Daily Readings - Sun Oct 29 2023
Exodus
21Thou shalt neither vex a stranger, nor oppress him: for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt.22Ye shall not afflict any widow, or fatherless child.23If thou afflict them in any wise, and they cry at all unto me, I will surely hear their cry;24And my wrath shall wax hot, and I will kill you with the sword; and your wives shall be widows, and your children fatherless.25If thou lend money to any of my people that is poor by thee, thou shalt not be to him as an usurer, neither shalt thou lay upon him usury.26If thou at all take thy neighbour's raiment to pledge, thou shalt deliver it unto him by that the sun goeth down:27For that is his covering only, it is his raiment for his skin: wherein shall he sleep? and it shall come to pass, when he crieth unto me, that I will hear; for I am gracious.
1 Thessalonians
5For our gospel came not unto you in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Ghost, and in much assurance; as ye know what manner of men we were among you for your sake.6And ye became followers of us, and of the Lord, having received the word in much affliction, with joy of the Holy Ghost:7So that ye were ensamples to all that believe in Macedonia and Achaia.8For from you sounded out the word of the Lord not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but also in every place your faith to God-ward is spread abroad; so that we need not to speak any thing.9For they themselves shew of us what manner of entering in we had unto you, and how ye turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God;10And to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come.
Matthew
34But when the Pharisees had heard that he had put the Sadducees to silence, they were gathered together.35Then one of them, which was a lawyer, asked him a question, tempting him, and saying,36Master, which is the great commandment in the law?37Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.38This is the first and great commandment.39And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.40On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.
Sermon
The readings today remind us of the heart of God’s law and the transformative power of living according to His will. In the first reading from Exodus, we hear God’s clear command to care for the vulnerable—newcomers, widows, orphans, and the poor. This is not merely a suggestion but a divine mandate rooted in Israel’s own experience of oppression in Egypt. God, who is compassionate and hears the cries of the afflicted, demands that His people reflect His mercy in their treatment of others. The second reading from 1 Thessalonians shows us what this looks like in practice. The early Christians in Thessalonica, though persecuted, embraced the Gospel with joy and became a model of faith for others. Their conversion from idolatry to the living God was not just a change in belief but a radical transformation in how they lived, inspiring others to follow their example.
In the Gospel, Jesus distills the entire law into two commandments: love God with all your heart, soul, and mind, and love your neighbor as yourself. These are not separate commands but intertwined expressions of the same love. To love God is to love those He loves, and to love our neighbors is to reflect God’s love in the world. The Pharisees, trying to test Jesus, instead receive a profound truth that cuts through legalism and gets to the heart of what it means to follow God. Today’s readings, therefore, call us to examine how we are living out these two great commandments in our daily lives.
As we reflect on these readings, let us ask ourselves: Are we treating others with the same compassion God has shown us? Are we living in a way that inspires others to know and love God? The Good News is that God’s love is not just a command but a gift that transforms us. When we love as God loves, we become instruments of His mercy and grace in a world that desperately needs it. Let us strive to be like the Thessalonians, whose faith and joy in the midst of trials became a light to others. By living out the two great commandments, we not only fulfill the law but also become the face of God’s love to a world in need.