Daily Readings - Thu Feb 20 2025
Genesis
1And God blessed Noah and his sons, and said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth.2And the fear of you and the dread of you shall be upon every beast of the earth, and upon every fowl of the air, upon all that moveth upon the earth, and upon all the fishes of the sea; into your hand are they delivered.3Every moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you; even as the green herb have I given you all things.4But flesh with the life thereof, which is the blood thereof, shall ye not eat.5And surely your blood of your lives will I require; at the hand of every beast will I require it, and at the hand of man; at the hand of every man's brother will I require the life of man.6Whoso sheddeth man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed: for in the image of God made he man.7And you, be ye fruitful, and multiply; bring forth abundantly in the earth, and multiply therein.8And God spake unto Noah, and to his sons with him, saying,9And I, behold, I establish my covenant with you, and with your seed after you;10And with every living creature that is with you, of the fowl, of the cattle, and of every beast of the earth with you; from all that go out of the ark, to every beast of the earth.11And I will establish my covenant with you; neither shall all flesh be cut off any more by the waters of a flood; neither shall there any more be a flood to destroy the earth.12And God said, This is the token of the covenant which I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for perpetual generations:13I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth.
Mark
27And Jesus went out, and his disciples, into the towns of Caesarea Philippi: and by the way he asked his disciples, saying unto them, Whom do men say that I am?28And they answered, John the Baptist: but some say, Elias; and others, One of the prophets.29And he saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? And Peter answereth and saith unto him, Thou art the Christ.30And he charged them that they should tell no man of him.31And he began to teach them, that the Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders, and of the chief priests, and scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again.32And he spake that saying openly. And Peter took him, and began to rebuke him.33But when he had turned about and looked on his disciples, he rebuked Peter, saying, Get thee behind me, Satan: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but the things that be of men.
Sermon
In today’s readings, we encounter two profound moments of revelation and promise. In Genesis, we hear the story of God establishing a covenant with Noah, promising never again to destroy the earth with a flood. The rainbow is given as a sign of this eternal pact, a symbol of God’s mercy and faithfulness. This moment marks a new beginning for humanity, a fresh start after the devastation of the flood. In Mark’s Gospel, Jesus asks his disciples a pivotal question: “Who do you say that I am?” Peter’s confession, “You are the Christ,” is a moment of clarity and faith. Yet, immediately after this confession, Jesus begins to reveal the true nature of his mission: he must suffer, be rejected, and die before rising again. Peter’s resistance to this truth leads to a stern rebuke from Jesus, emphasizing the necessity of embracing the cross as part of following him.
The readings invite us to reflect on the relationship between God’s promises and our response to them. In Genesis, the covenant with Noah is a promise of mercy and renewal, yet it also comes with responsibilities. Similarly, in Mark, Jesus’ identity as the Messiah is inseparable from his mission of self-giving love. The cross is not just a consequence of his ministry but the very purpose of it. These readings remind us that faith is not merely about recognizing who God is but also about trusting in his plan, even when it challenges our expectations.
As we apply these readings to our daily lives, we are called to embrace the paradox of faith: God’s promises are often fulfilled in ways we do not expect, and following Jesus requires us to take up our own cross. Just as the rainbow signifies God’s covenant with humanity, the cross signifies our covenant with God—a commitment to love, sacrifice, and trust. Let us ask ourselves: Are we willing to let go of our own plans and desires, like Peter, and instead surrender to God’s will? Are we open to seeing the world through the lens of God’s mercy and love? May these readings inspire us to deepen our faith and to live as people of hope, trusting in God’s promises even in the face of uncertainty.