Daily Readings - Thu Oct 15 2020

¹Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, To the saints in Ephesus, the faithful in Christ Jesus:²Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.³Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.⁴For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love⁵he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will--⁶to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves.⁷In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace⁸that he lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding.⁹And he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ,¹⁰to be put into effect when the times will have reached their fulfillment--to bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ.

Luke

Chapter 11

⁴⁷"Woe to you, because you build tombs for the prophets, and it was your forefathers who killed them.⁴⁸So you testify that you approve of what your forefathers did; they killed the prophets, and you build their tombs.⁴⁹Because of this, God in his wisdom said, 'I will send them prophets and apostles, some of whom they will kill and others they will persecute.'⁵⁰Therefore this generation will be held responsible for the blood of all the prophets that has been shed since the beginning of the world,⁵¹from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, who was killed between the altar and the sanctuary. Yes, I tell you, this generation will be held responsible for it all.⁵²"Woe to you experts in the law, because you have taken away the key to knowledge. You yourselves have not entered, and you have hindered those who were entering."⁵³When Jesus left there, the Pharisees and the teachers of the law began to oppose him fiercely and to besiege him with questions,⁵⁴waiting to catch him in something he might say.

Sermon

In today’s readings, we encounter two powerful reflections on God’s plan for humanity and the call to live out our faith authentically. The first reading from Ephesians reminds us of the abundant blessings God has poured out upon us in Christ. Paul writes that before the foundation of the world, God chose us to be holy and blameless in his sight, predestining us for adoption as his children through Jesus Christ. This passage emphasizes God’s eternal plan of love and grace, which culminates in the redemption we have through the blood of Christ. It is a beautiful reminder of our identity as beloved children of God and the profound wisdom of his will to unite all things in Christ. The Gospel from Luke presents a stark contrast to this divine plan of love. Jesus addresses the Pharisees, criticizing them for honoring the prophets with tombs while rejecting the message of the prophets—and ultimately, the message of Jesus himself. He condemns their hypocrisy, pointing out that while they claim to reverence the prophets of old, they are complicit in the same spirit of rejection and violence that led to the prophets’ deaths. Jesus also rebukes the lawyers for taking away the key of knowledge, preventing others from entering the kingdom while refusing to enter themselves. This passage serves as a warning against religious hypocrisy and the dangers of knowledge without humility or action. Together, these readings call us to reflect on how we live out our faith. The Ephesians passage invites us to embrace our identity as beloved and blessed children of God, while the Gospel challenges us to examine whether our words and actions align with the truth of God’s love. Are we living as true followers of Christ, or are we like the Pharisees, more concerned with appearances than with the substance of faith? Let us ask ourselves: Do we use our knowledge and gifts to build up others, or do we hoard them? Do we recognize the grace God has given us, or do we take it for granted? As we go about our daily lives, let us strive to live with integrity and humility, mindful of the great love God has shown us. May we not only hear the Word of God but also put it into practice, allowing the grace of Christ to transform us and guide us in all we do. In this way, we can truly honor God and fulfill our calling as his children.