Daily Readings - Mon Jun 26 2017

First Reading - Genesis 12.1-9

¹Then the Lord said to Abram: "Depart from your land, and from your kindred, and from your father’s house, and come into the land that I will show you²And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and magnify your name, and you will be blessed³I will bless those who bless you, and curse those who curse you, and in you all the families of the earth will be blessed.⁴And so Abram departed just as the Lord had instructed him, and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran⁵And he took his wife Sarai, and Lot, the son of his brother, and all the substance which they had come to possess, and the lives which they had acquired in Haran, and they departed in order to go to the land of Canaan. And when they arrived in it⁶Abram passed through the land even to the place of Shechem, as far as the famous steep valley. Now at that time, the Canaanite was in the land⁷Then the Lord appeared to Abram, and he said to him, "To your offspring, I will give this land." And there he built an altar to the Lord, who had appeared to him⁸And passing on from there to a mountain, which was opposite the east of Bethel, he pitched his tent there, having Bethel to the west, and Hai on the east. He also built an altar there to the Lord, and he called upon his name⁹And Abram traveled, going out and continuing further on, toward the south

Gospel - Matthew 7.1-5

Matthew

Chapter 7

¹"Do not judge, so that you may not be judged²For with whatever judgment you judge, so shall you be judged; and with whatever measure you measure out, so shall it be measured back to you³And how can you see the splinter in your brother’s eye, and not see the board in your own eye⁴Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the splinter from your eye,’ while, behold, a board is in your own eye⁵Hypocrite, first remove the board from your own eye, and then you will see clearly enough to remove the splinter from your brother’s eye

Sermon

In today's readings, we encounter two profound lessons from Scripture that guide us in our faith journey. The first reading from Genesis 12:1-9 narrates the story of Abram, who, at God's command, leaves his homeland, family, and everything familiar to embark on a journey to an unknown land. This act of obedience is rooted in Abram's trust in God's promise to make him the father of a great nation. The reading highlights Abram's unwavering faith and his willingness to step into the unknown, demonstrating the essence of trust and obedience in God's plan. The Gospel reading from Matthew 7:1-5 presents Jesus' teaching on judgment and hypocrisy. Jesus admonishes us not to judge others, emphasizing that we will be judged by the same standards we use to judge others. He illustrates this with the metaphor of seeing a splinter in another's eye while ignoring the plank in our own, urging us to first remove our own faults before addressing those of others. This teaching underscores the importance of self-reflection and humility in our interactions with others. These readings, though from different parts of the Bible, share a common theme of trust and integrity. Abram's story teaches us to trust in God's providence, even when the path is uncertain. Jesus' teaching reminds us to examine our own lives before judging others, fostering humility and compassion. Together, they call us to live with faith and integrity, trusting God's plan while striving to be better versions of ourselves. Let us embrace these lessons, trusting in God's guidance and approaching others with kindness and self-awareness.