Daily Readings - Sun Mar 04 2018
Exodus
1And God spoke all these words:2"I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.3"You shall have no other gods before me.7"You shall not misuse the name of the LORD your God, for the LORD will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name.8"Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy.12"Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the LORD your God is giving you.13"You shall not murder.14"You shall not commit adultery.15"You shall not steal.16"You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.17"You shall not covet your neighbor's house. You shall not covet your neighbor's wife, or his manservant or maidservant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor."
1 Corinthians
18For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.22Jews demand miraculous signs and Greeks look for wisdom,23but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles,24but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.25For the foolishness of God is wiser than man's wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man's strength.
John
13When it was almost time for the Jewish Passover, Jesus went up to Jerusalem.14In the temple courts he found men selling cattle, sheep and doves, and others sitting at tables exchanging money.15So he made a whip out of cords, and drove all from the temple area, both sheep and cattle; he scattered the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables.16To those who sold doves he said, "Get these out of here! How dare you turn my Father's house into a market!"17His disciples remembered that it is written: "Zeal for your house will consume me."18Then the Jews demanded of him, "What miraculous sign can you show us to prove your authority to do all this?"19Jesus answered them, "Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days."20The Jews replied, "It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and you are going to raise it in three days?"21But the temple he had spoken of was his body.22After he was raised from the dead, his disciples recalled what he had said. Then they believed the Scripture and the words that Jesus had spoken.23Now while he was in Jerusalem at the Passover Feast, many people saw the miraculous signs he was doing and believed in his name.24But Jesus would not entrust himself to them, for he knew all men.25He did not need man's testimony about man, for he knew what was in a man.
Sermon
In today's readings, we journey through key moments of God's revelation and the fulfillment of His plan. The first reading from Exodus presents the Ten Commandments, foundational moral laws given to the Israelites after their liberation from Egypt. These commandments serve as a guide for living a righteous life, reflecting God's will for His people.
The second reading from Corinthians shifts our focus to the crucified Christ, where Paul emphasizes that the cross, though foolish to some, is the pinnacle of God's wisdom. This passage highlights the transformative power of the cross, which transcends human understanding and offers salvation to those who embrace it.
In the Gospel, Jesus cleanses the temple, asserting its sanctity as a house of prayer, not commerce. His prophecy about raising the temple in three days points to his resurrection, symbolizing Himself as the new temple where God's presence dwells. This act underscores Jesus' divine authority and the fulfillment of the law He came to embody.
These readings interconnect by moving from the moral foundation of the Ten Commandments to the wisdom of the cross and culminating in Jesus as the living temple. They invite us to reflect on our values, trust in God's wisdom, and recognize Christ's presence in our lives. May we strive to live according to God's commandments, find wisdom in the cross, and acknowledge Jesus as our spiritual temple, trusting in His divine plan.