True faith requires us to trust in God’s promises, even when the journey seems uncertain. The passage emphasizes that God’s works are complete, and His rest is available to those who believe.
In the Gospel, Mark presents a vivid scene of Jesus healing a paralytic man. The faith of the man’s friends, who went to great lengths to bring him to Jesus, is what moves the Lord to act. Jesus first forgives the man’s sins, addressing the deeper spiritual paralysis before healing his physical condition. This miracle not only demonstrates Jesus’ authority to forgive sins but also reveals that true healing comes from trusting in God’s mercy and power. The scribes’ skepticism contrasts sharply with the faith of the paralytic and his friends, reminding us that faith is not about understanding everything but about surrendering to God’s will.
These readings call us to examine our own faith. Do we, like the paralytic’s friends, trust God enough to bring our struggles and sins to Him? Or do we, like the scribes, allow doubt and fear to harden our hearts? The promise of God’s rest is not just a future hope but a present reality for those who trust in Him. Let us strive to live with the kind of active, bold faith that leads us to surrender our lives to God, knowing that He is always at work in us, even when we cannot see it.