Daily Readings - Sun Sep 03 2023
Jeremiah
7O LORD, you deceived me, and I was deceived; you overpowered me and prevailed. I am ridiculed all day long; everyone mocks me.8Whenever I speak, I cry out proclaiming violence and destruction. So the word of the LORD has brought me insult and reproach all day long.9But if I say, "I will not mention him or speak any more in his name," his word is in my heart like a fire, a fire shut up in my bones. I am weary of holding it in; indeed, I cannot.
Romans
1Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God--this is your spiritual act of worship.2Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is--his good, pleasing and perfect will.
Matthew
21From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.22Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. "Never, Lord!" he said. "This shall never happen to you!"23Jesus turned and said to Peter, "Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men."24Then Jesus said to his disciples, "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.25For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it.26What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?27For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father's glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what he has done.
Sermon
In today’s readings, we encounter three distinct yet interconnected themes that invite us to reflect on the nature of faith, sacrifice, and discipleship. The prophet Jeremiah expresses his anguish and frustration as he feels overpowered by God, mocked for his message of repentance, yet unable to silence the divine word burning within him. In Romans, Paul urges believers to offer their lives as living sacrifices, transformed by the renewal of their minds to discern God’s will. The Gospel presents Jesus foreseeing his passion and resurrection, rebuking Peter’s resistance, and calling his disciples to embrace self-denial and carry their crosses.
These readings share a common thread: the call to surrender to God’s will, even when it demands sacrifice. Jeremiah’s struggle and Paul’s exhortation to live as sacrifices highlight the transformative power of aligning our lives with God’s purpose. Jesus’s teachings in Matthew underscore the necessity of embracing the cross, not as an end, but as a means to true life. Together, they remind us that following God often requires us to let go of our own desires and trust in His plan, even when the path is difficult.
In our daily lives, these readings challenge us to confront our own resistance to God’s will. Like Peter, we may hesitate to embrace the cross, fearing suffering or loss. Yet, Jesus’s words remind us that true life is found in surrender. As we navigate our struggles, may we learn to trust in God’s plan, even when it leads us through darkness. Let us pray for the courage to deny ourselves, take up our crosses, and follow Him, knowing that in doing so, we find true life and purpose.