Daily Catholic Mass Readings for October 26, 2017
First Reading: Romans 6.19-23
19I put this in human terms because you are weak in your natural selves. Just as you used to offer the parts of your body in slavery to impurity and to ever-increasing wickedness, so now offer them in slavery to righteousness leading to holiness.20When you were slaves to sin, you were free from the control of righteousness.21What benefit did you reap at that time from the things you are now ashamed of? Those things result in death!22But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves to God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life.23For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Psalm 1
1Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers.2But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night.3He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers.4Not so the wicked! They are like chaff that the wind blows away.5Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.6For the LORD watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.
Gospel: Luke 12.49-53
49"I have come to bring fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled!50But I have a baptism to undergo, and how distressed I am until it is completed!51Do you think I came to bring peace on earth? No, I tell you, but division.52From now on there will be five in one family divided against each other, three against two and two against three.53They will be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law."
Sermon
The readings today invite us to reflect on the transformative power of God’s grace and the challenging nature of discipleship. In the first reading from Romans, St. Paul contrasts our former lives of sin with our new life in Christ. He reminds us that we were once slaves to sin, but through baptism, we have been set free and now belong to God, living a life oriented toward holiness and eternal life. This passage emphasizes the radical change that occurs when we surrender to God’s will, leaving behind the fruitless works of darkness and embracing the fruitful path of sanctification.
The Gospel from Luke presents a stark and unsettling image of Jesus as a divine disruptor. He speaks of casting fire upon the earth and bringing division rather than peace. This is not the comforting Jesus we often imagine; instead, this is the Jesus who calls us to radical commitment, even if it means tension within our own families. His words remind us that following Him is not about maintaining the status quo or avoiding conflict. True discipleship requires us to take a stand for the truth, even when it leads to division. Jesus’ baptism, here, refers not just to His own Passion but also to the trials and sacrifices that His followers must endure.
Together, these readings challenge us to examine our lives. Are we living as children of justice, or are we still clinging to the old self? The fire Jesus speaks of is the purifying flame of the Holy Spirit, which burns away sin and ignites our hearts with love for God. This fire demands that we make difficult choices, prioritizing our relationship with God above all else. In a world that often values comfort and compromise, these readings call us to boldness and fidelity. Let us pray for the courage to embrace the transformative power of God’s grace, even when it leads to division, trusting that it is through this process that we will bear fruit in holiness and attain eternal life.