Bible Diary

Daily Reading

Memorial of the First Holy Martyrs of the Holy Roman Church

LECTIONARY
379

FIRST READING

Gen 21:5, 8-20

Abraham was a hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him. And the child grew and was weaned. And Abraham made a great feast on the day that Isaac was weaned. But Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, whom she had borne to Abraham, laughing. So she said to Abraham, “Cast out this slave woman with her son, for the son of this slave woman shall not be heir with my son Isaac.” And the thing was very displeasing to Abraham on account of his son. But God said to Abraham, “Be not displeased because of the boy and because of your slave woman. Whatever Sarah says to you, do as she tells you, for through Isaac shall your offspring be named. And I will make a nation of the son of the slave woman also, because he is your offspring.” So Abraham rose early in the morning and took bread and a skin of water and gave it to Hagar, putting it on her shoulder, along with the child, and sent her away. And she departed and wandered in the wilderness of Beersheba. When the water in the skin was gone, she put the child under one of the bushes. Then she went and sat down opposite him a good way off, about the distance of a bowshot, for she said, “Let me not look on the death of the child.” And as she sat opposite him, she lifted up her voice and wept. And God heard the voice of the boy, and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven and said to her, “What troubles you, Hagar? Fear not, for God has heard the voice of the boy where he is. Up! Lift up the boy, and hold him fast with your hand, for I will make him into a great nation.” Then God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water. And she went and filled the skin with water and gave the boy a drink. And God was with the boy, and he grew up. He lived in the wilderness and became an expert with the bow.

PSALM

34:7-8, 10-11, 12-13

Response: The Lord hears the cry of the poor

When the poor one called out, the LORD heard,
and from all his distress he saved him.
The angel of the LORD encamps
around those who fear him, and delivers them.

Fear the LORD, you his holy ones,
for nought is lacking to those who fear him.
The great grow poor and hungry;
but those who seek the LORD want for no good thing.

Come, children, hear me;
I will teach you the fear of the LORD.
Which of you desires life,
and takes delight in prosperous days?

GOSPEL

Mt 8:28-34

And when he came to the other side, to the country of the Gadarenes, two demon-possessed men met him, coming out of the tombs, so fierce that no one could pass that way. And behold, they cried out, “What have you to do with us, O Son of God? Have you come here to torment us before the time?” Now a herd of many pigs was feeding at some distance from them. And the demons begged him, saying, “If you cast us out, send us away into the herd of pigs.” And he said to them, “Go.” So they came out and went into the pigs, and behold, the whole herd rushed down the steep bank into the sea and drowned in the waters. The herdsmen fled, and going into the city they told everything, especially what had happened to the demon-possessed men. And behold, all the city came out to meet Jesus, and when they saw him, they begged him to leave their region.

Daily Reflection

What’s your potential? God knows!

An old Yiddish saying goes: ‘If you want God to laugh, show him your plans’.

When one looks back over the years and sees the twists and turns that life has taken, it fills one with a certain sense of awe – who could have imagined the possibilities! What we plan for ourselves is limited by our ‘human’ vision and desires. But God focuses on the immense potential that we have, and with Him all things are possible. Abram laughed at the proposition of having a son at 100 and yet Sarah conceived at 90 and Isaac was born.

In the Gospel, we meet the leper who was made clean. Leprosy, a degrading disease in ancient times, had no cure. The leper presents himself in faith to Jesus who cures him. Who knows what miracle is waiting around the corner for us? What impossible task God will accomplish through us?

Would you be a willing instrument, not for your own plans but God’s?