“God Knew. He Told Them” by Sam Miller

 “God Knew. He Told Them” by Sam Miller

Third Sunday of Lent 

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. Exodus 20:3-6

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. 1 Corinthians 1:24-25 

“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.” The Jews said, “This temple has been under construction for forty-six years, and you will raise it 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 understood it well. John 2:16-25

Piety

R. (John 6:68c) Lord, you have the words of everlasting life.

The law of the LORD is perfect, refreshing the soul; The decree of the LORD is trustworthy,  giving wisdom to the simple.

Study

Our First Reading from Exodus is about the Ten Commandments. “In those days, God delivered all these commandments.” The footnote for this passage says: “The Ten Commandments represent a mature formulation of a traditional morality. Why this specific selection of commands should be set apart is not entirely clear. None of them is unique in the Old Testament, and all of the laws which follow are also from God and equally binding on the Israelites. Even so, this collection represents a privileged expression of God’s moral demands on Israel and is here set apart from the others as direct, unmediated communication of God to the Israelites and the basis of the covenant being concluded on Sinai.” 

If you’ve been following “The Bible in a Year” with Fr Mike Schmitz, I heard, when Moses was on the mountain, and God’s finger was writing the commands on the stone tablets, He told Moses that the Israelites had gone astray in the camp below. Do you think that’s why God went into such detail when He wrote, “You shall have no other gods besides me”?

The Responsorial Psalm proclaims praise upon praise for the Lord’s laws. From Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians, the Second Reading speaks of Christ, God’s power and wisdom, that God’s foolishness is wiser than human wisdom, and God’s weakness is more robust than human strength.

In the Gospel, the disciples recall Psalm 69:10 “Because zeal for your house has consumed me” when Jesus drives all of the merchants and money changers out of the Temple - His Father’s House of Prayer. When Jesus is raised from the dead, in three days, again, the disciples recall Jesus’ words and Scripture regarding rebuilding the Temple. It was just last Sunday when we heard from the Gospel of Mark, the Transfiguration, Jesus told Peter, James, and John “not to relate what they had seen to anyone, except when the Son of Man had risen from the dead.” In the end, Jesus didn’t need a witness; He was the Witness!!

Jesus fulfilled the law and the prophets and gave us the greatest commandments: “You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and the first commandment. The second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. The whole law and the prophets depend on these two commandments.”

Action

Dear Jesus!! There are so many things to recall! Jesus, be the Lord of my life! Please help me to remember in all that I say and do. My joy is to be Your disciple and follow You!!! AMEN!!