Daily Readings - Mon Oct 27 2025
Romans
11If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.12So then, brothers, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh.13For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.14For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.15For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, "Abba! Father!"16The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God,17and if children, then heirs--heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.
Luke
10Now he was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath.11And there was a woman who had had a disabling spirit for eighteen years. She was bent over and could not fully straighten herself.12When Jesus saw her, he called her over and said to her, "Woman, you are freed from your disability."13And he laid his hands on her, and immediately she was made straight, and she glorified God.14But the ruler of the synagogue, indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, said to the people, "There are six days in which work ought to be done. Come on those days and be healed, and not on the Sabbath day."15Then the Lord answered him, "You hypocrites! Does not each of you on the Sabbath untie his ox or his donkey from the manger and lead it away to water it?16And ought not this woman, a daughter of Abraham whom Satan bound for eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the Sabbath day?"17As he said these things, all his adversaries were put to shame, and all the people rejoiced at all the glorious things that were done by him.
Sermon
The readings today invite us to reflect on the transformative power of God’s Spirit and the freedom it brings. In the first reading from Romans, St. Paul reminds us that the Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, dwells within us. This Spirit is not a spirit of fear or servitude but one of adoption, making us children of God. Paul emphasizes that living according to the flesh leads to death, while living by the Spirit leads to life. He encourages us to mortify the deeds of the flesh and embrace our identity as sons and daughters of God, who are also heirs of His glory, provided we share in Christ’s sufferings.
In the Gospel, Luke presents a vivid scene where Jesus heals a woman bent over by a spirit of infirmity for eighteen years. Despite the objections of the synagogue ruler, who insists that healing should not happen on the Sabbath, Jesus sees the deeper truth: the Sabbath is a day for God’s mercy and liberation. He compares the woman, bound by Satan for so long, to an ox or donkey that is untethered on the Sabbath to drink water. Just as animals deserve care, so too does this daughter of Abraham deserve to be set free. Jesus’ actions reveal that true freedom and healing are always in harmony with God’s will, even on the Sabbath.
These readings remind us that our lives are not confined by the limitations of the flesh or the rigid interpretations of others. The Spirit of God within us calls us to live as free children of God, unafraid to embrace the transformative power of His love. In our daily lives, we are invited to trust in this Spirit, who leads us to true freedom and glory. Let us not be bound by fear or legalism but instead allow the Spirit to guide us in living as heirs of God, co-heirs with Christ, and daughters and sons of Abraham. May we, like the woman in the Gospel, glorify God by embracing the liberation He offers us.