Daily Readings - Mon Sep 01 2025

¹³Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope.¹⁴We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him.¹⁵According to the Lord's own word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left till the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep.¹⁶For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.¹⁷After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever.¹⁸Therefore encourage each other with these words.

Luke

Chapter 4

¹⁶He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. And he stood up to read.¹⁷The scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written:¹⁸"The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed,¹⁹to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor."²⁰Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him,²¹and he began by saying to them, "Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing."²²All spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his lips. "Isn't this Joseph's son?" they asked.²³Jesus said to them, "Surely you will quote this proverb to me: 'Physician, heal yourself! Do here in your hometown what we have heard that you did in Capernaum.'"²⁴"I tell you the truth," he continued, "no prophet is accepted in his hometown.²⁵I assure you that there were many widows in Israel in Elijah's time, when the sky was shut for three and a half years and there was a severe famine throughout the land.²⁶Yet Elijah was not sent to any of them, but to a widow in Zarephath in the region of Sidon.²⁷And there were many in Israel with leprosy in the time of Elisha the prophet, yet not one of them was cleansed--only Naaman the Syrian."²⁸All the people in the synagogue were furious when they heard this.²⁹They got up, drove him out of the town, and took him to the brow of the hill on which the town was built, in order to throw him down the cliff.³⁰But he walked right through the crowd and went on his way.

Sermon

In today’s readings, we encounter two profound messages of hope and mission. The First Reading from 1 Thessalonians offers comfort to those grieving, assuring them of the hope found in the resurrection of Jesus. Paul reminds the Thessalonians that their deceased loved ones are not lost but will rise again with Christ, urging them to console one another with this promise. The Gospel from Luke depicts Jesus in his hometown synagogue, where he proclaims the fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy, outlining his mission to the marginalized. However, this message is met with rejection, as the people of Nazareth fail to see beyond his humble origins. The context of these readings reveals their deeper significance. Paul’s letter addresses the concerns of early Christians about the fate of those who died before Christ’s return, providing reassurance rooted in the resurrection. In Luke, Jesus’s mission statement in Nazareth sets the stage for his ministry, emphasizing compassion and justice, yet it also highlights the challenge of acceptance, even in familiar surroundings. These readings connect through the theme of hope and its practical application. Paul’s hope in the resurrection is embodied in Jesus’s mission, which brings hope to the downtrodden. Yet, as seen in Nazareth, living out this hope can lead to rejection, reminding us that following Christ may require facing challenges with faith. In our daily lives, we are called to embody this hope. We can find comfort in the promise of eternal life, even amidst loss. Like Jesus, we should reach out to those on the margins, whether through kindness, advocacy, or simply being present. When we face rejection or adversity, we must remember that our faith in God’s plan gives us the strength to persevere. The moral lesson here is clear: living with hope and faith transforms us. It enables us to comfort others, embrace our mission, and face challenges with courage. May we, like Paul and Jesus, find the strength to live out our faith, trusting in God’s plan and bringing hope to a world in need.