Daily Catholic Mass Readings for March 8, 2018
First Reading: Jeremiah 7.23-28
23but I gave them this command: Obey me, and I will be your God and you will be my people. Walk in all the ways I command you, that it may go well with you.24But they did not listen or pay attention; instead, they followed the stubborn inclinations of their evil hearts. They went backward and not forward.25From the time your forefathers left Egypt until now, day after day, again and again I sent you my servants the prophets.26But they did not listen to me or pay attention. They were stiff-necked and did more evil than their forefathers.'27"When you tell them all this, they will not listen to you; when you call to them, they will not answer.28Therefore say to them, 'This is the nation that has not obeyed the LORD its God or responded to correction. Truth has perished; it has vanished from their lips.
Psalm 95
1Come, let us sing for joy to the LORD; let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation.2Let us come before him with thanksgiving and extol him with music and song.3For the LORD is the great God, the great King above all gods.4In his hand are the depths of the earth, and the mountain peaks belong to him.5The sea is his, for he made it, and his hands formed the dry land.6Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the LORD our Maker;7for he is our God and we are the people of his pasture, the flock under his care. Today, if you hear his voice,8do not harden your hearts as you did at Meribah, as you did that day at Massah in the desert,9where your fathers tested and tried me, though they had seen what I did.10For forty years I was angry with that generation; I said, "They are a people whose hearts go astray, and they have not known my ways."11So I declared on oath in my anger, "They shall never enter my rest."
Gospel: Luke 11.14-23
14Jesus was driving out a demon that was mute. When the demon left, the man who had been mute spoke, and the crowd was amazed.15But some of them said, "By Beelzebub, the prince of demons, he is driving out demons."16Others tested him by asking for a sign from heaven.17Jesus knew their thoughts and said to them: "Any kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and a house divided against itself will fall.18If Satan is divided against himself, how can his kingdom stand? I say this because you claim that I drive out demons by Beelzebub.19Now if I drive out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your followers drive them out? So then, they will be your judges.20But if I drive out demons by the finger of God, then the kingdom of God has come to you.21"When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own house, his possessions are safe.22But when someone stronger attacks and overpowers him, he takes away the armor in which the man trusted and divides up the spoils.23"He who is not with me is against me, and he who does not gather with me, scatters.
Sermon
The first reading from Jeremiah speaks of a people who have turned away from God’s commandments and refused to listen to His prophets. Despite God’s repeated calls to walk in His ways and to trust in His guidance, the Israelites stubbornly followed their own desires and hardened their hearts. Jeremiah laments that faith has disappeared, and the people have become deaf to God’s voice. This passage serves as a warning about the consequences of spiritual rebellion and the importance of humility and obedience in our relationship with God.
In the Gospel, Jesus confronts the skepticism and hostility of those who question His authority. After healing a mute man possessed by a demon, some accuse Jesus of using the power of Satan to cast out demons. Jesus responds by exposing the absurdity of their accusation, pointing out that a divided kingdom cannot stand. He then emphasizes that His works are not of Satan but of the finger of God, demonstrating the arrival of the kingdom of God. Jesus makes it clear that neutrality is impossible: one must either be with Him or against Him.
Both readings remind us that our choices have spiritual consequences. Jeremiah warns us about the dangers of stubbornness and refusal to listen to God, while Luke’s Gospel challenges us to examine our allegiance to Christ. In our daily lives, we are constantly faced with decisions that require us to align ourselves with God’s will or to follow our own desires. Let us reflect on whether we are truly with Christ, actively gathering with Him through prayer, service, and fidelity to His teachings. May we not be like the Israelites of old, who turned away from God’s voice, but instead may we be strong in faith, trusting in His power and grace to overcome the spiritual battles we face.