3rd Sunday of Lent Year B
The power and wisdom of the crucified Christ
O God, author of every mercy and of all goodness,
who in fasting, prayer and almsgiving
have shown us a remedy for sin,
look graciously on this confession of our lowliness,
that we, who are bowed down by our conscience,
may always be lifted up by your mercy.
Today, we dedicate ourselves anew to keeping God’s commandments, as we celebrate the mystery of God’s love for us, shown through the wisdom and power of Christ.
Having rescued his people from slavery, God gives them the Ten Commandments. These offer guidance for liberation and right-living, rather than oppression and burden (First Reading).
The Gospel, however, indicates that many have not remained faithful to God’s commandments. In their greed they have turned God’s house into a marketplace. As Jesus ejects the buyers and sellers, we are reminded that salvation will come about through the death and resurrection of Christ, the true temple of the Divine.
The Psalm is a hymn to the life-giving qualities of God’s Law. It shows the precepts and commands of God himself: God’s own essence.
Paul reflects on Jesus’s death, which is interpreted by many as a sign of weakness or foolishness. But it is in fact a demonstration to the world of God’s power and wisdom. (Second Reading).
This week, we pray to hear the Word of God afresh in our own being.
As we try to offer the Word hospitality and space to take root within us, we ask with the psalmist that it might ‘revive the soul’. We also pray for the freedom of our brothers and sisters throughout the world who are victims of modern-day slavery.
