Bible Diary

Daily Reading

Memorial of Saint Bonaventure, Bishop and Doctor of the Church

LECTIONARY
391

FIRST READING

IS 10:5-7, 13B-16

Thus says the LORD:
Woe to Assyria! My rod in anger,
my staff in wrath.
Against an impious nation I send him,
and against a people under my wrath I order him
To seize plunder, carry off loot,
and tread them down like the mud of the streets.
But this is not what he intends,
nor does he have this in mind;
Rather, it is in his heart to destroy,
to make an end of nations not a few.

For he says:
“By my own power I have done it,
and by my wisdom, for I am shrewd.
I have moved the boundaries of peoples,
their treasures I have pillaged,
and, like a giant, I have put down the enthroned.
My hand has seized like a nest
the riches of nations;
As one takes eggs left alone,
so I took in all the earth;
No one fluttered a wing,
or opened a mouth, or chirped!”

Will the axe boast against him who hews with it?
Will the saw exalt itself above him who wields it?
As if a rod could sway him who lifts it,
or a staff him who is not wood!
Therefore the Lord, the LORD of hosts,
will send among his fat ones leanness,
And instead of his glory there will be kindling
like the kindling of fire.

PSALM

PS 94:5-6, 7-8, 9-10, 14-15

Response: The Lord will not abandon his people.

Your people, O LORD, they trample down,
your inheritance they afflict.
Widow and stranger they slay,
the fatherless they murder.

And they say, “The LORD sees not;
the God of Jacob perceives not.”
Understand, you senseless ones among the people;
and, you fools, when will you be wise?

Shall he who shaped the ear not hear?
or he who formed the eye not see?
Shall he who instructs nations not chastise,
he who teaches men knowledge?

For the LORD will not cast off his people,
nor abandon his inheritance;
But judgment shall again be with justice,
and all the upright of heart shall follow it.

GOSPEL

MT 11:25-27

At that time Jesus exclaimed:
“I give praise to you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth,
for although you have hidden these things
from the wise and the learned
you have revealed them to the childlike.
Yes, Father, such has been your gracious will.
All things have been handed over to me by my Father.
No one knows the Son except the Father,
and no one knows the Father except the Son
and anyone to whom the Son wishes to reveal him.”

Daily Reflection

Engulfed by pride and arrogance, the Assyrians boasted of victories wrought by their superior military power. But Isaiah explained why God did not prevent Assyria’s conquest of Judah; it was so that the Israelites may realise the folly of their ways and seek to be purged of their sin. Unfortunately, the pride of Assyria led her to further plunder and lay waste the chosen people. It was then that Isaiah (in today’s first reading) prophesied the downfall of this egotistical Assyrian empire. History bore witness to this in 721 BCE.

In the same vein, Jesus, in today’s Gospel, testifies how God’s revelation proves elusive for the proud and conceited Jewish religious leaders and yet is clear to the humble and pure of heart! Revelation is not for the intellect to comprehend and analyse, but for the humble heart and open mind that recognize the insignificance of humankind before the overwhelming greatness of God.

Both readings show us how false pride can close our minds to the truth because we foolishly believe we already know it!