THIRD SUNDAY OF LENT WEEKLY THOUGHTS MARCH 7th 2021
Dear Friends,
Welcome to the third stage of our Lenten journey. Last Sunday, we heard of the test God set before Abraham- when God asked him to sacrifice his beloved son Isaac on mountain Moriah. Because of his obedience and faith, Abraham passed the test and became the Father of all believers.
The gospel reading treated us to the fore taste and revelation of the life of Jesus after his passion and resurrection before Peter, James and John. This revelation took place at the mountain of prayer.
The Gospel for this Sunday is about Jesus clearing the temple courts of vendors and all doing business. Jesus makes it very clear that the Temple is exclusively for the worship of God and not for business.
This incident happened on the days before the Passover. The authorities at the temple focused more on making money by exploiting the people who came for the pilgrimage to the temple. Jesus acted under this background to drive out the money changers and all selling animals for sacrifice.
The authorities challenged Jesus’ action as they requested a sign from Jesus. Jesus promised them; “destroy this temple and I will raise it again in 3 days.”
The disciples saw the fulfillment of Jesus’ sign after the resurrection and fulfillment of the Scriptures.
May Jesus continue to guide us by his Spirit on our Lenten journey in order to understand his invitation to follow him and as a center of worship at the center of the church and community of believers?
Thank you to all who have contributed to the Annual Diocesan Appeal of 2021. Thank you for your faith, love and solidarity with our Mother Diocese of Richmond. Let us get involved in this noble cause.
God bless you all.
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