Daily Readings - Mon Sep 02 2019

¹³But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope.¹⁴For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.¹⁵For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep.¹⁶For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:¹⁷Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.¹⁸Wherefore comfort one another with these words.

Luke

Chapter 4

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 find profound messages of hope and the challenges of living out our faith. The First Reading from 1 Thessalonians reminds us of the hope we have in the resurrection. It reassures us that those who have passed away in Christ will rise again, and we will all be united with the Lord. This passage comforts early Christians dealing with grief, offering a vision of eternal togetherness with God. The Gospel from Luke presents Jesus in Nazareth, where he proclaims his mission to the poor and the marginalized. Despite initial amazement, the crowd turns hostile when Jesus points out that prophets are often rejected at home, using examples of Elijah and Elisha helping outsiders. This highlights the tension between Jesus' universal mission and the local community's expectations, leading to his rejection. These readings relate by emphasizing hope and the challenges of faith. The resurrection gives us hope beyond death, while Jesus' mission shows us the importance of reaching out to all, even in the face of rejection. In our daily lives, we may encounter resistance when standing up for our beliefs or helping others, but we are called to endure, trusting in God's plan. Let us draw strength from the hope of eternal life and continue serving others as Jesus did, even when faced with adversity.