Daily Readings - Sun Mar 14 2021

¹⁴Then too, all the leaders of the priests, with the people, transgressed iniquitously, in accord with all the abominations of the Gentiles. And they polluted the house of the Lord, which he had sanctified to himself in Jerusalem¹⁵Then the Lord, the God of their fathers, sent to them, by the hand of his messengers, rising in the night and daily admonishing them. For he was lenient to his people and to his habitation¹⁶But they ridiculed the messengers of God, and they gave little weight to his words, and they mocked the prophets, until the fury of the Lord ascended against his people, and there was no remedy¹⁷For he led over them the king of the Chaldeans. And he put to death their young men by the sword, in the house of his sanctuary. There was no pity for adolescents, nor virgins, nor the elderly, nor even for the disabled. Instead, he delivered them all into his hands¹⁹The enemies set fire to the house of God, and they destroyed the wall of Jerusalem. They burned down all the towers. And whatever was precious, they demolished²⁰If anyone had escaped from the sword, he was led into Babylon. And he served the king and his sons, until the king of Persia would command²¹and the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah would be fulfilled, and the land would celebrate her Sabbaths. For during all the days of the desolation, she kept a Sabbath, until the seventy years were completed²²Then, in the first year of Cyrus, the king of the Persians, in order to fulfill the word of the Lord, which he had spoken by the mouth of Jeremiah, the Lord stirred up the heart of Cyrus, the king of the Persians, who commanded this to be proclaimed throughout his entire kingdom, and also in writing, saying²³"Thus says Cyrus, the king of the Persians: The Lord, the God of heaven, has given to me all the kingdoms of the earth. And he has instructed me that I should build for him a house in Jerusalem, which is in Judea. Who among you is from his entire people? May the Lord his God be with him, and let him ascend.

Ephesians

Chapter 2

⁴Yet still, God, who is rich in mercy, for the sake of his exceedingly great charity with which he loved us⁵even when we were dead in our sins, has enlivened us together in Christ, by whose grace you have been saved⁶And he has raised us up together, and he has caused us to sit down together in the heavens, in Christ Jesus⁷so that he may display, in the ages soon to arrive, the abundant wealth of his grace, by his goodness toward us in Christ Jesus⁸For by grace, you have been saved through faith. And this is not of yourselves, for it is a gift of God⁹And this is not of works, so that no one may glory¹⁰For we are his handiwork, created in Christ Jesus for the good works which God has prepared and in which we should walk

John

Chapter 3

¹⁴And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert, so also must the Son of man be lifted up¹⁵so that whoever believes in him may not perish, but may have eternal life¹⁶For God so loved the world that he gave his only-begotten Son, so that all who believe in him may not perish, but may have eternal life¹⁷For God did not send his Son into the world, in order to judge the world, but in order that the world may be saved through him¹⁸Whoever believes in him is not judged. But whoever does not believe is already judged, because he does not believe in the name of the only-begotten Son of God¹⁹And this is the judgment: that the Light has come into the world, and men loved darkness more than light. For their works were evil²⁰For everyone who does evil hates the Light and does not go toward the Light, so that his works may not be corrected²¹But whoever acts in truth goes toward the Light, so that his works may be manifested, because they have been accomplished in God.

Sermon

The readings today invite us to reflect on God’s mercy, the call to faith, and the transformative power of grace in our lives. In the first reading from 2 Chronicles, we hear the story of Jerusalem’s fall and the exile of God’s people. Despite their infidelity and rejection of the prophets, God remains faithful and ultimately offers them a path to redemption through the Persian king Cyrus, who allows the Israelites to return and rebuild the Temple. This passage reminds us that even in the midst of sin and failure, God’s mercy endures and His plan of salvation continues to unfold. The second reading from Ephesians deepens this theme by emphasizing that our salvation is entirely a gift of God’s grace. We are saved not by our own works but through faith in Christ, who has raised us up with Him and seated us in the heavens. This passage calls us to humility and gratitude, recognizing that our good works are not the cause of our salvation but rather the fruit of God’s grace at work in us. In the Gospel, Jesus draws a connection between the bronze serpent lifted up by Moses in the desert and His own crucifixion. Just as the serpent brought healing to those who looked upon it, Jesus’ death on the cross brings eternal life to all who believe in Him. Yet, the Gospel also warns us that unbelief leads to judgment, not because God condemns us, but because we choose darkness over light. Jesus is the Light of the world, and those who act in truth will be drawn to Him, while those who love evil will flee from Him. These readings challenge us to examine our own faith and response to God’s mercy. Like the Israelites, we have all sinned and fallen short, but God’s grace is always available to us. Like the Ephesians, we are called to live out our faith in good works, not to earn salvation but as a way of life transformed by Christ. And like those who heard Jesus’ words, we must choose to believe in Him, to look upon the crucified Savior, and to walk in the light of His truth. May we today embrace the gift of salvation, live with gratitude for God’s mercy, and trust in the power of His grace to transform our lives.