The Friday after the Fifteenth Sunday after Trinity Sunday
Posted on October 3, 2025 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, or 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 our Lord’s list of beatitudes, or blessings, we see that we may experience consequences for seeking first the kingdom of God and His righteousness. In particular, when men hate us, exclude us, revile us, and cast us out for the Son of Man’s sake, that can often be because we consider the Word of God more important than the opinions of those men. Jesus says that the student is not greater than the teacher, and if we are the students of Christ, and of the faithful Old Testament prophets, it should not surprise us if we are treated like Christ and the faithful Old Testament prophets were treated. Many of them suffered terribly, or were even killed.
At the same time, if we are rich, or full, because we sought earthly things first, or all men speak well of us because we compromised God’s truth, we should be worried. Jesus often warns us that the wicked will receive temporal goods, but eternal woes. May the Lord help us rather to be faithful to Him, and to look forward to eternal life with our beloved Lord and Savior, instead of seeking the praise and glory of this world.
Collect: 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.
