Daily Readings - Tue Dec 08 2020
Genesis
9And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou?10And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.11And he said, Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat?12And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat.13And the LORD God said unto the woman, What is this that thou hast done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat.14And the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life:15And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.20And Adam called his wife's name Eve; because she was the mother of all living.
Ephesians
3Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:4According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:5Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,6To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.11In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will:12That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ.
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
In today’s readings, we encounter profound moments of human encounter with the divine, each revealing the depth of God’s love and the complexity of human response. The first reading from Genesis recounts the story of Adam and Eve, the first parents, who, tempted by the serpent, choose to disobey God’s command. Their sin introduces suffering and division into the world, yet even in judgment, there is a glimmer of hope: the promise of redemption through the offspring of the woman, who will crush the serpent’s head. This passage sets the stage for understanding the human condition—our frailty, our tendency to blame, and our need for redemption.
The second reading from Ephesians shifts our gaze to the divine plan of salvation. Paul writes of the blessings God has lavished upon us in Christ, choosing us before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless. This reading emphasizes God’s eternal plan to adopt us as his children through Jesus Christ, a plan rooted in love and destined to unfold according to his will. It invites us to see ourselves as part of a larger story, one of grace and redemption, where every moment of our lives is caught up in God’s purpose.
The Gospel reading from Luke presents the Annunciation, where the Angel Gabriel announces to Mary that she will bear a son, Jesus, who will be the Son of the Most High. Mary’s response—“Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be done to me according to your word”—stands in stark contrast to the disobedience of Adam and Eve. Her “yes” undoes the “no” of Eve, opening the way for redemption. Mary’s humility and trust in God’s plan serve as a model for us all, reminding us that our lives are not our own but are part of a greater divine plan.
These readings, when taken together, invite us to reflect on our relationship with God and our place in his plan. Like Adam and Eve, we are tempted to turn away from God, but like Mary, we are called to trust in his will. The readings remind us that sin and suffering are real, but they do not have the final word. God’s love and grace are always at work, even in the midst of human failure. As we go about our daily lives, let us strive to imitate Mary’s openness to God’s plan, trusting that even in uncertainty, his will is always for our good and the good of all. May we, like Mary, say “yes” to God, allowing his grace to transform us and bring light to a world still grappling with the effects of sin.