Reading 1
Is 1:10-17
Hear the word of the LORD,
princes of Sodom!
Listen to the instruction of our God,
people of Gomorrah!
What care I for the number of your sacrifices?
says the LORD.
I have had enough of whole-burnt rams
and fat of fatlings;
In the blood of calves, lambs and goats
I find no pleasure.
When you come in to visit me,
who asks these things of you?
Trample my courts no more!
Bring no more worthless offerings;
your incense is loathsome to me.
New moon and sabbath, calling of assemblies,
octaves with wickedness: these I cannot bear.
Your new moons and festivals I detest;
they weigh me down, I tire of the load.
When you spread out your hands,
I close my eyes to you;
Though you pray the more,
I will not listen.
Your hands are full of blood!
Wash yourselves clean!
Put away your misdeeds from before my eyes;
cease doing evil; learn to do good.
Make justice your aim: redress the wronged,
hear the orphan's plea, defend the widow.
Gospel
Mt 10:34-11:1
Jesus said to his Apostles:
"Do not think that I have come to bring peace upon the earth.
I have come to bring not peace but the sword.
For I have come to set
a man against his father,
a daughter against her mother,
and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law;
and one's enemies will be those of his household.
"Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me,
and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me;
and whoever does not take up his cross
and follow after me is not worthy of me.
Whoever finds his life will lose it,
and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.
"Whoever receives you receives me,
and whoever receives me receives the one who sent me.
Whoever receives a prophet because he is a prophet
will receive a prophet's reward,
and whoever receives a righteous man
because he is righteous
will receive a righteous man's reward.
And whoever gives only a cup of cold water
to one of these little ones to drink
because he is a disciple–
amen, I say to you, he will surely not lose his reward."
When Jesus finished giving these commands to his Twelve disciples,
he went away from that place to teach and to preach in their towns.
Meditation: Isaiah 1:10-17
“Hear the word of the Lord!” (Isaiah 1:10)
What an auspicious opening for the Book of Isaiah! This fellow was convinced that his message came from God and that it was a word for all the people of Jerusalem to hear. What was the source of his confidence? Isaiah had a terrifying vision of the all-holy God, a vision that filled him with dread over his own sins and the sins of the people. Intertwined with that dread, however, was the assurance of God’s own mercy for him—and an invitation to go and speak God’s words of warning, judgment, and hope to the people.
This dramatic vision gave Isaiah a deep awareness of human sinfulness—both his own and that of the people. “Woe is me!” he cried. “I am a man of unclean lips, living among a people of unclean lips” (Isaiah 6:5). It was a conviction that shaped his whole prophetic ministry. Like every other prophet of the Lord, he spoke to the political situations of his day, but—again like every other prophet—he did so by calling the people to repentance. “Act with justice and compassion!” he cried. “Put aside idolatry, greed, and corruption! Care for the poor and needy!”
Isaiah never gave up hope. In some of the Old Testament’s most memorable passages, he spoke of a time when God’s peace and justice would rule Israel. He spoke with great confidence about a coming king, who would be called “Wonder-Counselor,” “Prince of Peace,” and “Immanuel” (Isaiah 9:5; 7:14). Many commentators see these as references to the righteous King Hezekiah, but with the eyes of faith, we can see them also as descriptions of Jesus, who is the fulfillment of every prophet’s words.
Isaiah’s ministry spanned more than half a century, roughly 749 to 687 b.c., and it encompassed a number of upheavals for the people. Yet through them all, messages like today’s passage ring out clearly, both for the people of ancient Jerusalem and for us today. When all is said and done, it’s a simple message from a loving God: “Cease doing evil; learn to do good. Make justice your aim” (Isaiah 1:16-17).
“Lord God, lead me in the path of your holiness. Teach me how to live a life pleasing to you in every way.”
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