Daily Readings - Thu Jul 21 2022
Jeremiah
1The word of the LORD came to me:2"Go and proclaim in the hearing of Jerusalem: "'I remember the devotion of your youth, how as a bride you loved me and followed me through the desert, through a land not sown.3Israel was holy to the LORD, the firstfruits of his harvest; all who devoured her were held guilty, and disaster overtook them,'" declares the LORD.7I brought you into a fertile land to eat its fruit and rich produce. But you came and defiled my land and made my inheritance detestable.8The priests did not ask, 'Where is the LORD?' Those who deal with the law did not know me; the leaders rebelled against me. The prophets prophesied by Baal, following worthless idols.12Be appalled at this, O heavens, and shudder with great horror," declares the LORD.13"My people have committed two sins: They have forsaken me, the spring of living water, and have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water.
Matthew
10The disciples came to him and asked, "Why do you speak to the people in parables?"11He replied, "The knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them.12Whoever has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him.13This is why I speak to them in parables: "Though seeing, they do not see; though hearing, they do not hear or understand.14In them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah: "'You will be ever hearing but never understanding; you will be ever seeing but never perceiving.15For this people's heart has become calloused; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts and turn, and I would heal them.'16But blessed are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear.17For I tell you the truth, many prophets and righteous men longed to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.
Sermon
The readings today invite us to reflect on the relationship between God and his people, as well as the spiritual state of our own hearts. In the first reading from Jeremiah, we hear God’s lament over Israel’s infidelity. Once a people who followed God into the desert with fidelity, they have now turned away, defiling the land and forsaking the “Fountain of living water” for broken cisterns that cannot hold water. This passage is a call to repentance, urging us to recognize the emptiness of chasing after false idols and the richness of returning to the Lord, the source of all life.
In the Gospel, Jesus explains to his disciples why he speaks in parables. It is not to confuse or exclude, but to reveal the mysteries of the kingdom to those who are open to hearing. Jesus quotes Isaiah, emphasizing that some have hearts that have grown fat, ears that hear heavily, and eyes that are closed. These are people who have become spiritually dulled, unable to see or hear the truth even when it is right before them. Yet, Jesus assures the disciples that they are blessed because their eyes see and their ears hear. This is both a gift and a responsibility, for those who have been given much are called to steward it well.
These readings remind us that faith is not passive but active. Like the Israelites in Jeremiah’s time, we are tempted to turn away from God and seek comfort in fleeting, earthly things. But Jesus calls us to remain open, to keep our hearts soft and our spirits attentive. The parables are an invitation to deeper understanding, but they require us to engage with them, to seek the truth, and to live it out. Let us ask ourselves today: Are we like the disciples, blessed with eyes that see and ears that hear? Or have we allowed our hearts to grow dull, closing ourselves off to the grace and truth that God desires to pour into our lives? May we turn back to the Fountain of living water, seeking renewal and a deeper relationship with the Lord.