Sunday Readings Commentary and Reflections

3rd Sunday of Lent B March 8, 2015

In preparation for this Sunday’s liturgy As aid in focusing our homilies and sharing

Prepared by Fr. Cielo R. Almazan, OFM

1st Reading: Ex 20:1-3.7-8.12-17 ► 1 In those days, God delivered all these commandments:

2 "I, the LORD, am your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, that place of slavery. 3 You shall not have other gods besides me. 7 "You shall not take the name of the LORD, your God, in vain. For the LORD will not leave unpunished him who takes his name in vain. 8 "Remember to keep holy the sabbath day. 12 "Honor your father and your mother, that you may have a long life in the land which the LORD, your God, is giving you. 13 "You shall not kill. 14 "You shall not commit adultery. 15 "You shall not steal. 16 "You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. 17 "You shall not covet your neighbor's house. You shall not covet your neighbor's wife, nor his male or female slave, nor his ox or ass, nor anything else that belongs to him."

The focus is the 10 commandments.

1st Reading: Ex 20:1-3.7-8.12-17 ► 1 In those days, God

delivered all these commandments: 2 "I, the LORD, am your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, that place of slavery. 3 You shall not have other gods besides me.

► 7 "You shall not take the name of the LORD, your God, in vain. For the LORD will not leave unpunished him who takes his name in vain. 8 "Remember to keep holy the sabbath day.

►

Commentary ► V.1 says it is God who gives all the

commandments. ► V.2 describes the God who is speaking:

The Lord, your God Who brought you out of Egypt

► V.2 also gives a note on Egypt: place of slavery. (Now they are free… to obey.)

► V.3 enjoins the Israelites not to have other gods. (1st commandment)

► V.7 enjoins us to give due respect to God’s name (2nd commandment)

► V.8 asks people to remember to make the Sabbath holy. (3rd commandment)

1st Reading: Ex 20:1-3.7-8.12-17 ► 12 "Honor your father and

your mother, that you may have a long life in the land which the LORD, your God, is giving you.

► 13 "You shall not kill. 14 "You shall not commit adultery. 15 "You shall not steal. 16 "You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. 17 "You shall not covet your neighbor's house. You shall not covet your neighbor's wife, nor his male or female slave, nor his ox or ass, nor anything else that belongs to him."

► V. 12 commands us to respect one’s parents. (4th commandment) .Long life is the reward.

► V.13 plainly commands us to preserve life. (5th commandment)

► V.14 is a commandment on illicit relationship. (6th commandment)

► V.15 is against greed. (7th commandment)

► V.16 is on being truthful (8th commandment). God forbids false accusations.

► V.17 is against covetousness. Don’t appropriate what is not yours. (9th and 10th commandments)

Resp. Ps. 19:8, 9, 10, 11 ► R. (John 6:68c)Lord, you have the words of everlasting life.

► 8 The law of the LORD is perfect, refreshing the soul;

The decree of the LORD is trustworthy, giving wisdom to the simple.

► 9 The precepts of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart; the command of the LORD is clear, enlightening the eye.

► 10 The fear of the LORD is pure, enduring forever; the ordinances of the LORD are true, all of them just.

► 11 They are more precious than gold, than a heap of purest gold; sweeter also than syrup or honey from the comb.

Reflections on the 1st reading ►We need to observe the commandments. ►For the Jews, there are not just 10

commandments, but 613 in the Torah. ►The commandments help us to give order to our

relationship with God (first 3 commandments), and with our neighbors (the last 7).

►The commandments encourage us to respect the rights of God and the rights of our neighbors.

►Violations make us liable to God. ►We cannot establish good relationship with God

and with others if we just do whatever we want.

Resp. Ps. 19:8, 9, 10, 11 ► R. (John 6:68c)Lord, you have the

words of everlasting life.

► 8 The law of the LORD is perfect, refreshing the soul; The decree of the LORD is trustworthy, giving wisdom to the simple.

► 9 The precepts of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart; the command of the LORD is clear, enlightening the eye.

► 10 The fear of the LORD is pure, enduring forever; the ordinances of the LORD are true, all of them just.

► 11 They are more precious than gold, than a heap of purest gold; sweeter also than syrup or honey from the comb.

Commentary ► The psalm is classified as wisdom

psalm. It is about the law. ► It gives other names for it.

Law of the Lord, decree of the Lord, v.8

Precepts of the Lord, command of the Lord, v.9

The fear of the Lord, ordinances of the Lord, v.10

► It also describes it. Perfect, refreshes, trustworthy,

gives wisdom, v.8 Right, gladdens, clear,

enlightening, v.9 Pure, enduring, true, just. V.10 More precious than gold, sweeter

than syrup or honey, v.11

Reflections on the Psalm

►Christians must be keepers of God’s laws. ►We must have a good attitude and receptive

towards God’s commands. ►We must consider them as helpful, truthful,

liberating, enhancing; we must view them positively.

►We cannot pray well, this psalm, if we have no respect for God’s laws.

2nd Reading: 1 Cor 1,23-25 ►22 Jews demand signs and Greeks look for

wisdom, 23 we proclaim Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, 24 but to those who are called, Jews and Greeks alike, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. 25 For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength.

The focus is on Christ Crucified.

2nd Reading: 1 Cor 1,23-25 ► 22 Jews demand signs

and Greeks look for wisdom, 23 we proclaim Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, 24 but to those who are called, Jews and Greeks alike, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. 25 For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength.

Commentary ► St. Paul and companions say they

proclaim Christ Crucified: Stumbling block to the Jews Foolishness to the Gentiles

► Christ Crucified is a stumbling block and foolishness to unbelievers. Sounds like it does not make sense.

► But in v.24, for the believers, the Christ Crucified is different: Power of God Wisdom of God

► V.25 indicates the superiority of God over human beings.

Reflections on the 2nd reading ►The crucified Christ is unacceptable to non-

Christian believers. ► For believers, the crucified Christ is a sign par

excellence of God’s wisdom and power. ►We, Christians, encounter the image of the

crucified Christ in our churches, in our homes, schools, offices and business establishments.

►That image should remind us of the folly of being on top always.

► Let us also allow ourselves to be defeated, in order to become wise and acceptable to the Lord.

Gospel Reading: John 2,13-25 ►13 Since the Passover of the Jews was

near, Jesus went up to Jerusalem. 14 He found in the temple area those who sold oxen, sheep, and doves, 2 as well as the money-changers seated there. 15 He made a whip out of cords and drove them all out of the temple area, with the sheep and oxen, and spilled the coins of the money-changers and overturned their tables, 16 and to those who sold doves he said, "Take these out of here, and stop making my Father's house a marketplace."

► 17 His disciples recalled the words of scripture, "Zeal for your house will consume me." 18 At this the Jews answered and said to him, "What sign can you show us for doing this?" 19 Jesus answered and said to them, "Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up." 20 The Jews said, "This temple has been under construction for forty-six years, and you will raise it up in three days?" 21 But he was speaking about the temple of his body. 22 Therefore, when he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this, and they came to believe the scripture and the word Jesus had spoken.

►23 While he was in Jerusalem for the feast of Passover, many began to believe in his name when they saw the signs he was doing. 24 But Jesus would not trust himself to them because he knew them all, 25 and did not need anyone to testify about human nature. He himself understood it well.

Commentary: ► John puts the cleansing of the Temple at the

beginning of his gospel in contrast to the synoptics (Mt, Mk, Lk).

►The cleansing of the Temple is done in the context of the annual Passover Feast of the Jews. To celebrate their liberation from Egypt.

► Jesus is angry with the people turning the Temple into a marketplace.

►By getting rid of the merchants, Jesus puts back the Temple into its proper use.

►Do you revere your church as a house of prayer?

►The Jews challenge him to show his authority through a sign (semeion). (v.18)

►The sign that Jesus will give is his violent death and his victorious resurrection.

►The Jews do not understand. ►The disciples, too, do not understand, until he

resurrects from the dead.

Reflections on the gospel reading

► Signs are needed by people in order to believe. ► But signs can be useless to those who do not intend to

believe. ► Believing in Jesus means accepting his purpose. ► His purpose is to teach and lead us to heaven, no matter

how he does it (with anger, with zeal and passion).

► The gospel explicitates what to believe: the scriptures (v.22) the words of Jesus (v.22), and Jesus’ name (v.23).

Tying the three readings and Psalm

►Keeping the 10 commandments is a sign of believing in God and in being covenanted with God as a community. (1st reading)

► We must acknowledge (believe in) the goodness of God’s laws. (Psalm)

► For those who believe in Jesus, he is the power and the wisdom of God. (2nd reading)

►We must be able to interpret very well the signs of God’s presence. The signs should lead us to believe. (gospel)

How to develop your homily/sharing

► Faith is basic in establishing relationships. ► Without faith, you cannot come close to God and

to your neighbor. ► Through the readings, we can know what faith is

all about. 1) Faith is keeping God’s commands. (1st reading)

- You conform. 2) Faith is an appreciation of the meaning of the Crucified

Christ. (2nd reading) - You don’t have to win always, in order to win God’s favor.

3) Faith is the response to the “signs” of God’s power and presence. (gospel)

- If you don’t have faith, you will never enjoy victory, even if you are a victor.

► Important in the practice of faith is obeying laws. ►We cannot disregard God’s laws, if we want to

progress in faith. ► Laws define our behavior. ► In the church, we have laws (canon law). ►We have marriage laws, liturgical laws, etc. ►Disregard for church laws is a bad sign. ► In the OT, the Israelites are enjoined to keep the

laws in order to possess or stay in the land. ► Punishment awaits those who do not obey:

expulsion, exile, banishment, slavery, etc.

►We desire to win always, by all means, even to the extent of violating laws.

►Living one’s faith is about losing, in order to gain souls to God.

►In the second reading, St. Paul recognizes the wisdom and power of Jesus, when he allowed himself to be defeated and crucified by his persecutors.

►We can appreciate Jesus’ “stupid decision” if we see the crucifixion from God’s perspective (with the eyes of faith).

► In the gospel, Jesus shows his strong emotions. ►He acts “violently” with passion and zeal, to drive

a point. ►His strong faith (belief that he is doing God’s will)

leads him to correct a wrongdoing. ►We, Christians, are believers. ►Do we act like Jesus in righting what is wrong?

► In this season of Lent, as part of our conversion, we have to develop and strengthen our faith.

►We do this by being keen (reflective) on the movements of God, signs of God’s presence, in our personal lives.

►We do this by drawing strength from the practice of love for God and for one’s neighbors (1st reading) and the crucified Christ (2nd reading).

►We do this by looking forward to our own resurrection, if now we are down and out.

►Only those who do God’s commands are entitled to receive the Holy Eucharist.

►The true and authentic participation in the eucharist is our deepest and best expression of our faith in God.

►The eucharist is the reward for us, who have passion for Christ and for his Church and for what is right..

Our Context of Sin and Grace

► Law maker, law breaker ► Heresy ► Apostasy ► Cold faith ► Waiting always for

miracles ► Misplaced anger ► Disregard for signs ► Irreverent behavior

► Righteous anger ► Faithful ► Determined, zealous,

enthusiastic ► Seeing God in creation,

in daily events, and in one’s neighbors

► Ability to read signs ► Respect for churches,

dwelling places of God

Suggested Songs

► It’s Time to prepare http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SIandBaBMck

► Sharing http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q1ij6D6EyeI

►We Adore You