Daily Readings - Sat Aug 09 2025
Deuteronomy
4Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one.5Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.6These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts.7Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.8Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads.9Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.10When the LORD your God brings you into the land he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, to give you-a land with large, flourishing cities you did not build,11houses filled with all kinds of good things you did not provide, wells you did not dig, and vineyards and olive groves you did not plant-then when you eat and are satisfied,12be careful that you do not forget the LORD, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.13Fear the LORD your God, serve him only and take your oaths in his name.
Matthew
14When they came to the crowd, a man approached Jesus and knelt before him.15"Lord, have mercy on my son," he said. "He has seizures and is suffering greatly. He often falls into the fire or into the water.16I brought him to your disciples, but they could not heal him."17"O unbelieving and perverse generation," Jesus replied, "how long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring the boy here to me."18Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of the boy, and he was healed from that moment.19Then the disciples came to Jesus in private and asked, "Why couldn't we drive it out?"20He replied, "Because you have so little faith. I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you."
Sermon
The readings today invite us to reflect on the nature of faith, trust, and our relationship with God. In the first reading from Deuteronomy, Moses reminds the people of Israel of the fundamental commandment: to love God with all their heart, soul, and strength. He emphasizes the importance of living out this love by keeping God’s words close to their hearts and passing them on to future generations. This passage is set in the context of Moses preparing the Israelites to enter the Promised Land, a land they did not build or cultivate, but one given to them by God’s grace. Moses warns them not to forget the Lord who has brought them out of slavery and into freedom, lest they become complacent in their prosperity.
In the Gospel, we see a father’s desperate plea for his son’s healing. The boy suffers from epilepsy, and the father has already tried seeking help from Jesus’ disciples, but they were unable to heal him. Jesus responds with a rebuke, not of the father or the boy, but of the disciples’ lack of faith. He heals the boy, and later, when the disciples ask why they couldn’t cast out the demon, Jesus tells them it is because of their unbelief. He then reminds them that even a small amount of faith—like a mustard seed—can move mountains. This passage underscores the importance of trusting in God’s power and not relying solely on human effort or understanding.
Both readings call us to examine our own faith and relationship with God. Deuteronomy challenges us to remain faithful and grateful, even in times of abundance, while the Gospel reminds us that true power comes from trusting in God. In our daily lives, we often face challenges that seem insurmountable, just like the father of the epileptic boy. These readings encourage us to deepen our prayer life, to trust in God’s providence, and to remember that even the smallest act of faith can lead to extraordinary outcomes. Let us strive to love God wholeheartedly, as Moses commands, and to approach life’s difficulties with the humility and trust that Jesus exemplifies.