DAILY- HOMILY

MARCH 15, 2009
3RD SUNDAY OF LENT – B

EXODUS 20:1-17
In those days, God delivered all these commandments: "I, the LORD, am
your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, that place of
slavery. You shall not have other gods besides me. You shall not carve
idols for yourselves in the shape of anything in the sky above or on
the earth below or in the waters beneath the earth; you shall not bow
down before them or worship them. For I, the LORD, your God, am a
jealous God, inflicting punishment for their fathers' wickedness on
the children of those who hate me, down to the third and fourth
generation; but bestowing mercy down to the thousandth generation on
the children of those who love me and keep my commandments. "You shall
not take the name of the LORD, your God, in vain. For the LORD will
not leave unpunished the one who takes his name in vain. "Remember to
keep holy the sabbath day. Six days you may labor and do all your
work, but the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD, your God. No
work may be done then either by you, or your son or daughter, or your
male or female slave, or your beast, or by the alien who lives with
you. In six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea and
all that is in them; but on the seventh day he rested. That is why the
LORD has blessed the sabbath day and made it holy. "Honor your father
and your mother, that you may have a long life in the land which the
LORD, your God, is giving you. You shall not kill. You shall not
commit adultery. You shall not steal. You shall not bear false witness
against your neighbor. 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."

1 CORINTHIANS 1:22-25
Brothers and sisters: Jews demand signs and Greeks look for wisdom,
but we proclaim Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and
foolishness to Gentiles, but to those who are called, Jews and Greeks
alike, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the
foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God
is stronger than human strength.

JOHN 2:13-25
Since the Passover of the Jews was near, Jesus went up to Jerusalem.
He found in the temple area those who sold oxen, sheep, and doves, as
well as the money changers seated there. 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, and to those who sold doves he said, "Take these out of here,
and stop making my Father's house a marketplace." His disciples
recalled the words of Scripture, Zeal for your house will consume me.
At this the Jews answered and said to him, "What sign can you show us
for doing this?" Jesus answered and said to them, "Destroy this temple
and in three days I will raise it up." The Jews said, "This temple has
been under construction for forty-six years, and you will raise it up
in three days?" But he was speaking about the temple of his body.
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. 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. But Jesus would not trust himself to them because he knew
them all, and did not need anyone to testify about human nature. He
himself understood it well.

REFLECTION
The Passover Feast recalls the saving act of Yahweh of his chosen
people from the Egyptians. And so during this time, Jews flock to the
Temple to observe and fulfill their obligations. Part of the tradition
is to offer animals as sacrifice. The animals had to be unblemished.
But because there were inspectors who would readily disapprove what
these Jews brought along, they did not have a choice except to buy
from the merchants outside who overprice their products. This system
had the approval of the high priest. And so, Jesus expressed his anger
and disgust.

Jesus' mission was to proclaim the kingdom of God. Jesus wanted to
tell people that God's reign meant that God's presence will be seen
and felt if there is peace, justice, love, and forgiveness. Anything
that promotes the task of establishing the kingdom, Jesus supported
and encouraged. Anything that was against the desire of God, Jesus
reacted appropriately.

The Gospel challenges us to the conversion that Lent invites all of us
to experience. To avoid hurting others most especially the
disadvantaged and the poor, we look at the first reading as it
presents the Ten Commandments. The first three are about God, the
fourth is the bridge of our families and the last six have to do with
society, our neighbors. The law is meant to bind us all together as
one in covenant with God. If we desire a harmonious, peaceful, and
just world, we have to respect each other and not do anything that we
do not want done to us - to kill, steal, and covet. We are to remain
faithful. As Christians we are given the wisdom of the Cross that
holds us together and binds us in our hearts at the place where our
God and the rest of the world meets. Jesus is adamant that true
worship of God is not ritualistic or liturgical but found in zeal for
the honor of God in our lives.

Let us pray for the conversion of our hearts that truly show concern
and love most especially to the disadvantaged and the poor.

PRAYER REQUESTS
We pray …
… for a deep and profound respect for life, especially for the
unborn.
… for the healing and strength of:
- Lisa
- Jason Paul
- Christy Chin
- Elena
… for the personal intentions of:
- Nitz Carvajal
- Vijayakumar
… for the safety of Johnson Cuiting
… Birthday: Bert Domingo
... for the healing of the Dapo family
… for the eternal repose of the soul of Fr. Tom Green, S.J. Eternal
rest grant unto him and may perpetual light shine upon him. May he and
all the dearly departed rest in peace.
… for all the prayer intentions in the MTQ Dailyprayer Diary.
- Birthday: Fr. Daniel Patrick L. Huang, S.J.
- Birthday: Rudy S
- In Memoriam (+): Gorgonia B. Lopez Tan
… for the healing and peace of all families

Finally, we pray for one another, for those who have asked our prayers
and for those who need our prayers the most.

Have a good day!

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