Daily Readings - Sat Aug 12 2017
Deuteronomy
4Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one.5Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.6These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts.7Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.8Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads.9Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.10When the LORD your God brings you into the land he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, to give you-a land with large, flourishing cities you did not build,11houses filled with all kinds of good things you did not provide, wells you did not dig, and vineyards and olive groves you did not plant-then when you eat and are satisfied,12be careful that you do not forget the LORD, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.13Fear the LORD your God, serve him only and take your oaths in his name.
Matthew
14When they came to the crowd, a man approached Jesus and knelt before him.15"Lord, have mercy on my son," he said. "He has seizures and is suffering greatly. He often falls into the fire or into the water.16I brought him to your disciples, but they could not heal him."17"O unbelieving and perverse generation," Jesus replied, "how long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring the boy here to me."18Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of the boy, and he was healed from that moment.19Then the disciples came to Jesus in private and asked, "Why couldn't we drive it out?"20He replied, "Because you have so little faith. I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you."
Sermon
The readings today remind us of the central call to faith and love in our relationship with God. In Deuteronomy, Moses exhorts the people to love God with all their heart, soul, and strength, and to pass on this love and the commandments to their children. This passage, known as the Shema, is a cornerstone of Jewish and Christian faith, emphasizing the oneness of God and the total dedication required of His people. It also warns against forgetting God’s blessings, especially when prosperity and comfort come, urging us to remain faithful and grateful. In the Gospel, we see a father’s desperate plea for his suffering son, and Jesus’ response highlights the importance of faith. The disciples’ failure to heal the boy is attributed to their lack of faith, but Jesus assures them that even a small amount of faith can move mountains.
These readings are deeply connected. Both emphasize the necessity of unwavering faith in God. In Deuteronomy, faith is expressed through loving obedience and gratitude, while in Matthew, it is demonstrated through trust in God’s power to overcome even the most daunting challenges. Together, they remind us that faith is not just intellectual assent but a lived commitment that shapes our actions and attitudes. Just as the Israelites were called to remember God’s covenant and blessings, we too are called to trust in God’s providence, even when circumstances seem impossible.
In our daily lives, these readings invite us to reflect on the state of our faith. Are we like the disciples, sometimes faltering in our trust? Or are we like the father, persistent in prayer and hopeful in God’s mercy? Let us ask ourselves: Do we love God with all our heart, soul, and strength? Are we passing on this love and faith to others? And when we face trials, do we turn to God with the humility and trust of the father in the Gospel? May we learn to live out our faith with greater fidelity, remembering that even a mustard seed of faith can accomplish great things in God’s hands.