Daily Readings - Sat Dec 09 2023
Isaiah
19O people of Zion, who live in Jerusalem, you will weep no more. How gracious he will be when you cry for help! As soon as he hears, he will answer you.20Although the Lord gives you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, your teachers will be hidden no more; with your own eyes you will see them.21Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, "This is the way; walk in it."23He will also send you rain for the seed you sow in the ground, and the food that comes from the land will be rich and plentiful. In that day your cattle will graze in broad meadows.24The oxen and donkeys that work the soil will eat fodder and mash, spread out with fork and shovel.25In the day of great slaughter, when the towers fall, streams of water will flow on every high mountain and every lofty hill.26The moon will shine like the sun, and the sunlight will be seven times brighter, like the light of seven full days, when the LORD binds up the bruises of his people and heals the wounds he inflicted.
Matthew
35Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness.36When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.37Then he said to his disciples, "The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few.38Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field."
1He called his twelve disciples to him and gave them authority to drive out evil spirits and to heal every disease and sickness.5These twelve Jesus sent out with the following instructions: "Do not go among the Gentiles or enter any town of the Samaritans.6Go rather to the lost sheep of Israel.7As you go, preach this message: 'The kingdom of heaven is near.'8Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received, freely give.
Sermon
In today's readings, we find a beautiful tapestry woven by the prophets and the Gospel, inviting us to reflect on God's promise of restoration and our role as His laborers. The First Reading from Isaiah paints a vivid picture of a future filled with hope and abundance, where the people of Zion will live in Jerusalem without tears, guided by teachers and blessed with fertile land. This vision of restoration is a beacon of light for a people who have endured hardship, promising them that God's compassion and provision will prevail. The imagery of abundant water and grain, along with the intensified light of the moon and sun, symbolizes a time of divine healing and illumination.
In the Gospel, Matthew presents Jesus as the compassionate shepherd who sees the multitudes as distressed and without guidance. Moved by their condition, Jesus calls upon His disciples to pray for more laborers to assist in the harvest—the work of spreading the Gospel. He then commissions the twelve disciples, empowering them to heal and cast out demons, instructing them to focus first on the lost sheep of Israel. This mission is a continuation of the hope Isaiah foretold, as Jesus extends God's healing and teaching through His disciples, indicating the expansion of God's kingdom beyond the Jewish people, starting with them.
These readings call us to recognize our role in God's plan. Just as Jesus had compassion on the crowds, we are urged to see the needs around us and respond with love and service. The moral lesson here is one of trust and active participation in God's work. We are reminded to trust in God's providence and to be His laborers, bringing healing and light to a world in need. As we go about our daily lives, let us embrace this call with compassion, freely giving as we have freely received, and trusting that God's restoration and peace will prevail.