Daily Readings - Sun Mar 14 2021

¹⁴Furthermore, all the leaders of the priests and the people became more and more unfaithful, following all the detestable practices of the nations and defiling the temple of the LORD, which he had consecrated in Jerusalem.¹⁵The LORD, the God of their fathers, sent word to them through his messengers again and again, because he had pity on his people and on his dwelling place.¹⁶But they mocked God's messengers, despised his words and scoffed at his prophets until the wrath of the LORD was aroused against his people and there was no remedy.¹⁷He brought up against them the king of the Babylonians, who killed their young men with the sword in the sanctuary, and spared neither young man nor young woman, old man or aged. God handed all of them over to Nebuchadnezzar.¹⁹They set fire to God's temple and broke down the wall of Jerusalem; they burned all the palaces and destroyed everything of value there.²⁰He carried into exile to Babylon the remnant, who escaped from the sword, and they became servants to him and his sons until the kingdom of Persia came to power.²¹The land enjoyed its sabbath rests; all the time of its desolation it rested, until the seventy years were completed in fulfillment of the word of the LORD spoken by Jeremiah.²²In the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, in order to fulfill the word of the LORD spoken by Jeremiah, the LORD moved the heart of Cyrus king of Persia to make a proclamation throughout his realm and to put it in writing:²³"This is what Cyrus king of Persia says: "'The LORD, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth and he has appointed me to build a temple for him at Jerusalem in Judah. Anyone of his people among you-may the LORD his God be with him, and let him go up.'"

Ephesians

Chapter 2

⁴But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy,⁵made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions--it is by grace you have been saved.⁶And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus,⁷in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus.⁸For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith--and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God--⁹not by works, so that no one can boast.¹⁰For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

John

Chapter 3

¹⁴Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up,¹⁵that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.¹⁶"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.¹⁷For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.¹⁸Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son.¹⁹This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil.²⁰Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed.²¹But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through 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.