Daily Readings - Tue Sep 30 2025
Zechariah
20This is what the LORD Almighty says: "Many peoples and the inhabitants of many cities will yet come,21and the inhabitants of one city will go to another and say, 'Let us go at once to entreat the LORD and seek the LORD Almighty. I myself am going.'22And many peoples and powerful nations will come to Jerusalem to seek the LORD Almighty and to entreat him."23This is what the LORD Almighty says: "In those days ten men from all languages and nations will take firm hold of one Jew by the hem of his robe and say, 'Let us go with you, because we have heard that God is with you.'"
Luke
51As the time approached for him to be taken up to heaven, Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem.52And he sent messengers on ahead, who went into a Samaritan village to get things ready for him;53but the people there did not welcome him, because he was heading for Jerusalem.54When the disciples James and John saw this, they asked, "Lord, do you want us to call fire down from heaven to destroy them?"55But Jesus turned and rebuked them,56and they went to another village.
Sermon
The readings today invite us to reflect on the universal call to seek God and the importance of living as witnesses of His love. In the first reading from Zechariah, we hear a vision of a future where people from all nations and languages will come together to seek the Lord in Jerusalem. This prophecy speaks of a time when God’s presence will unite people across cultures and divisions, reminding us that His plan is one of unity and harmony. The image of ten men clinging to the hem of a Judean man underscores the desire for connection and the recognition that God is with His people.
In the Gospel, Luke presents a moment of tension as Jesus and His disciples encounter rejection in a Samaritan village. The disciples, feeling slighted, want to retaliate with fire from heaven, but Jesus rebukes them, reminding them that He came not to destroy but to save. This passage highlights the contrast between a spirit of vengeance and the mission of mercy that defines Jesus’ work. It also challenges us to examine our own reactions to rejection and whether they align with the spirit of love and forgiveness that Christ embodies.
These readings remind us that our faith is not just a personal relationship with God but also a call to live in a way that reflects His universal love. Like the people in Zechariah’s vision, we are called to seek God together, even in the face of differences. And like Jesus, we are invited to respond to rejection and hostility not with anger but with compassion and a commitment to saving lives. As we go about our daily lives, may we strive to be instruments of unity and reconciliation, living as witnesses to the God who is with us and who calls us to seek Him together.