Reading 1 Is 49:1-6
listen, O distant peoples.
The LORD called me from birth,
from my mother’s womb he gave me my name.
He made of me a sharp-edged sword
and concealed me in the shadow of his arm.
He made me a polished arrow,
in his quiver he hid me.
You are my servant, he said to me,
Israel, through whom I show my glory.
Though I thought I had toiled in vain,
and for nothing, uselessly, spent my strength,
yet my reward is with the LORD,
my recompense is with my God.
For now the LORD has spoken
who formed me as his servant from the womb,
that Jacob may be brought back to him
and Israel gathered to him;
and I am made glorious in the sight of the LORD,
and my God is now my strength!
It is too little, he says, for you to be my servant,
to raise up the tribes of Jacob,
and restore the survivors of Israel;
I will make you a light to the nations,
that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.
Responsorial Psalm Ps 139:1b-3, 13-14ab, 14c-15
O LORD, you have probed me, you know me:
you know when I sit and when I stand;
you understand my thoughts from afar.
My journeys and my rest you scrutinize,
with all my ways you are familiar.
R. I praise you for I am wonderfully made.
Truly you have formed my inmost being;
you knit me in my mother’s womb.
I give you thanks that I am fearfully, wonderfully made;
wonderful are your works.
R. I praise you, for I am wonderfully made.
My soul also you knew full well;
nor was my frame unknown to you
When I was made in secret,
when I was fashioned in the depths of the earth.
R. I praise you, for I am wonderfully made.
Reading 2 Acts 13:22-26
In those days, Paul said:“God raised up David as king;
of him God testified,
I have found David, son of Jesse, a man after my own heart;
he will carry out my every wish.
From this man’s descendants God, according to his promise,
has brought to Israel a savior, Jesus.
John heralded his coming by proclaiming a baptism of repentance
to all the people of Israel;
and as John was completing his course, he would say,
‘What do you suppose that I am? I am not he.
Behold, one is coming after me;
I am not worthy to unfasten the sandals of his feet.’
“My brothers, sons of the family of Abraham,
and those others among you who are God-fearing,
to us this word of salvation has been sent.”
Alleluia See Lk 1:76
R. Alleluia, alleluia.You, child, will be called prophet of the Most High,
for you will go before the Lord to prepare his way.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel Lk 1:57-66, 80
she gave birth to a son.
Her neighbors and relatives heard
that the Lord had shown his great mercy toward her,
and they rejoiced with her.
When they came on the eighth day to circumcise the child,
they were going to call him Zechariah after his father,
but his mother said in reply,
“No. He will be called John.”
But they answered her,
“There is no one among your relatives who has this name.”
So they made signs, asking his father what he wished him to be called.
He asked for a tablet and wrote, “John is his name,”
and all were amazed.
Immediately his mouth was opened, his tongue freed,
and he spoke blessing God.
Then fear came upon all their neighbors,
and all these matters were discussed
throughout the hill country of Judea.
All who heard these things took them to heart, saying,
“What, then, will this child be?”
For surely the hand of the Lord was with him.
The child grew and became strong in spirit,
and he was in the desert until the day
of his manifestation to Israel.
SAVED FROM THE PITS OF HELL
"Out of My sight, you evildoers!" –Matthew 7:23
How bad can things get? We could unconditionally surrender to the enemy and be led captive into exile (2 Kgs 24:12). The treasures of our faith could be carried off, and we could witness horrific sacrileges (see 2 Kgs 24:13). We could be brought so "very low" (Ps 79:8) that "there is no one to bury" the dead (Ps 79:3). Consequently, the corpses of God's servants became "food to the birds of heaven" and "to the beasts of the earth" (Ps 79:2). Just imagine a dog or a rat chewing on your mother's dead body. How bad can things get?
Why do such atrocities happen? Why does the Lord describe this in the Bible? The Lord is showing us the hellish results of sin. This should lead us to repent. The wages of sin (Rm 6:23) should especially lead us to thank Jesus for saving us by taking our sins on Himself (1 Pt 2:24) and dying for love of us. Jesus has not just saved us from some unpleasantness. He has saved us from unspeakable degradation. Accept Jesus' gift of salvation. Thank Jesus, our Savior – constantly and forever.
| PRAYER: | "I'm forever grateful to You. I'm forever grateful for the cross." |
| PROMISE: | "None of those who cry out, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of God but only the one who does the will of My Father in heaven." –Mt 7:21 |
| PRAISE: | Having been freed by Jesus from addiction, Roberta praises God daily for her freedom. |
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