Daily Readings - Thu Oct 13 2022

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 hear from the Apostle Paul in his letter to the Ephesians and from Jesus in the Gospel of Luke. Paul writes about the abundant blessings and spiritual gifts God has bestowed upon us, emphasizing that we were chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless. He speaks of our adoption as sons and daughters of God, the redemption we have through Christ’s blood, and the wisdom and understanding God has shared with us. This passage is a beautiful expression of God’s love and plan for us, inviting us to live in gratitude and awe of His grace. In the Gospel, Jesus addresses the Pharisees and scholars of the law, criticizing them for honoring the prophets with tombs while rejecting the message of the prophets—and even persecuting those sent by God. Jesus points out the irony that while they build monuments to the prophets their fathers killed, they themselves fail to listen to the prophets and even prevent others from doing so. This passage serves as a warning against hypocrisy and spiritual blindness, urging us to examine how we respond to God’s word and messengers in our own lives. Both readings remind us of the great gift of faith and the responsibility that comes with it. Paul’s letter calls us to live in a way that reflects the holiness and love we’ve received from God, while Jesus’ words challenge us to be honest about our own spiritual state. Let us ask ourselves: Are we truly living as children of God, or are we like the Pharisees, more concerned with appearances than with the truth? May we embrace the wisdom and grace God offers, and may our lives bear fruit in accordance with His will.