Daily Readings - Tue Dec 08 2020
Genesis
9But the LORD God called to the man, "Where are you?"10He answered, "I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid."11And he said, "Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?"12The man said, "The woman you put here with me-she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it."13Then the LORD God said to the woman, "What is this you have done?" The woman said, "The serpent deceived me, and I ate."14So the LORD God said to the serpent, "Because you have done this, "Cursed are you above all the livestock and all the wild animals! You will crawl on your belly and you will eat dust all the days of your life.15And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel."20Adam named his wife Eve, because she would become the mother of all the living.
Ephesians
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.11In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will,12in order that we, who were the first to hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory.
Luke
26In the sixth month, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee,27to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin's name was Mary.28The angel went to her and said, "Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you."29Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be.30But the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God.31You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus.32He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David,33and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end."34"How will this be," Mary asked the angel, "since I am a virgin?"35The angel answered, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God.36Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be barren is in her sixth month.37For nothing is impossible with God."38"I am the Lord's servant," Mary answered. "May it be to me as you have said." Then the angel left her.
Sermon
In today’s readings, we encounter profound moments of human encounter with the divine, each revealing the depth of God’s love and the complexity of human response. The first reading from Genesis recounts the story of Adam and Eve, the first parents, who, tempted by the serpent, choose to disobey God’s command. Their sin introduces suffering and division into the world, yet even in judgment, there is a glimmer of hope: the promise of redemption through the offspring of the woman, who will crush the serpent’s head. This passage sets the stage for understanding the human condition—our frailty, our tendency to blame, and our need for redemption.
The second reading from Ephesians shifts our gaze to the divine plan of salvation. Paul writes of the blessings God has lavished upon us in Christ, choosing us before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless. This reading emphasizes God’s eternal plan to adopt us as his children through Jesus Christ, a plan rooted in love and destined to unfold according to his will. It invites us to see ourselves as part of a larger story, one of grace and redemption, where every moment of our lives is caught up in God’s purpose.
The Gospel reading from Luke presents the Annunciation, where the Angel Gabriel announces to Mary that she will bear a son, Jesus, who will be the Son of the Most High. Mary’s response—“Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be done to me according to your word”—stands in stark contrast to the disobedience of Adam and Eve. Her “yes” undoes the “no” of Eve, opening the way for redemption. Mary’s humility and trust in God’s plan serve as a model for us all, reminding us that our lives are not our own but are part of a greater divine plan.
These readings, when taken together, invite us to reflect on our relationship with God and our place in his plan. Like Adam and Eve, we are tempted to turn away from God, but like Mary, we are called to trust in his will. The readings remind us that sin and suffering are real, but they do not have the final word. God’s love and grace are always at work, even in the midst of human failure. As we go about our daily lives, let us strive to imitate Mary’s openness to God’s plan, trusting that even in uncertainty, his will is always for our good and the good of all. May we, like Mary, say “yes” to God, allowing his grace to transform us and bring light to a world still grappling with the effects of sin.