Daily Readings - Sat Mar 08 2025
Isaiah
9Then shalt thou call, and the LORD shall answer; thou shalt cry, and he shall say, Here I am. If thou take away from the midst of thee the yoke, the putting forth of the finger, and speaking vanity;10And if thou draw out thy soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul; then shall thy light rise in obscurity, and thy darkness be as the noonday:11And the LORD shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought, and make fat thy bones: and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not.12And they that shall be of thee shall build the old waste places: thou shalt raise up the foundations of many generations; and thou shalt be called, The repairer of the breach, The restorer of paths to dwell in.13If thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day; and call the sabbath a delight, the holy of the LORD, honourable; and shalt honour him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words:14Then shalt thou delight thyself in the LORD; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it.
Luke
27And after these things he went forth, and saw a publican, named Levi, sitting at the receipt of custom: and he said unto him, Follow me.28And he left all, rose up, and followed him.29And Levi made him a great feast in his own house: and there was a great company of publicans and of others that sat down with them.30But their scribes and Pharisees murmured against his disciples, saying, Why do ye eat and drink with publicans and sinners?31And Jesus answering said unto them, They that are whole need not a physician; but they that are sick.32I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.
Sermon
In today’s readings, we hear powerful messages about living out our faith in ways that transform both ourselves and the world around us. The first reading from Isaiah reminds us that true fasting is not just about abstaining from food but about breaking the chains of oppression, feeding the hungry, and bringing light to those in darkness. The prophet emphasizes that when we pour out our lives in service to others, God’s light will shine through us, and we will find rest and renewal. This passage calls us to move beyond superficial religious practices and to embody our faith in concrete acts of love and justice.
The Gospel from Luke shows us Jesus living out this kind of radical love and compassion. When Jesus calls Levi, a tax collector, he doesn’t ask him to change his life first; he invites him to follow, knowing that Levi’s transformation will come through relationship and grace. Jesus then shares a meal with Levi and other sinners, prompting criticism from the Pharisees. Jesus responds by saying that he has come not for the self-righteous but for those who know their need for healing and forgiveness. This encounter challenges us to examine our own attitudes toward others—do we see people through the lens of judgment or through the eyes of mercy?
Together, these readings invite us to reflect on how we live out our faith in daily life. Are we content with going through the motions of religion, or are we willing to take risks to love and serve those on the margins? Like Levi, we are all called to follow Jesus, even in our imperfections, and to trust that his grace will transform us. And like Isaiah, we are called to be repairers of the breaches, bringing healing and hope to a broken world. Let us ask ourselves: How can we pour out our lives for others today? How can we be instruments of God’s light and love in the dark places around us?