Daily Readings - Sun Mar 14 2021
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 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.