Daily Readings - Sun Mar 11 2018
2 Chronicles
14All the officers of the priests and the people likewise were exceedingly unfaithful, following all the abominations of the nations. And they polluted the house of the LORD that he had made holy in Jerusalem.15The LORD, the God of their fathers, sent persistently to them by his messengers, because he had compassion on his people and on his dwelling place.16But they kept mocking the messengers of God, despising his words and scoffing at his prophets, until the wrath of the LORD rose against his people, until there was no remedy.17Therefore he brought up against them the king of the Chaldeans, who killed their young men with the sword in the house of their sanctuary and had no compassion on young man or virgin, old man or aged. He gave them all into his hand.19And they burned the house of God and broke down the wall of Jerusalem and burned all its palaces with fire and destroyed all its precious vessels.20He took into exile in Babylon those who had escaped from the sword, and they became servants to him and to his sons until the establishment of the kingdom of Persia,21to fulfill the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah, until the land had enjoyed its Sabbaths. All the days that it lay desolate it kept Sabbath, to fulfill seventy years.22Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled, the LORD stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, so that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom and also put it in writing:23"Thus says Cyrus king of Persia, 'The LORD, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth, and he has charged me to build him a house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Whoever is among you of all his people, may the LORD his God be with him. Let him go up.'"
Ephesians
4But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us,5even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ--by grace you have been saved--6and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,7so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.8For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God,9not a result of works, so that no one may boast.10For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.
John
14And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up,15that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.16"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.17For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.18Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.19And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their deeds were evil.20For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed.21But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his deeds have been carried out in God."
Sermon
The readings today invite us to reflect on the themes of redemption, grace, and the transformative power of faith. In the first reading from 2 Chronicles, we witness the consequences of Israel’s rebellion against God. Despite their repeated infidelity, God’s mercy ultimately prevails, as He stirs the heart of Cyrus, the Persian king, to allow the exiles to return and rebuild the Temple. This passage reminds us that even in the midst of judgment, God’s love and forgiveness are always at work. The second reading from Ephesians deepens this theme, emphasizing that our salvation is entirely a gift of God’s grace. We are saved not by our own efforts but through faith, and we are called to live out this gift in good works that reflect God’s love. The Gospel from John unfolds the ultimate expression of this love: God’s gift of His only Son, Jesus Christ. Just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert to save the people, Jesus is lifted up on the cross to bring eternal life to all who believe.
These readings are deeply interconnected. The story of Israel’s exile and restoration in 2 Chronicles foreshadows the universal salvation offered through Christ. The Ephesians passage explains the mystery of how this salvation is accomplished—through grace and faith—and the Gospel reveals the heart of this mystery: God’s boundless love for the world. Together, they remind us that our relationship with God is rooted in His initiative, not our own. While we may stumble into darkness, God continually offers us the light of His Son, inviting us to turn toward Him.
In our daily lives, these readings call us to trust in God’s mercy and to live as people transformed by His grace. Let us not rely on our own strength or works to earn God’s favor, for salvation is a gift freely given. Instead, let us embrace the light of Christ, allowing His love to guide us in all we do. May we, like the exiles of old, return to the Lord with humble hearts, and may we, like the Ephesians, walk in the good works prepared for us by God. Above all, let us remember that God so loved the world that He gave us His Son—may we respond to this love by believing in Him and living in the light.