Daily Readings - Mon Nov 09 2020

First Reading - Ezekiel 47.1-2, 8-9, 12 or 1 Corinthians 3.9b-11, 16-17

¹And he turned me back to the gate of the house. And behold, waters went out, from under the threshold of the house, toward the east. For the face of the house looked toward the east. But the waters descended on the right side of the temple, toward the south of the altar²And he led me out, along the way of the north gate, and he turned me back toward the way outside the exterior gate, the way which looked toward the east. And behold, the waters overflowed on the right side⁸And he said to me: "These waters, which go forth toward the hillocks of sand to the east, and which descend to the plains of the desert, will enter the sea, and will go out, and the waters will be healed⁹And every living soul that moves, wherever the torrent arrives, will live. And there will be more than enough fish, after these waters have arrived there, and they will be healed. And all things will live, where the torrent arrives¹²And above the torrent, on its banks on both sides, every kind of fruit tree will rise up. Their foliage will not fall away, and their fruit will not fail. Every single month they will bring forth first-fruits. For its waters will go forth from the sanctuary. And its fruits will be for food, and its leaves will be for medicine.

1 Corinthians

Chapter 3

⁹For we are God’s assistants. You are God’s cultivation; you are God’s construction¹⁰According to the grace of God, which has been given to me, I have laid the foundation like a wise architect. But another builds upon it. So then, let each one be careful how he builds upon it¹¹For no one is able to lay any other foundation, in place of that which has been laid, which is Christ Jesus¹⁶Do you not know that you are the Temple of God, and that the Spirit of God lives within you¹⁷But if anyone violates the Temple of God, God will destroy him. For the Temple of God is holy, and you are that Temple

John

Chapter 2

¹³And the Passover of the Jews was near, and so Jesus ascended to Jerusalem¹⁴And he found, sitting in the temple, sellers of oxen and sheep and doves, and the moneychangers¹⁵And when he had made something like a whip out of little cords, he drove them all out of the temple, including the sheep and the oxen. And he poured out the brass coins of the moneychangers, and he overturned their tables¹⁶And to those who were selling doves, he said: "Take these things out of here, and do not make my Father’s house into a house of commerce.¹⁷And truly, his disciples were reminded that it is written: "Zeal for your house consumes me.¹⁸Then the Jews responded and said to him, "What sign can you show to us, that you may do these things?¹⁹Jesus responded and said to them, "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.²⁰Then the Jews said, "This temple has been built up over forty-six years, and you will raise it up in three days?²¹Yet he was speaking about the Temple of his body²²Therefore, when he had resurrected from the dead, his disciples were reminded that he had said this, and they believed in the Scriptures and in the word that Jesus had spoken

Sermon

In today's readings, we encounter powerful visions of life, renewal, and the true meaning of worship. Ezekiel’s vision of the temple in Ezekiel 47 vividly describes waters flowing from the temple, bringing life and healing to all they touch. This imagery speaks of a restored creation, where God’s presence flows forth, transforming even the most desolate places into gardens of abundance. The temple here is not just a building but a source of divine life, reminding us that God’s presence is meant to overflow into the world, bringing healing and fruitfulness. In the Gospel, John 2:13-22, Jesus’ actions in the temple challenge us to reflect on what it means to worship God. By driving out the merchants and moneychangers, Jesus is not just cleaning the temple; he is restoring its true purpose as a house of prayer. His zeal for God’s house consumes him, as the Psalm says, and he calls us to share that same passion. When the Jews question his authority, Jesus points to his own body as the true temple, a mystery that would only be fully understood after his resurrection. This passage invites us to see Jesus as the new temple, the source of living water, and the place where God’s presence dwells among us. These readings remind us that our lives are meant to be temples of the Holy Spirit, living sources of God’s life and love in the world. Just as Ezekiel’s waters flowed outward, bringing healing to the land, so too are we called to let God’s Spirit flow through us, transforming the world around us. Let us ask ourselves: Are we allowing God’s presence to flow freely through us, or are there obstacles in our hearts that need to be cleared away? May we, like Jesus, be consumed by zeal for God’s house, and may our lives be fruitful, bearing the first-fruits of the Spirit for the healing of the world.