Daily Readings for July 12, 2016

1ST READING

Israel is in constant conflict with its neighbors. The nation spends time and resources for its defense. The court will become so corrupt that both the northern and southern kingdoms will be overrun by Assyria and then by Babylon. God will protect them from their enemies. Isaiah assures Ahaz that the kingdom will stand for now.

Isaiah 7:1-9

1 In the days of Ahaz, king of Judah, son of Jotham, son of Uzziah, Rezin, king of Aram, and Pekah, king of Israel, son of Remaliah, went up to attack Jerusalem, but they were not able to conquer it. 2 When word came to the house of David that Aram was encamped in Ephraim, the heart of the king and heart of the people trembled, as the trees of the forest tremble in the wind. 3 Then the Lord said to Isaiah: Go out to meet Ahaz, you and your son Shear-jashub, at the end of the conduit of the upper pool, on the highway of the fuller’s field, 4 and say to him: Take care you remain tranquil and do not fear; let not your courage fail before these two stumps of smoldering brands [the blazing anger of Rezin and the Arameans, and of the son of Remaliah], 5 because of the mischief that Aram [Ephraim and the son of Remaliah] plots against you, saying, 6 “Let us go up and tear Judah asunder, make it our own by force, and appoint the son of Tabeel king there.” 7 Thus says the Lord: This shall not stand, it shall not be! 8 Damascus is the capital of Aram, and Rezin the head of Damascus; Samaria is the capital of Ephraim, and Remaliah’s son the head of Samaria. 9 But within sixty years and five, Ephraim shall be crushed, no longer a nation. Unless your faith is firm you shall not be firm!

P S A L M

Psalm 48:2-3, 3-4, 5-6, 7-8

R: God upholds his city for ever.

1 [2] Great is the Lord and wholly to be praised in the city of our God. His holy mountain, 2 [3] fairest of heights, is the joy of all the earth. (R) Mount Zion, “the recesses of the North,” is the city of the great King. 3 [4] God is with her castles; renowned is he as a stronghold. (R) 4 [5] For lo! the kings assemble, they come on together; 5 [6] They also see, and at once are stunned, terrified, routed. (R) 6 [7] Quaking seizes them there; anguish, like a woman’s in labor, 7 [8] as though a wind from the east were shattering ships of Tarshish. (R)

GOSPEL

There is no shame in repentance, only joy. Salvation has replaced condemnation and judgment as the future of your life. The self-righteous is the biggest stumbling block to the proclamation of the Gospel, not the repentant sinner. A self-righteous person presents salvation as something that an individual wins through his own effort. Nothing could be further from the truth.

GOSPEL ACCLAMATION

If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.

Matthew 11:20-24

20 Jesus began to reproach the towns where most of his mighty deeds had been done, since they had not repented. 21 “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty deeds done in your midst had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would long ago have repented in sackcloth and ashes. 22 But I tell you, it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon on the day of judgment than for you. 23 And as for you, Capernaum: Will you be exalted to heaven? You will go down to the netherworld. For if the mighty deeds done in your midst had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. 24 But I tell you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom on the day of judgment than for you.”