Daily Readings - Mon Sep 03 2018

1 Corinthians

1And I, brethren, when I came to you, came not with excellency of speech or of wisdom, declaring unto you the testimony of God.2For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified.3And I was with you in weakness, and in fear, and in much trembling.4And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man's wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power:5That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.

Luke

16And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up: and, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and stood up for to read.17And there was delivered unto him the book of the prophet Esaias. And when he had opened the book, he found the place where it was written,18The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised,19To preach the acceptable year of the Lord.20And he closed the book, and he gave it again to the minister, and sat down. And the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were fastened on him.21And he began to say unto them, This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears.22And all bare him witness, and wondered at the gracious words which proceeded out of his mouth. And they said, Is not this Joseph's son?23And he said unto them, Ye will surely say unto me this proverb, Physician, heal thyself: whatsoever we have heard done in Capernaum, do also here in thy country.24And he said, Verily I say unto you, No prophet is accepted in his own country.25But I tell you of a truth, many widows were in Israel in the days of Elias, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, when great famine was throughout all the land;26But unto none of them was Elias sent, save unto Sarepta, a city of Sidon, unto a woman that was a widow.27And many lepers were in Israel in the time of Eliseus the prophet; and none of them was cleansed, saving Naaman the Syrian.28And all they in the synagogue, when they heard these things, were filled with wrath,29And rose up, and thrust him out of the city, and led him unto the brow of the hill whereon their city was built, that they might cast him down headlong.30But he passing through the midst of them went his way,

Sermon

In today's readings, we encounter two profound moments that invite us to reflect on the nature of God's message and our response to it. The First Reading from 1 Corinthians reminds us of Paul's humble approach to preaching, where he relied not on human wisdom but on the power of the Spirit. He emphasized the crucifixion of Christ as the core of his message, teaching us that true wisdom comes from God, not human intellect. This humility is a powerful lesson in trusting God's power over our own abilities. In the Gospel, Jesus faces rejection in his hometown of Nazareth after declaring the fulfillment of Isaiah's prophecy. Despite initial amazement, the crowd turns hostile when Jesus challenges their assumptions about who deserves God's grace. This rejection mirrors Paul's experience, highlighting the theme of trusting in God's plan, even when it leads to discomfort or rejection. Both readings remind us that God's grace often appears in unexpected places, urging us to be open to His work beyond our limited perspectives. As we apply these teachings to our lives, we are called to humility and trust in God. Let us embrace the truth that God's ways are not our ways and remain open to His message, even when it challenges us. May we, like Paul and Jesus, trust in God's power and grace, allowing it to guide us in our daily lives. This is a call to look beyond our own understanding and prejudices, recognizing that God's work is not confined to our expectations.