Daily Readings - Sat Mar 08 2025

Isaiah

9Then you will call, and the LORD will answer; you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I. "If you do away with the yoke of oppression, with the pointing finger and malicious talk,10and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like the noonday.11The LORD will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail.12Your people will rebuild the ancient ruins and will raise up the age-old foundations; you will be called Repairer of Broken Walls, Restorer of Streets with Dwellings.13"If you keep your feet from breaking the Sabbath and from doing as you please on my holy day, if you call the Sabbath a delight and the LORD's holy day honorable, and if you honor it by not going your own way and not doing as you please or speaking idle words,14then you will find your joy in the LORD, and I will cause you to ride on the heights of the land and to feast on the inheritance of your father Jacob." The mouth of the LORD has spoken.

Luke

27After this, Jesus went out and saw a tax collector by the name of Levi sitting at his tax booth. "Follow me," Jesus said to him,28and Levi got up, left everything and followed him.29Then Levi held a great banquet for Jesus at his house, and a large crowd of tax collectors and others were eating with them.30But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law who belonged to their sect complained to his disciples, "Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and 'sinners'?"31Jesus answered them, "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick.32I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance."

Sermon

In today’s readings, we hear powerful messages about living out our faith in ways that transform both ourselves and the world around us. The first reading from Isaiah reminds us that true fasting is not just about abstaining from food but about breaking the chains of oppression, feeding the hungry, and bringing light to those in darkness. The prophet emphasizes that when we pour out our lives in service to others, God’s light will shine through us, and we will find rest and renewal. This passage calls us to move beyond superficial religious practices and to embody our faith in concrete acts of love and justice. The Gospel from Luke shows us Jesus living out this kind of radical love and compassion. When Jesus calls Levi, a tax collector, he doesn’t ask him to change his life first; he invites him to follow, knowing that Levi’s transformation will come through relationship and grace. Jesus then shares a meal with Levi and other sinners, prompting criticism from the Pharisees. Jesus responds by saying that he has come not for the self-righteous but for those who know their need for healing and forgiveness. This encounter challenges us to examine our own attitudes toward others—do we see people through the lens of judgment or through the eyes of mercy? Together, these readings invite us to reflect on how we live out our faith in daily life. Are we content with going through the motions of religion, or are we willing to take risks to love and serve those on the margins? Like Levi, we are all called to follow Jesus, even in our imperfections, and to trust that his grace will transform us. And like Isaiah, we are called to be repairers of the breaches, bringing healing and hope to a broken world. Let us ask ourselves: How can we pour out our lives for others today? How can we be instruments of God’s light and love in the dark places around us?