Monday after the Tenth Sunday after Trinity Sunday
Posted on August 22, 2022 by under
Scripture: St. Matthew 11:16-24 (NKJV)
11:16 “But to what shall I liken this generation? It is like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling to their companions, 17 and saying:
‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; We mourned to you, and you did not lament.’
18 For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon.’ 19 The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Look, a glutton and a winebibber, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ But wisdom is justified by her children.”
20 Then He began to rebuke the cities in which most of His mighty works had been done, because they did not repent: 21 “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works which were done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. 22 But I say to you, it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon in the day of judgment than for you. 23 And you, Capernaum, who are exalted to heaven, will be brought down to Hades; for if the mighty works which were done in you had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. 24 But I say to you that it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment than for you.”
Devotion
The unbelieving people thought they were wise in their own eyes. They judged God’s faithful messengers according to their own understanding and condemned them. For this foolishness our Lord rebukes them and warns them. They failed to hear and understand the holy promises and commands that were passed down through the faithful fathers and prophets, but they still thought they were doing good in the eyes of God, even though they didn’t know Him, or care about His Word.
It is a harsh warning to liken a people to those of Sodom. Even obstinate unbelievers knew what Christ was saying with that reference! But as usual, sinners are unwilling to consider that they are as wicked as the infamous examples that are meant to bring them to repentance. Folks like to call others hypocrites and Pharisees, but they don’t like to consider that their own sin is just as deadly.
Our Lord corrects and rebukes us because He wants us to be His glorious Church, without the spots or blemishes of sin and self-will. That is why He continues to teach us to observe all that He commands, sometimes even with harsh warnings. He wants us sinners to repent, and He wants the repentant to grow stronger in faith and love so we may truly enjoy all the treasures that He gives!
Prayer: O God, Who declarest Thine Almighty power chiefly in showing mercy and pity: Mercifully grant unto us such a measure of Thy grace, that we, running the way of Thy commandments, may obtain Thy gracious promises, and be made partakers of Thy heavenly treasure; 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.
