Daily Readings - Sun Mar 11 2018

First Reading - 2 Chronicles 36.14-17a, 19-23

¹⁴Then too, all the leaders of the priests, with the people, transgressed iniquitously, in accord with all the abominations of the Gentiles. And they polluted the house of the Lord, which he had sanctified to himself in Jerusalem¹⁵Then the Lord, the God of their fathers, sent to them, by the hand of his messengers, rising in the night and daily admonishing them. For he was lenient to his people and to his habitation¹⁶But they ridiculed the messengers of God, and they gave little weight to his words, and they mocked the prophets, until the fury of the Lord ascended against his people, and there was no remedy¹⁷For he led over them the king of the Chaldeans. And he put to death their young men by the sword, in the house of his sanctuary. There was no pity for adolescents, nor virgins, nor the elderly, nor even for the disabled. Instead, he delivered them all into his hands¹⁹The enemies set fire to the house of God, and they destroyed the wall of Jerusalem. They burned down all the towers. And whatever was precious, they demolished²⁰If anyone had escaped from the sword, he was led into Babylon. And he served the king and his sons, until the king of Persia would command²¹and the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah would be fulfilled, and the land would celebrate her Sabbaths. For during all the days of the desolation, she kept a Sabbath, until the seventy years were completed²²Then, in the first year of Cyrus, the king of the Persians, in order to fulfill the word of the Lord, which he had spoken by the mouth of Jeremiah, the Lord stirred up the heart of Cyrus, the king of the Persians, who commanded this to be proclaimed throughout his entire kingdom, and also in writing, saying²³"Thus says Cyrus, the king of the Persians: The Lord, the God of heaven, has given to me all the kingdoms of the earth. And he has instructed me that I should build for him a house in Jerusalem, which is in Judea. Who among you is from his entire people? May the Lord his God be with him, and let him ascend.

Second Reading - Ephesians 2.4-10

Ephesians

Chapter 2

⁴Yet still, God, who is rich in mercy, for the sake of his exceedingly great charity with which he loved us⁵even when we were dead in our sins, has enlivened us together in Christ, by whose grace you have been saved⁶And he has raised us up together, and he has caused us to sit down together in the heavens, in Christ Jesus⁷so that he may display, in the ages soon to arrive, the abundant wealth of his grace, by his goodness toward us in Christ Jesus⁸For by grace, you have been saved through faith. And this is not of yourselves, for it is a gift of God⁹And this is not of works, so that no one may glory¹⁰For we are his handiwork, created in Christ Jesus for the good works which God has prepared and in which we should walk

Gospel - John 3.14-21

John

Chapter 3

¹⁴And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert, so also must the Son of man be lifted up¹⁵so that whoever believes in him may not perish, but may have eternal life¹⁶For God so loved the world that he gave his only-begotten Son, so that all who believe in him may not perish, but may have eternal life¹⁷For God did not send his Son into the world, in order to judge the world, but in order that the world may be saved through him¹⁸Whoever believes in him is not judged. But whoever does not believe is already judged, because he does not believe in the name of the only-begotten Son of God¹⁹And this is the judgment: that the Light has come into the world, and men loved darkness more than light. For their works were evil²⁰For everyone who does evil hates the Light and does not go toward the Light, so that his works may not be corrected²¹But whoever acts in truth goes toward the Light, so that his works may be manifested, because they have been accomplished in God.

Sermon

The readings today invite us to reflect on the themes of redemption, grace, and the transformative power of faith. In the first reading from 2 Chronicles, we witness the consequences of Israel’s rebellion against God. Despite their repeated infidelity, God’s mercy ultimately prevails, as He stirs the heart of Cyrus, the Persian king, to allow the exiles to return and rebuild the Temple. This passage reminds us that even in the midst of judgment, God’s love and forgiveness are always at work. The second reading from Ephesians deepens this theme, emphasizing that our salvation is entirely a gift of God’s grace. We are saved not by our own efforts but through faith, and we are called to live out this gift in good works that reflect God’s love. The Gospel from John unfolds the ultimate expression of this love: God’s gift of His only Son, Jesus Christ. Just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert to save the people, Jesus is lifted up on the cross to bring eternal life to all who believe. These readings are deeply interconnected. The story of Israel’s exile and restoration in 2 Chronicles foreshadows the universal salvation offered through Christ. The Ephesians passage explains the mystery of how this salvation is accomplished—through grace and faith—and the Gospel reveals the heart of this mystery: God’s boundless love for the world. Together, they remind us that our relationship with God is rooted in His initiative, not our own. While we may stumble into darkness, God continually offers us the light of His Son, inviting us to turn toward Him. In our daily lives, these readings call us to trust in God’s mercy and to live as people transformed by His grace. Let us not rely on our own strength or works to earn God’s favor, for salvation is a gift freely given. Instead, let us embrace the light of Christ, allowing His love to guide us in all we do. May we, like the exiles of old, return to the Lord with humble hearts, and may we, like the Ephesians, walk in the good works prepared for us by God. Above all, let us remember that God so loved the world that He gave us His Son—may we respond to this love by believing in Him and living in the light.