Daily Readings - Mon Apr 09 2018
First Reading - Isaiah 7.10-14; 8.10d
Isaiah
10Moreover the LORD spake again unto Ahaz, saying,11Ask thee a sign of the LORD thy God; ask it either in the depth, or in the height above.12But Ahaz said, I will not ask, neither will I tempt the LORD.13And he said, Hear ye now, O house of David; Is it a small thing for you to weary men, but will ye weary my God also?14Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.
Second Reading - Hebrews 10.4-10
Hebrews
4For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins.5Wherefore when he cometh into the world, he saith, Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but a body hast thou prepared me:6In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin thou hast had no pleasure.7Then said I, Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is written of me,) to do thy will, O God.8Above when he said, Sacrifice and offering and burnt offerings and offering for sin thou wouldest not, neither hadst pleasure therein; which are offered by the law;9Then said he, Lo, I come to do thy will, O God. He taketh away the first, that he may establish the second.10By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.
Gospel - Luke 1.26-38
Luke
26And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth,27To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin's name was Mary.28And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women.29And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be.30And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God.31And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS.32He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David:33And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end.34Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man?35And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.36And, behold, thy cousin Elisabeth, she hath also conceived a son in her old age: and this is the sixth month with her, who was called barren.37For with God nothing shall be impossible.38And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her.
Sermon
The readings today invite us to reflect on the profound mystery of God’s plan of salvation and the role of faith in our lives. In the first reading from Isaiah, we hear the prophet’s invitation to King Ahaz to ask for a sign, a gesture of trust in God’s providence. Ahaz’s refusal is met with the promise of a greater sign: a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, Emmanuel, “God is with us.” This passage, written centuries before Christ, points to the coming Messiah and the fulfillment of God’s promise to be with his people.
The Gospel reading brings us to the moment when this promise is fulfilled. The Angel Gabriel announces to Mary that she will bear a son, Jesus, who will be the Son of the Most High and reign forever. Mary’s response, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. Let it be done to me according to your word,” is a model of faith and surrender. She does not understand how this will happen, but she trusts in God’s plan. This moment, the Annunciation, is the hinge of salvation history, where the Word of God becomes flesh in the womb of Mary.
The second reading from Hebrews bridges the Old and New Testaments, emphasizing that Christ’s sacrifice is the ultimate fulfillment of God’s plan. The blood of oxen and goats could never take away sin, but the sacrifice of Christ’s body, offered once for all, sanctifies us and makes us holy. This reading reminds us that our faith is rooted in the sacrifice of Christ, who came to do the will of the Father.
In our daily lives, these readings call us to trust in God’s plan, even when it seems impossible or unclear. Like Mary, we are invited to surrender to God’s will, knowing that He is always with us. The moral lesson is clear: faith is not about understanding every detail but about trusting in God’s love and providence. Let us ask for the grace to say, like Mary, “Let it be done to me according to your word,” and to live each day with the confidence that God is with us, Emmanuel.