3rd Sunday of Lent (Cycle B, Year I)
Community Word: Jesus Christ is the reflection of God’s love in us and for us.
Theme: We are a reflection of God’s love when we allow Him to cleanse us of our imperfections.
Promise: “The law of the Lord is perfect, refreshing the soul … giving wisdom to the simple.” (Ps 19:8)
Reflection:
Words have a tremendous power over us. They could stir our imagination, arouse our emotions, and inspire us to action. So, it is not surprising that God too uses words to communicate to us. God’s words always bear fruit. They are filled with power, truth, peace and salvation. And His “word shall not return to him void but will achieve the purpose for which it was sent.” (Isa 55: 11).
The story of Mt. Sinai in the first reading tells of God’s love for His people when He gave the Ten Commandments to Moses. He wanted the people to know who He is and what He expects of them if they are to experience covenant. Although God’s laws are “right, trustworthy, more precious than gold and sweeter than honey and the honeycomb” (Ps 19) as the psalmist puts it, it was incomplete and “only a shadow of the good things to come.”(Heb. 10: 1).
The story of the cleansing of the temple in the Gospel demonstrates how seriously Jesus took His mission. As we contemplate on His action of driving the money changers, the merchants and animals being sold to worshippers, we call to mind the words of scripture “Zeal for your house consumes me.” (Ps 69:10). Jesus criticizes the established norms of worship and exalts justice, forgiveness and unconditional love.
Jesus is the fulfillment of the law, the cornerstone of God’s plan for salvation, yet as St. Paul tells us in the second reading, a stumbling block for those Jews who requested for signs and mocked Jesus’ statement about raising the temple. They presumed that Jesus meant the physical construction of the temple when he said “destroy the temple and in three days I will raise it up.” Jesus was referring to His own bodily resurrection. He is the new temple in which true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth. He is the word made flesh, so powerful that in Him, we have been given a share in His divinity and the promise of eternal life to all who believe in Him.
We are now in the middle of Lent, and our theme for the week reminds us that: We are a reflection of God’s love when we allow Him to cleanse us of our imperfections. As disciples of Christ, we all want feel and live in the love of God by accepting His decrees. To accept and obey our loving God means that we are to undergo a transformation of heart. We are to
change and live in such a way that people may see goodness in us and will come to
believe that God is love and alive in us.
As Jesus cleansed the temple He desires to cleanse and purify us of our sins and to make us living temples of His Holy Spirit. Let us make God’s word the foundation of our lives for God promises that if we abide in His word and in Jesus, His eternal word, we will be changed and healed.
Reflection Question:
1. What are your plans during Lent to renew your commitment to be right before God?
2. What are the things that need cleansing in your life?
This Week’s Daily Mass Reading Guide:
March 8, 2015 (Sun) Ex 20:1-17/Ps 19:8,9,10,11/1Cor 1:22-25/Jn 2:13-25
March 9, 2015 (Mon) 2 Kgs 5:1-15/Ps 42:2,3;43:3,4/Lk 4:24-30
March 10, 2015 (Tue) Dn 3:25,34-43/Ps 25:4-5,6,7,8,9/Mt 18:21-35
March 11, 2015 (Wed) Dt 4:1,5-9/Ps 147:12_13,15-16,19-20/Mt 5:17-19
March 12, 2015 (Thur) Jer 7:23-28/Ps 95:1-2,6-7,8-9/Lk 11:14-23
March 13, 2015 (Fri) Hos 14:2-10/Ps 81:6-8,8-9,10-11,14,17/Mk 12:28-34
March 14, 2015 (Sat) Hos 6:1-6/Ps 51:3-4,18-19,20-21/Lk 18:9-14
“Ignorance of the Bible is ignorance of Christ. Read your Bible daily!”
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