Daily Readings - Wed Oct 09 2019
Jonah
1But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was very angry.2And he prayed unto the LORD, and said, I pray thee, O LORD, was not this my saying, when I was yet in my country? Therefore I fled before unto Tarshish: for I knew that thou art a gracious God, and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repentest thee of the evil.3Therefore now, O LORD, take, I beseech thee, my life from me; for it is better for me to die than to live.4Then said the LORD, Doest thou well to be angry?5So Jonah went out of the city, and sat on the east side of the city, and there made him a booth, and sat under it in the shadow, till he might see what would become of the city.6And the LORD God prepared a gourd, and made it to come up over Jonah, that it might be a shadow over his head, to deliver him from his grief. So Jonah was exceeding glad of the gourd.7But God prepared a worm when the morning rose the next day, and it smote the gourd that it withered.8And it came to pass, when the sun did arise, that God prepared a vehement east wind; and the sun beat upon the head of Jonah, that he fainted, and wished in himself to die, and said, It is better for me to die than to live.9And God said to Jonah, Doest thou well to be angry for the gourd? And he said, I do well to be angry, even unto death.10Then said the LORD, Thou hast had pity on the gourd, for the which thou hast not laboured, neither madest it grow; which came up in a night, and perished in a night:11And should not I spare Nineveh, that great city, wherein are more than sixscore thousand persons that cannot discern between their right hand and their left hand; and also much cattle?
Luke
1And it came to pass, that, as he was praying in a certain place, when he ceased, one of his disciples said unto him, Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples.2And he said unto them, When ye pray, say, Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth.3Give us day by day our daily bread.4And forgive us our sins; for we also forgive every one that is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil.
Sermon
The readings today invite us to reflect on prayer, compassion, and the relationship between our desires and God’s will. In the first reading from Jonah, we see the prophet’s frustration and anger when God spares the city of Nineveh. Jonah had grown attached to a plant that provided him shade, and when it withered, he was inconsolable. God used this moment to teach Jonah a lesson about compassion and the value of life, pointing out that Jonah grieved for a plant he did not even cultivate, while God was merciful to an entire city of people who did not know right from wrong. This story highlights Jonah’s limited perspective and God’s boundless mercy.
In the Gospel, Jesus teaches his disciples how to pray. The Lord’s Prayer, as it has come to be known, is a model of simplicity and depth. It begins with reverence for God’s name, a longing for His kingdom, and a request for daily bread. It then moves to forgiveness and protection from temptation. This prayer reminds us that our relationship with God should be rooted in humility, trust, and a recognition of our dependence on Him. It also calls us to live in harmony with others, forgiving as we are forgiven.
These readings connect in their emphasis on aligning our hearts with God’s will. Jonah’s anger and attachment to the plant reveal a lack of trust in God’s plan, while the Lord’s Prayer teaches us to seek God’s will above our own. In our daily lives, we are often like Jonah, clinging to things that are fleeting or focusing on our own desires rather than God’s larger purpose. The readings encourage us to pray with sincerity, to trust in God’s mercy, and to cultivate compassion for others, just as God has shown compassion to us. Let us strive to live with humility, gratitude, and a heart open to God’s will.