1) The readings discuss faith and obedience to God's commandments. The first reading focuses on the 10 commandments given to Moses and the Israelites. The Psalm expresses appreciation for God's laws. 2) The second reading talks about proclaiming Christ crucified, which was seen as foolishness but is actually the power and wisdom of God. 3) The Gospel depicts Jesus cleansing the temple, and his refusal to provide a sign to unbelievers. Faith requires accepting God's purpose through obedience to commands and properly interpreting signs of his presence.

1. Sunday Readings
Commentary and Reflections
3rd Sunday of Lent B
March 8, 2015
In preparation for this Sunday’s liturgy
As aid in focusing our homilies and sharing
Prepared by Fr. Cielo R. Almazan, OFM

2. 1st Reading: Ex 20:1-3.7-8.12-17
► 1 In those days, God delivered all these commandments:
2 "I, the LORD, am your God, who brought you out of the
land of Egypt, that place of slavery. 3 You shall not have
other gods besides me. 7 "You shall not take the name of
the LORD, your God, in vain. For the LORD will not leave
unpunished him who takes his name in vain. 8
"Remember to keep holy the sabbath day. 12 "Honor your
father and your mother, that you may have a long life in
the land which the LORD, your God, is giving you. 13 "You
shall not kill. 14 "You shall not commit adultery. 15 "You
shall not steal. 16 "You shall not bear false witness
against your neighbor. 17 "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."
The focus is the 10 commandments.

3. 1st Reading: Ex 20:1-3.7-8.12-17
► 1 In those days, God
delivered all these
commandments: 2 "I,
the LORD, am your
God, who brought you
out of the land of
Egypt, that place of
slavery. 3 You shall not
have other gods
besides me.
► 7 "You shall not take
the name of the LORD,
your God, in vain. For
the LORD will not leave
unpunished him who
takes his name in vain.
8 "Remember to keep
holy the sabbath day.
►
Commentary
► V.1 says it is God who gives all the
commandments.
► V.2 describes the God who is speaking:
 The Lord, your God
 Who brought you out of Egypt
► V.2 also gives a note on Egypt: place
of slavery. (Now they are free… to
obey.)
► V.3 enjoins the Israelites not to have
other gods. (1st commandment)
► V.7 enjoins us to give due respect to
God’s name (2nd commandment)
► V.8 asks people to remember to make
the Sabbath holy. (3rd commandment)

4. 1st Reading: Ex 20:1-3.7-8.12-17
► 12 "Honor your father and
your mother, that you may
have a long life in the land
which the LORD, your God,
is giving you.
► 13 "You shall not kill. 14
"You shall not commit
adultery. 15 "You shall not
steal. 16 "You shall not
bear false witness against
your neighbor. 17 "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."
► V. 12 commands us to respect one’s
parents. (4th commandment) .Long life
is the reward.
► V.13 plainly commands us to
preserve life. (5th commandment)
► V.14 is a commandment on illicit
relationship. (6th commandment)
► V.15 is against greed. (7th
commandment)
► V.16 is on being truthful (8th
commandment). God forbids false
accusations.
► V.17 is against covetousness. Don’t
appropriate what is not yours. (9th
and 10th commandments)

5. Resp. Ps. 19:8, 9, 10, 11
► R. (John 6:68c)Lord, you have the words of everlasting life.
► 8 The law of the LORD is perfect, refreshing the soul;
The decree of the LORD is trustworthy,
giving wisdom to the simple.
► 9 The precepts of the LORD are right,
rejoicing the heart;
the command of the LORD is clear, enlightening the eye.
► 10 The fear of the LORD is pure, enduring forever;
the ordinances of the LORD are true,
all of them just.
► 11 They are more precious than gold,
than a heap of purest gold;
sweeter also than syrup or honey from the comb.

6. Reflections on the 1st reading
► We need to observe the commandments.
► For the Jews, there are not just 10
commandments, but 613 in the Torah.
► The commandments help us to give order to our
relationship with God (first 3 commandments), and
with our neighbors (the last 7).
► The commandments encourage us to respect the
rights of God and the rights of our neighbors.
► Violations make us liable to God.
► We cannot establish good relationship with God
and with others if we just do whatever we want.

7. Resp. Ps. 19:8, 9, 10, 11
► R. (John 6:68c)Lord, you have the
words of everlasting life.
► 8 The law of the LORD is perfect,
refreshing the soul;
The decree of the LORD is
trustworthy,
giving wisdom to the simple.
► 9 The precepts of the LORD are
right,
rejoicing the heart;
the command of the LORD is clear,
enlightening the eye.
► 10 The fear of the LORD is pure,
enduring forever;
the ordinances of the LORD are true,
all of them just.
► 11 They are more precious than gold,
than a heap of purest gold;
sweeter also than syrup or honey
from the comb.
Commentary
► The psalm is classified as wisdom
psalm. It is about the law.
► It gives other names for it.
 Law of the Lord, decree of the
Lord, v.8
 Precepts of the Lord, command of
the Lord, v.9
 The fear of the Lord, ordinances
of the Lord, v.10
► It also describes it.
 Perfect, refreshes, trustworthy,
gives wisdom, v.8
 Right, gladdens, clear,
enlightening, v.9
 Pure, enduring, true, just. V.10
 More precious than gold, sweeter
than syrup or honey, v.11

8. Reflections on the Psalm
►Christians must be keepers of God’s laws.
►We must have a good attitude and receptive
towards God’s commands.
►We must consider them as helpful, truthful,
liberating, enhancing; we must view them
positively.
►We cannot pray well, this psalm, if we have
no respect for God’s laws.

9. 2nd Reading: 1 Cor 1,23-25
►22 Jews demand signs and Greeks look for
wisdom, 23 we proclaim Christ crucified, a
stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to
Gentiles, 24 but to those who are called,
Jews and Greeks alike, Christ the power of
God and the wisdom of God. 25 For the
foolishness of God is wiser than human
wisdom, and the weakness of God is
stronger than human strength.
The focus is on Christ Crucified.

10. 2nd Reading: 1 Cor 1,23-25
► 22 Jews demand signs
and Greeks look for
wisdom, 23 we proclaim
Christ crucified, a
stumbling block to Jews
and foolishness to
Gentiles, 24 but to those
who are called, Jews and
Greeks alike, Christ the
power of God and the
wisdom of God. 25 For
the foolishness of God is
wiser than human
wisdom, and the
weakness of God is
stronger than human
strength.
Commentary
► St. Paul and companions say they
proclaim Christ Crucified:
 Stumbling block to the Jews
 Foolishness to the Gentiles
► Christ Crucified is a stumbling block
and foolishness to unbelievers.
Sounds like it does not make
sense.
► But in v.24, for the believers, the
Christ Crucified is different:
 Power of God
 Wisdom of God
► V.25 indicates the superiority of
God over human beings.

11. Reflections on the 2nd reading
► The crucified Christ is unacceptable to non-
Christian believers.
► For believers, the crucified Christ is a sign par
excellence of God’s wisdom and power.
► We, Christians, encounter the image of the
crucified Christ in our churches, in our homes,
schools, offices and business establishments.
► That image should remind us of the folly of being
on top always.
► Let us also allow ourselves to be defeated, in
order to become wise and acceptable to the Lord.

12. Gospel Reading: John 2,13-25
►13 Since the Passover of the Jews was
near, Jesus went up to Jerusalem. 14 He
found in the temple area those who sold
oxen, sheep, and doves, 2 as well as the
money-changers seated there. 15 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, 16
and to those who sold doves he said, "Take
these out of here, and stop making my
Father's house a marketplace."

13. ► 17 His disciples recalled the words of scripture,
"Zeal for your house will consume me." 18 At this
the Jews answered and said to him, "What sign
can you show us for doing this?" 19 Jesus
answered and said to them, "Destroy this temple
and in three days I will raise it up." 20 The Jews
said, "This temple has been under construction for
forty-six years, and you will raise it up in three
days?" 21 But he was speaking about the temple
of his body. 22 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.

14. ►23 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. 24 But Jesus would not trust himself
to them because he knew them all, 25 and
did not need anyone to testify about human
nature. He himself understood it well.

15. Commentary:
► John puts the cleansing of the Temple at the
beginning of his gospel in contrast to the synoptics
(Mt, Mk, Lk).
► The cleansing of the Temple is done in the context
of the annual Passover Feast of the Jews.
 To celebrate their liberation from Egypt.
► Jesus is angry with the people turning the Temple
into a marketplace.
► By getting rid of the merchants, Jesus puts back
the Temple into its proper use.
► Do you revere your church as a house of prayer?

16. ► The Jews challenge him to show his authority
through a sign (semeion). (v.18)
► The sign that Jesus will give is his violent death
and his victorious resurrection.
► The Jews do not understand.
► The disciples, too, do not understand, until he
resurrects from the dead.

17. Reflections on the gospel reading
► Signs are needed by people in order to believe.
► But signs can be useless to those who do not intend to
believe.
► Believing in Jesus means accepting his purpose.
► His purpose is to teach and lead us to heaven, no matter
how he does it (with anger, with zeal and passion).
► The gospel explicitates what to believe:
 the scriptures (v.22)
 the words of Jesus (v.22), and
 Jesus’ name (v.23).

18. Tying the three readings and Psalm
► Keeping the 10 commandments is a sign of
believing in God and in being covenanted with God
as a community. (1st reading)
► We must acknowledge (believe in) the goodness of God’s
laws. (Psalm)
► For those who believe in Jesus, he is the power
and the wisdom of God. (2nd reading)
► We must be able to interpret very well the signs of
God’s presence. The signs should lead us to
believe. (gospel)

19. How to develop your homily/sharing
► Faith is basic in establishing relationships.
► Without faith, you cannot come close to God and
to your neighbor.
► Through the readings, we can know what faith is
all about.
1) Faith is keeping God’s commands. (1st reading)
- You conform.
2) Faith is an appreciation of the meaning of the Crucified
Christ. (2nd reading)
- You don’t have to win always, in order to win God’s favor.
3) Faith is the response to the “signs” of God’s power and
presence. (gospel)
- If you don’t have faith, you will never enjoy victory, even if you are a
victor.

20. ► Important in the practice of faith is obeying laws.
► We cannot disregard God’s laws, if we want to
progress in faith.
► Laws define our behavior.
► In the church, we have laws (canon law).
► We have marriage laws, liturgical laws, etc.
► Disregard for church laws is a bad sign.
► In the OT, the Israelites are enjoined to keep the
laws in order to possess or stay in the land.
► Punishment awaits those who do not obey:
expulsion, exile, banishment, slavery, etc.

21. ►We desire to win always, by all means, even
to the extent of violating laws.
►Living one’s faith is about losing, in order to
gain souls to God.
►In the second reading, St. Paul recognizes
the wisdom and power of Jesus, when he
allowed himself to be defeated and crucified
by his persecutors.
►We can appreciate Jesus’ “stupid decision” if
we see the crucifixion from God’s
perspective (with the eyes of faith).

22. ► In the gospel, Jesus shows his strong emotions.
► He acts “violently” with passion and zeal, to drive
a point.
► His strong faith (belief that he is doing God’s will)
leads him to correct a wrongdoing.
► We, Christians, are believers.
► Do we act like Jesus in righting what is wrong?

23. ► In this season of Lent, as part of our conversion,
we have to develop and strengthen our faith.
► We do this by being keen (reflective) on the
movements of God, signs of God’s presence, in
our personal lives.
► We do this by drawing strength from the practice
of love for God and for one’s neighbors (1st reading)
and the crucified Christ (2nd reading).
► We do this by looking forward to our own
resurrection, if now we are down and out.

24. ► Only those who do God’s commands are entitled
to receive the Holy Eucharist.
► The true and authentic participation in the
eucharist is our deepest and best expression of
our faith in God.
► The eucharist is the reward for us, who have
passion for Christ and for his Church and for what
is right..

25. Our Context of Sin and Grace
► Law maker, law breaker
► Heresy
► Apostasy
► Cold faith
► Waiting always for
miracles
► Misplaced anger
► Disregard for signs
► Irreverent behavior
► Righteous anger
► Faithful
► Determined, zealous,
enthusiastic
► Seeing God in creation,
in daily events, and in
one’s neighbors
► Ability to read signs
► Respect for churches,
dwelling places of God

26. Suggested Songs
► It’s Time to prepare
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SIandBaBMck
► Sharing
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q1ij6D6EyeI
► We Adore You