Daily Readings - Sun Apr 06 2025

¹⁶Thus says the Lord, who gave you a way through the sea and a path through the torrent of waters¹⁷who led out the chariot and the horse, the column of robust troops. They went to sleep together, and they will not arise. They have been crushed like flax, and they have been extinguished¹⁸You need not call to mind the past, nor consider the things of antiquity¹⁹Behold, I am accomplishing new things. And presently, they will spring forth. With certainty, you will know them. I will make a way in the desert, and rivers in an impassible place²⁰The wild beasts of the field will glorify me, with the serpents and the ostriches. For I have brought waters to the desert, rivers to inaccessible places, in order to give drink to my people, to my elect²¹This is the people whom I have formed for myself. They will speak my praise

Philippians

Chapter 3

⁸Yet truly, I consider everything to be a loss, because of the preeminent knowledge of Jesus Christ, my Lord, for whose sake I have suffered the loss of everything, considering it all to be like dung, so that I may gain Christ⁹and so that you may be found in him, not having my justice, which is of the law, but that which is of the faith of Christ Jesus, the justice within faith, which is of God¹⁰So shall I know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his Passion, having been fashioned according to his death¹¹if, by some means, I might attain to the resurrection which is from the dead¹²It is not as though I have already received this, or were already perfect. But rather I pursue, so that by some means I might attain, that in which I have already been attained by Christ Jesus¹³Brothers, I do not consider that I have already attained this. Instead, I do one thing: forgetting those things that are behind, and extending myself toward those things that are ahead¹⁴I pursue the destination, the prize of the heavenly calling of God in Christ Jesus

John

Chapter 8

¹But Jesus continued on to the Mount of Olives²And early in the morning, he went again to the temple; and all the people came to him. And sitting down, he taught them³Now the scribes and Pharisees brought forward a woman caught in adultery, and they stood her in front of them⁴And they said to him: "Teacher, this woman was just now caught in adultery⁵And in the law, Moses commanded us to stone such a one. Therefore, what do you say?⁶But they were saying this to test him, so that they might be able to accuse him. Then Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger on the earth⁷And then, when they persevered in questioning him, he stood upright and said to them, "Let whoever is without sin among you be the first to cast a stone at her.⁸And bending down again, he wrote on the earth⁹But upon hearing this, they went away, one by one, beginning with the eldest. And Jesus alone remained, with the woman standing in front of him¹⁰Then Jesus, raising himself up, said to her: "Woman, where are those who accused you? Has no one condemned you?¹¹And she said, "No one, Lord." Then Jesus said: "Neither will I condemn you. Go, and now do not choose to sin anymore.

Sermon

In today's readings, we encounter powerful themes of God's mercy, faith, and the invitation to move beyond our past mistakes. The first reading from Isaiah speaks of a God who creates new pathways in the desert, offering hope and renewal to His people. This passage, written during a time of exile, reminds us that even in our darkest moments, God is always doing something new, bringing life to barren places. The second reading from Philippians finds Paul emphasizing the superiority of knowing Christ over any earthly achievement or legalistic observance. He strips away all else to focus on the pursuit of a deeper relationship with Jesus, acknowledging that true righteousness comes through faith. Finally, the Gospel presents Jesus' encounter with the woman caught in adultery, where He challenges the hypocrisy of her accusers and offers her mercy and a new beginning. These readings are woven together by the thread of God's grace and the call to live in the present, unencumbered by past failures or rigid legalism. Isaiah's promise of new life, Paul's single-minded pursuit of Christ, and Jesus' act of mercy all point to the transformative power of God's love. Each reading invites us to let go of what holds us back and to trust in God's plan, which is always oriented toward life and freedom. As we reflect on these readings, we are challenged to examine our own lives. Where are we holding onto past sins or failures? Where are we prioritizing rules over relationships or settling for superficial righteousness? The good news is that God's mercy is always available, inviting us to start anew. Let us, like Paul, press on toward the goal of knowing Christ more deeply, and like the woman in the Gospel, walk away from our sins with gratitude and resolve to live differently. May we embrace the new thing God is doing in our lives, trusting in His promise to bring light and life even in the most unexpected places.