Friday after the Fifth Sunday after Trinity Sunday
Posted on July 22, 2022 by under
Scripture: St. Luke 9:57-62 (NKJV)
9:57 Now it happened as they journeyed on the road, that someone said to Him, “Lord, I will follow You wherever You go.”
58 And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.”
59 Then He said to another, “Follow Me.”
But he said, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.”
60 Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and preach the kingdom of God.”
61 And another also said, “Lord, I will follow You, but let me first go and bid them farewell who are at my house.”
62 But Jesus said to him, “No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.”
Devotion
This reading from St. Luke shows how our Lord corrects man’s misconceptions about vocation. Sinful man wants to do what seems right in his own eyes. People often want to dictate what they’re willing to do or not do while they ignore the clear vocations that have been given to them according to God’s good order. Such is another example of prideful self-will and satanic rebellion.
Today we also remember St. Mary Magdalene. False teachers throughout history have tried to twist and redefine her role in the Gospel of our Savior Jesus Christ. They say she was married to Jesus, or that she was an Apostle, or even that she replaced Jesus. Such distortions are not according to the Kingdom of God.
The Word of our Lord is clear about St. Mary’s role. She was blessed by the Lord as He cast out her demons. She was one of the first to see Him after His resurrection, and she had the special honor of reporting this and the things He said to her to the disciples (John 20:18). Mary Magdalene was a faithful helper and witness. This calling is the high honor that God Himself has bestowed on her, and it is unfortunate that vain false teachers have tried to make her into something else. Let us also thank the Lord for the blessings and vocations He has given us, and may He keep us in faithfulness and truth!
Prayer: O gracious God, who didst work repentance and faith in the heart of St. Mary, so lead us by the working of Thy Holy Spirit that we may walk before Thee in repentance all our days and have consolation through the absolution which Thou dost grant to be proclaimed unto Thy Church, through Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, ever One God, world without end. Amen.
Collect for the Fifth Sunday after Trinity Sunday
O God, Who has prepared for them that love Thee such good things as pass man’s understanding: Pour into our hearts such love toward Thee, that we, loving Thee above all things, may obtain Thy promises, which exceed all that we can desire; 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.
