Friday after the Fifteenth Sunday after Trinity Sunday
Posted on September 30, 2022 by under
Scripture: St. Luke 6:20-26 (NKJV)
6:20 Then He lifted up His eyes toward His disciples, and said:
“Blessed are you poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.
21 “Blessed are you who hunger now, for you shall be filled. Blessed are you who weep now, for you shall laugh.
22 “Blessed are you when men hate you, and when they exclude you, and revile you, and cast out your name as evil, for the Son of Man’s sake.
23 “Rejoice in that day and leap for joy! For indeed your reward is great in heaven, for in like manner their fathers did to the prophets.
24 “But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation.
25 “Woe to you who are full, for you shall hunger. Woe to you who laugh now, for you shall mourn and weep.
26 “Woe to you when all men speak well of you, for so did their fathers to the false prophets.”
Devotion
In some parts of the Scripture, God says His faithful are to work and pray and they will receive daily bread. Other parts say man should rest and fast. Still other parts say the unfaithful will go wanting and reap the consequences of their vanity. Then there are parts that remind us the wicked will seem successful and wealthy, whereas the faithful will go hungry in suffering. All of this continues to show the theme of the week’s readings, which is the lesson that God’s faithful people must stay focused on His Word through all circumstances. In all things, His will must be done, not ours.
Our sinful hearts want to only have the good things. We want them on our terms, and if things don’t go the way we think they should, we want to call it evil and unacceptable. But our Lord came and humbled Himself to show us that our desires and our expectations are not what make for true righteousness. He submitted to the selfish will of man and it brought destruction, suffering, and death. But He also brought miracles through that destruction. That is what the will of God does! He brings good from chaos.
Our works often don’t bring about the good we expect, but the will of God can bring good from even the worst situation. As He promises, He can and does make all things work together for good for His people (Rom. 8:28).
Prayer: O Lord, we beseech Thee, let Thy continual pity cleanse and defend Thy Church; and because it cannot continue in safety without Thy succor, preserve it evermore by Thy help and goodness; through Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, ever One God, world without end. Amen.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
