Daily Readings - Fri Nov 22 2024
Revelation
8Then the voice that I had heard from heaven spoke to me once more: "Go, take the scroll that lies open in the hand of the angel who is standing on the sea and on the land."9So I went to the angel and asked him to give me the little scroll. He said to me, "Take it and eat it. It will turn your stomach sour, but in your mouth it will be as sweet as honey."10I took the little scroll from the angel's hand and ate it. It tasted as sweet as honey in my mouth, but when I had eaten it, my stomach turned sour.11Then I was told, "You must prophesy again about many peoples, nations, languages and kings."
Luke
45Then he entered the temple area and began driving out those who were selling.46"It is written," he said to them, "'My house will be a house of prayer'; but you have made it 'a den of robbers.'"47Every day he was teaching at the temple. But the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the leaders among the people were trying to kill him.48Yet they could not find any way to do it, because all the people hung on his words.
Sermon
The readings today invite us to reflect on the call to prophesy, the purification of God’s house, and the commitment to living out God’s word in our lives. In the first reading from Revelation, John is given a scroll by an angel and told to eat it. The scroll is sweet in his mouth but bitter in his stomach, symbolizing the dual nature of God’s word. It brings joy and comfort but also challenges us to confront sin and injustice. This passage reminds us that receiving God’s word is not just about comfort but also about the difficult task of proclaiming truth, even when it leads to suffering.
In the Gospel, Jesus enters the temple and drives out those who were turning it into a marketplace. He reminds them that the temple is a house of prayer, not a place for commerce. This act of cleansing the temple is a powerful call to integrity and authenticity in our relationship with God. Just as the temple was meant to be a sacred space for prayer and worship, our hearts and lives must also be purified to make room for God’s presence. Jesus’ actions challenge us to examine our own lives and ensure that we are not allowing worldly distractions or selfish desires to take precedence over our commitment to God.
These readings are deeply connected. Both call us to embrace the word of God and to live it out faithfully, even when it is difficult. John’s experience of eating the scroll reminds us that God’s word must shape us from the inside out, transforming us and equipping us to share it with others. Jesus’ cleansing of the temple reminds us that this transformation must also lead to a purification of our lives and our communities. As we reflect on these readings, let us ask ourselves: Are we truly receiving God’s word and allowing it to transform us? Are we creating space in our lives for prayer and for God’s presence? May we be courageous in embracing the sweetness and bitterness of God’s word, and may we strive to live as temples of the Holy Spirit, dedicated to prayer, integrity, and the proclamation of God’s truth.