Wednesday after the Third Sunday after Trinity Sunday
Posted on July 6, 2022 by under
Scripture: St. Luke 10:13-16 (NKJV)
10:13 “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, sitting in sackcloth and ashes. 14 But it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the judgment than for you. 15 And you, Capernaum, who are exalted to heaven, will be brought down to Hades. 16 He who hears you hears Me, he who rejects you rejects Me, and he who rejects Me rejects Him who sent Me.”
Devotion
Faithful repentance and humility bow before God’s mighty Word, honestly confessing, “Woe is me, I am sinful and unclean!” Obstinate sinners, though, rebuff God’s commands, declaring why such correction shouldn’t apply to them. They blame the messenger, change the subject, or simply reject anything that sounds like “law,” demanding a vain “love” that accepts all their desires. Yet, God Himself came preaching the truth of the Law and the Gospel alike. He called sinners to repentance and did mighty works showing the love He gives to those who trust in Him, treasuring His teaching, to those whose obedience declares the reception of His Kingly invitation.
St. John repeats our Lord’s truth: “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us” (1 John 1:8-10). Furthermore, our Savior’s stringent words leave no room for the obstinate to dismiss His servants: “…he who rejects you rejects Me…” Those who would ignore the true correction of one offering faithful discipline are dangerously in league with those who ignored Christ Himself. Our Lord’s discipline is a gracious gift, and the humility His Spirit works in us through it makes us ready to hear His love and forgiveness!
Prayer: O God, the Protector of all that trust in Thee, without Whom nothing is strong, nothing is holy: Increase and multiply upon us Thy mercy; that Thou being our Ruler and Guide, we may so pass through things temporal, that we finally lose not the things eternal; 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.
