Daily Readings - Thu Oct 16 2025
Romans
21But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it--22the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction:23for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,24and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,25whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God's righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins.26It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.27Then what becomes of our boasting? It is excluded. By what kind of law? By a law of works? No, but by the law of faith.28For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law.29Or is God the God of Jews only? Is he not the God of Gentiles also? Yes, of Gentiles also,30since God is one. He will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith.
Luke
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
The readings today invite us to reflect on the relationship between faith, justice, and hypocrisy. In the first reading from Romans, St. Paul explains that God’s justice is revealed not through the law but through faith in Jesus Christ. He emphasizes that all people—Jews and Gentiles alike—have sinned and fall short of God’s glory, but we are justified freely by God’s grace through the redemption found in Christ. Paul makes it clear that this justification comes not through works of the law but through faith, and he challenges us to humility, recognizing that salvation is a gift, not something we can earn.
In the Gospel, Jesus addresses the Pharisees, criticizing their hypocrisy. While they honor the prophets by building tombs, they fail to live according to the prophets’ teachings. Jesus points out that they are complicit in the sins of their ancestors, who persecuted and killed the prophets. He also condemns their legalism, accusing them of taking away the key of knowledge and preventing others from entering the Kingdom of God. This passage serves as a warning against outward religiosity that lacks inner conversion and genuine faith.
Together, these readings remind us that true faith is not about outward appearances or following rules, but about a deep, interior transformation. We are called to live with integrity, aligning our actions with our beliefs, and avoiding the hypocrisy of honoring God with our lips while neglecting to follow Him with our hearts. Let us examine our own lives today: Are we living as true disciples of Christ, or are we content with superficial religiosity? May we turn to God with humble and sincere hearts, trusting in His grace and striving to live in a way that reflects the justice and love He has revealed to us.