1st reading: 2nd book of Chronicles 36,14-17.19-23.
Likewise all the princes of Judah, the priests and the people added infidelity to infidelity, practicing all the abominations of the nations and polluting the LORD’S temple which he had consecrated in Jerusalem.
Early and often did the LORD, the God of their fathers, send his messengers to them, for he had compassion on his people and his dwelling place.
But they mocked the messengers of God, despised his warnings, and scoffed at his prophets, until the anger of the LORD against his people was so inflamed that there was no remedy.
Then he brought up against them the king of the Chaldeans, who slew their young men in their own sanctuary building, sparing neither young man nor maiden, neither the aged nor the decrepit; he delivered all of them over into his grip.
They burnt the house of God, tore down the walls of Jerusalem, set all its palaces afire, and destroyed all its precious objects.
Those who escaped the sword he carried captive to Babylon, where they became his and his sons’ servants until the kingdom of the Persians came to power.
All this was to fulfill the word of the LORD spoken by Jeremiah: “Until the land has retrieved its lost sabbaths, during all the time it lies waste it shall have rest while seventy years are fulfilled.”
In the first year of Cyrus, king of Persia, in order to fulfill the word of the LORD spoken by Jeremiah, the LORD inspired King Cyrus of Persia to issue this proclamation throughout his kingdom, both by word of mouth and in writing:
“Thus says Cyrus, king of Persia: ‘All the kingdoms of the earth the LORD, the God of heaven, has given to me, and he has also charged me to build him a house in Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Whoever, therefore, among you belongs to any part of his people, let him go up, and may his God be with him!’”
Psalms 137(136),1-2.3.4-5.6.
By the rivers of Babylon we sat mourning and weeping when we remembered Zion.
On the poplars of that land we hung up our harps.
There our captors asked us for the words of a song; Our tormentors, for a joyful song: “Sing for us a song of Zion!”
But how could we sing a song of the LORD in a foreign land?
If I forget you, Jerusalem, may my right hand wither.
May my tongue stick to my palate if I do not remember you, If I do not exalt Jerusalem beyond all my delights.
2nd reading: Letter to the Ephesians 2,4-10.
But God, who is rich in mercy, because of the great love he had for us,
even when we were dead in our transgressions, brought us to life with Christ (by grace you have been saved),
raised us up with him, and seated us with him in the heavens in Christ Jesus,
that in the ages to come he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus.
For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not from you; it is the gift of God;
it is not from works, so no one may boast.
For we are his handiwork, created in Christ Jesus for the good works that God has prepared in advance, that we should live in them.
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint John 3,14-21.
And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert, so must the Son of Man be lifted up,
so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.”
For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life.
For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him.
Whoever believes in him will not be condemned, but whoever does not believe has already been condemned, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.
And this is the verdict, that the light came into the world, but people preferred darkness to light, because their works were evil.
For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come toward the light, so that his works might not be exposed.
But whoever lives the truth comes to the light, so that his works may be clearly seen as done in God.
Sermon thoughts:
Likewise all the princes of Judah, the priests and the people added infidelity to infidelity, practicing all the abominations of the nations and polluting the LORD’S temple which he had consecrated in Jerusalem.
Early and often did the LORD, the God of their fathers, send his messengers to them, for he had compassion on his people and his dwelling place.
But they mocked the messengers of God, despised his warnings, and scoffed at his prophets, until the anger of the LORD against his people was so inflamed that there was no remedy.
Then he brought up against them the king of the Chaldeans, who slew their young men in their own sanctuary building, sparing neither young man nor maiden, neither the aged nor the decrepit; he delivered all of them over into his grip.
They burnt the house of God, tore down the walls of Jerusalem, set all its palaces afire, and destroyed all its precious objects.
Those who escaped the sword he carried captive to Babylon, where they became his and his sons’ servants until the kingdom of the Persians came to power.
All this was to fulfill the word of the LORD spoken by Jeremiah: “Until the land has retrieved its lost sabbaths, during all the time it lies waste it shall have rest while seventy years are fulfilled.”
In the first year of Cyrus, king of Persia, in order to fulfill the word of the LORD spoken by Jeremiah, the LORD inspired King Cyrus of Persia to issue this proclamation throughout his kingdom, both by word of mouth and in writing:
“Thus says Cyrus, king of Persia: ‘All the kingdoms of the earth the LORD, the God of heaven, has given to me, and he has also charged me to build him a house in Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Whoever, therefore, among you belongs to any part of his people, let him go up, and may his God be with him!’”
Psalms 137(136),1-2.3.4-5.6.
By the rivers of Babylon we sat mourning and weeping when we remembered Zion.
On the poplars of that land we hung up our harps.
There our captors asked us for the words of a song; Our tormentors, for a joyful song: “Sing for us a song of Zion!”
But how could we sing a song of the LORD in a foreign land?
If I forget you, Jerusalem, may my right hand wither.
May my tongue stick to my palate if I do not remember you, If I do not exalt Jerusalem beyond all my delights.
2nd reading: Letter to the Ephesians 2,4-10.
But God, who is rich in mercy, because of the great love he had for us,
even when we were dead in our transgressions, brought us to life with Christ (by grace you have been saved),
raised us up with him, and seated us with him in the heavens in Christ Jesus,
that in the ages to come he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus.
For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not from you; it is the gift of God;
it is not from works, so no one may boast.
For we are his handiwork, created in Christ Jesus for the good works that God has prepared in advance, that we should live in them.
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint John 3,14-21.
And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert, so must the Son of Man be lifted up,
so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.”
For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life.
For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him.
Whoever believes in him will not be condemned, but whoever does not believe has already been condemned, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.
And this is the verdict, that the light came into the world, but people preferred darkness to light, because their works were evil.
For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come toward the light, so that his works might not be exposed.
But whoever lives the truth comes to the light, so that his works may be clearly seen as done in God.
Sermon thoughts:
“God is dead”: We heard this sentence from Nietzsche-
Last week I saw in a German News channel, which reported the shooting in Winnenden the placard: ” God, where were you?”, “why”.
These questions are not new to us.
Many times we come across with these kinds of thoughts of atheism and God-denials and
we know these come from the frustration of the mankind.
Israel, God’s own People, too denied God – they worshiped golden calf,
during Moses spoke to God and collected the 10 commandments.
To an extend Nietzsche and similar thinkers are right. God is dead.
But unfortunately they said only the half truth.
Half truth is but not the Truth.
The Truth is that what we believe.
God dead for us human beings, but he is RISEN.
Yes, he conquered the death.
The scripture gives the reason for his death- that is the LOVE.
The word love is much used and also misused from the beginning of the creation to this 21st century.
But it is still so powerful- Those who love and are being loved know how powerful it is.
This can change persons. This depends up on the intensity of the love.
With that, people come to compromise, decide to adjust and compensate.
Take some examples that we see in our surroundings:
a family can exist together, only there are some compromises are met.
And this comes from the love, from the real love.
On the contrary we see couples get divorced, once they cannot adjust and accept each other. Love is a real factor between people.
The same love made God incarnated. The same love moved him to cross at Calvary.
If this love toward mankind motivated Jesus to do so,
the divine love between God, the father and the Son caused his resurrection.
Thus our God proves, that love can overcome the darkness and bonds of death.
Moses’ love and concern towards the people of Israel gave back their life. God is moved by his intercession and even commands to make a snake figure. This God is the one who instructed Moses not to make any figure under the earth.
See, God himself undergoes compromises.
This event is but a symbol of Jesus’ death on the cross and the Life provided through his death.
We are coming nearer to this very great event. Lent time is almost to be finished.
This 4th Sunday says “laetare”, “rejoice”. Yes we should rejoice in the Salvific intervention of Our Loving and life giving God. Let’s rejoice with him, with his abundant love – and life – sharing presence.
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