Daily Readings - Fri Jun 28 2024
2 Kings
1So in the ninth year of Zedekiah's reign, on the tenth day of the tenth month, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon marched against Jerusalem with his whole army. He encamped outside the city and built siege works all around it.2The city was kept under siege until the eleventh year of King Zedekiah.3By the ninth day of the fourth month the famine in the city had become so severe that there was no food for the people to eat.4Then the city wall was broken through, and the whole army fled at night through the gate between the two walls near the king's garden, though the Babylonians were surrounding the city. They fled toward the Arabah,5but the Babylonian army pursued the king and overtook him in the plains of Jericho. All his soldiers were separated from him and scattered,6and he was captured. He was taken to the king of Babylon at Riblah, where sentence was pronounced on him.7They killed the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes. Then they put out his eyes, bound him with bronze shackles and took him to Babylon.8On the seventh day of the fifth month, in the nineteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, Nebuzaradan commander of the imperial guard, an official of the king of Babylon, came to Jerusalem.9He set fire to the temple of the LORD, the royal palace and all the houses of Jerusalem. Every important building he burned down.10The whole Babylonian army, under the commander of the imperial guard, broke down the walls around Jerusalem.11Nebuzaradan the commander of the guard carried into exile the people who remained in the city, along with the rest of the populace and those who had gone over to the king of Babylon.12But the commander left behind some of the poorest people of the land to work the vineyards and fields.
Matthew
1When he came down from the mountainside, large crowds followed him.2A man with leprosy came and knelt before him and said, "Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean."3Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. "I am willing," he said. "Be clean!" Immediately he was cured of his leprosy.4Then Jesus said to him, "See that you don't tell anyone. But go, show yourself to the priest and offer the gift Moses commanded, as a testimony to them."
Sermon
The readings today present two starkly different scenes: one of destruction and exile, and another of healing and restoration. In the first reading from 2 Kings, we witness the fall of Jerusalem, the destruction of the Temple, and the exile of the people. This is a moment of profound sorrow and loss, the culmination of a long history of infidelity and rebellion against God. The city lies in ruins, the Temple is burned, and the people are carried off to Babylon. Yet even in the midst of this devastation, there is a glimmer of hope: some of the poor are left behind, suggesting that God does not abandon His people entirely.
In the Gospel, we see a very different kind of power at work. Jesus, who has just finished teaching the Beatitudes on the mountain, encounters a leper who cries out for healing. The leper acknowledges Jesus' power but also expresses humility, saying, "If you are willing, you are able to cleanse me." Jesus' response is immediate and compassionate: He touches the leper and says, "I am willing. Be cleansed." This act of healing is not only a physical restoration but also a spiritual one, as it restores the leper to community and wholeness.
These readings remind us that God's ways are not our ways. While the destruction of Jerusalem might seem like the end, it is also a call to repentance and renewal. Similarly, the healing of the leper shows us that even in the midst of suffering, God's mercy and love are always available. In our own lives, we are called to trust in God's plan, even when it is difficult to understand. Let us ask for the humility and faith of the leper, and let us remember that God's power is always at work, even in the darkest of times.