Saturday 25 June

Lamentations 2:2, 10-14, 18-19; Ps. 74;
Matthew 8:5-17

Repentance and faithfulness

Israel rejects God’s Word and, so, finds itself in exile. Jerusalem is laid waste. The land of Israel is bereft of its ancient glory. Only by the road of repentance will Israel find its way back to God. In the Gospel reading, Jesus is amazed at the faith of the centurion, a foreigner. Jesus uses the occasion to remind his listeners that simply claiming to be the descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob will not save them. Those who are saved are those who keep God’s Word irrespective of whether they are Gentile or Jew.