Daily Readings - Mon Oct 30 2017
Romans
11And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you.12Therefore, brothers, we have an obligation--but it is not to the sinful nature, to live according to it.13For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live,14because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.15For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, "Abba, Father."16The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children.17Now if we are children, then we are heirs--heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.
Luke
10On a Sabbath Jesus was teaching in one of the synagogues,11and a woman was there who had been crippled by a spirit for eighteen years. She was bent over and could not straighten up at all.12When Jesus saw her, he called her forward and said to her, "Woman, you are set free from your infirmity."13Then he put his hands on her, and immediately she straightened up and praised God.14Indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, the synagogue ruler said to the people, "There are six days for work. So come and be healed on those days, not on the Sabbath."15The Lord answered him, "You hypocrites! Doesn't each of you on the Sabbath untie his ox or donkey from the stall and lead it out to give it water?16Then should not this woman, a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has kept bound for eighteen long years, be set free on the Sabbath day from what bound her?"17When he said this, all his opponents were humiliated, but the people were delighted with all the wonderful things he was doing.
Sermon
The readings today invite us to reflect on the transformative power of the Spirit of God and the freedom it brings. In the first reading from Romans, St. Paul reminds us that the Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead dwells within us, making us children of God. This Spirit calls us to live not according to the flesh, which leads to death, but to mortify the deeds of the flesh and embrace the life of the Spirit. As sons and daughters of God, we are heirs of his glory, but this also means sharing in Christ’s sufferings so that we may be glorified with him.
In the Gospel, Jesus encounters a woman who has been bent over for eighteen years, a vivid image of spiritual and physical bondage. Jesus, moved by compassion, heals her on the Sabbath, sparking controversy with the synagogue ruler. Jesus defends his action by pointing out the hypocrisy of rigidly observing the Sabbath while neglecting the freedom and healing that God’s Spirit offers. The woman, a daughter of Abraham, is freed from her infirmity, and the crowd rejoices at the glory of God revealed in her healing.
Together, these readings remind us that the Spirit of God brings life, freedom, and healing. We are called to live as children of God, open to the Spirit’s work in us and through us. Like the woman in the Gospel, we must allow Jesus to set us free from the burdens that weigh us down, whether they are physical, emotional, or spiritual. Let us not be bound by fear or rigid traditions, but instead, embrace the Spirit’s transformative power and live as heirs of God’s glory.