Daily Readings - Sun Apr 06 2025

¹⁶Thus says the LORD, who makes a way in the sea, a path in the mighty waters,¹⁷who brings forth chariot and horse, army and warrior; they lie down, they cannot rise, they are extinguished, quenched like a wick:¹⁸"Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old.¹⁹Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.²⁰The wild beasts will honor me, the jackals and the ostriches, for I give water in the wilderness, rivers in the desert, to give drink to my chosen people,²¹the people whom I formed for myself that they might declare my praise.

Philippians

Chapter 3

⁸Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ⁹and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith--¹⁰that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death,¹¹that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.¹²Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own.¹³Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead,¹⁴I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

John

Chapter 8

¹but Jesus went to the Mount of Olives.²Early in the morning he came again to the temple. All the people came to him, and he sat down and taught them.³The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery, and placing her in the midst⁴they said to him, "Teacher, this woman has been caught in the act of adultery.⁵Now in the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. So what do you say?"⁶This they said to test him, that they might have some charge to bring against him. Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger on the ground.⁷And as they continued to ask him, he stood up and said to them, "Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her."⁸And once more he bent down and wrote on the ground.⁹But when they heard it, they went away one by one, beginning with the older ones, and Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before him.¹⁰Jesus stood up and said to her, "Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?"¹¹She said, "No one, Lord." And Jesus said, "Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more."]]

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.