Daily Readings - Mon Oct 30 2017

First Reading - Romans 8.11-17

¹¹But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.¹²Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh.¹³For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.¹⁴For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.¹⁵For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.¹⁶The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:¹⁷And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.

Gospel - Luke 13.10-17

Luke

Chapter 13

¹⁰And he was teaching in one of the synagogues on the sabbath.¹¹And, behold, there was a woman which had a spirit of infirmity eighteen years, and was bowed together, and could in no wise lift up herself.¹²And when Jesus saw her, he called her to him, and said unto her, Woman, thou art loosed from thine infirmity.¹³And he laid his hands on her: and immediately she was made straight, and glorified God.¹⁴And the ruler of the synagogue answered with indignation, because that Jesus had healed on the sabbath day, and said unto the people, There are six days in which men ought to work: in them therefore come and be healed, and not on the sabbath day.¹⁵The Lord then answered him, and said, Thou hypocrite, doth not each one of you on the sabbath loose his ox or his ass from the stall, and lead him away to watering?¹⁶And ought not this woman, being a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan hath bound, lo, these eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the sabbath day?¹⁷And when he had said these things, all his adversaries were ashamed: and all the people rejoiced for all the glorious things that were done by him.

Sermon

The readings today invite us to reflect on the transformative power of the Spirit of God and the freedom it brings. In the first reading from Romans, St. Paul reminds us that the Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead dwells within us, making us children of God. This Spirit calls us to live not according to the flesh, which leads to death, but to mortify the deeds of the flesh and embrace the life of the Spirit. As sons and daughters of God, we are heirs of his glory, but this also means sharing in Christ’s sufferings so that we may be glorified with him. In the Gospel, Jesus encounters a woman who has been bent over for eighteen years, a vivid image of spiritual and physical bondage. Jesus, moved by compassion, heals her on the Sabbath, sparking controversy with the synagogue ruler. Jesus defends his action by pointing out the hypocrisy of rigidly observing the Sabbath while neglecting the freedom and healing that God’s Spirit offers. The woman, a daughter of Abraham, is freed from her infirmity, and the crowd rejoices at the glory of God revealed in her healing. Together, these readings remind us that the Spirit of God brings life, freedom, and healing. We are called to live as children of God, open to the Spirit’s work in us and through us. Like the woman in the Gospel, we must allow Jesus to set us free from the burdens that weigh us down, whether they are physical, emotional, or spiritual. Let us not be bound by fear or rigid traditions, but instead, embrace the Spirit’s transformative power and live as heirs of God’s glory.