Daily Readings - Wed Feb 19 2025

⁶After forty days Noah opened the window he had made in the ark⁷and sent out a raven, and it kept flying back and forth until the water had dried up from the earth.⁸Then he sent out a dove to see if the water had receded from the surface of the ground.⁹But the dove could find no place to set its feet because there was water over all the surface of the earth; so it returned to Noah in the ark. He reached out his hand and took the dove and brought it back to himself in the ark.¹⁰He waited seven more days and again sent out the dove from the ark.¹¹When the dove returned to him in the evening, there in its beak was a freshly plucked olive leaf! Then Noah knew that the water had receded from the earth.¹²He waited seven more days and sent the dove out again, but this time it did not return to him.¹³By the first day of the first month of Noah's six hundred and first year, the water had dried up from the earth. Noah then removed the covering from the ark and saw that the surface of the ground was dry.²⁰Then Noah built an altar to the LORD and, taking some of all the clean animals and clean birds, he sacrificed burnt offerings on it.²¹The LORD smelled the pleasing aroma and said in his heart: "Never again will I curse the ground because of man, even though every inclination of his heart is evil from childhood. And never again will I destroy all living creatures, as I have done.²²"As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night will never cease."

Mark

Chapter 8

²²They came to Bethsaida, and some people brought a blind man and begged Jesus to touch him.²³He took the blind man by the hand and led him outside the village. When he had spit on the man's eyes and put his hands on him, Jesus asked, "Do you see anything?"²⁴He looked up and said, "I see people; they look like trees walking around."²⁵Once more Jesus put his hands on the man's eyes. Then his eyes were opened, his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly.²⁶Jesus sent him home, saying, "Don't go into the village. "

Sermon

In today's readings, we encounter powerful narratives that invite us to reflect on trust, patience, and the gradual unfolding of God's plan. The first reading from Genesis describes Noah's experience after the flood, where he waits patiently for the waters to recede. Noah's actions—sending out the raven and the dove—demonstrate his trust in God's promise. The dove's return with an olive branch is a symbol of hope and new life, leading Noah to build an altar and offer sacrifices in gratitude. This passage reminds us of the importance of patience and trust in God's timing, even in uncertain circumstances. The Gospel from Mark complements this theme with the story of the blind man healed by Jesus in Bethsaida. The healing is not instantaneous; it happens in stages. Jesus touches the man's eyes twice, and only after the second touch does the man see clearly. This narrative suggests that spiritual growth and healing can be gradual processes. Just as the blind man had to trust Jesus through the process, we too are called to trust in God's plan, even when the results are not immediate or clear. These readings encourage us to embrace patience and trust in our own lives. Like Noah, we may find ourselves in situations where we must wait for clarity or resolution. Like the blind man, we may experience growth in stages, with moments of partial understanding before full clarity comes. Let us learn to trust in God's timing and to remain faithful, even when the journey is slow or uncertain. In doing so, we open ourselves to the hope of new life and the promise of eventual clarity, just as Noah and the blind man experienced.