Daily Readings - Wed Oct 11 2017

First Reading - Jonah 4.1-11

¹And Jonah was afflicted with a great affliction, and he was angry²And he prayed to the Lord, and he said, "I beg you, Lord, was this not my word, when I was still in my own land? Because of this, I knew beforehand to flee into Tarshish. For I know that you are a lenient and merciful God, patient and great in compassion, and forgiving despite ill will³And now, Lord, I ask you to take my life from me. For it is better for me to die than to live.⁴And the Lord said, "Do you really think you are right to be angry?⁵And Jonah went out of the city, and he sat opposite the east of the city. And he made himself a shelter there, and he was sitting under it in the shadow, until he might see what would befall the city⁶And the Lord God prepared an ivy, and it ascended over the head of Jonah so as to be a shadow over his head, and to protect him (for he had labored hard). And Jonah rejoiced because of the ivy, with great rejoicing⁷And God prepared a worm, when dawn approached on the next day, and it struck the ivy, and it dried up⁸And when the sun had risen, the Lord ordered a hot and burning wind. And the sun beat down on the head of Jonah, and he burned. And he petitioned for his soul that he might die, and he said, "It is better for me to die than to live.⁹And the Lord said to Jonah, "Do you really think that you are right to be angry because of the ivy?" And he said, "I am right to be angry even unto death.¹⁰And the Lord said, "You grieve for the ivy, for which you have not labored and which you did not cause to grow, though it had been born during one night, and during one night perished¹¹And shall I not spare Nineveh, the great city, in which there are more than one hundred and twenty thousand men, who do not know the difference between their right and their left, and many beasts?

Gospel - Luke 11.1-4

Luke

Chapter 11

¹And it happened that, while he was in a certain place praying, when he ceased, one of his disciples said to him, "Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples.²And he said to them: "When you are praying, say: Father, may your name be kept holy. May your kingdom come³Give us this day our daily bread⁴And forgive us our sins, since we also forgive all who are indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation.

Sermon

In today's readings, we encounter profound lessons on mercy, prayer, and trust in God's plan. The Book of Jonah presents a prophet grappling with God's compassion, while the Gospel of Luke offers the Lord's Prayer, a timeless guide to deepening our relationship with the Father. Jonah's story unfolds as he struggles with God's decision to spare Nineveh. Despite Jonah's anger and sense of injustice, God uses a simple plant and a worm to illustrate His boundless mercy. This teaches Jonah—and us—that God's love extends far beyond our limited understanding, embracing even those we might deem unworthy. Meanwhile, in Luke, Jesus teaches the disciples to pray with humility and trust, emphasizing themes of forgiveness and reliance on God's providence. These readings connect through their emphasis on mercy and prayer. Jonah's experience shows that God's ways are not our ways, urging us to embrace His compassion. The Lord's Prayer guides us to seek God's will and forgive others, mirroring the mercy Jonah was taught. In our daily lives, we can apply these lessons by practicing forgiveness and trusting in God's plan, even when it challenges our expectations. Let us reflect on how we can grow in mercy and deepen our prayer life, trusting that God's love and wisdom guide us always.