the 3rd sunday in lent
the PRAYER …
Holy God, through your Son you have called us to live faithfully and act courageously. Keep us steadfast in your covenant of grace, and teach us the wisdom that comes only through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
the READING …
After he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this; and they believed the scripture and the word that Jesus had spoken.
the DEVOTION …
About five weeks ago, just before the Transfiguration of Our Lord, we read a passage from Mark. Chapter one, verses twenty-one to twenty-two. Jesus was in Capernaum. Teaching at the synagogue. And the people were amazed! Astounded! He didn’t teach like everyone else. Citing chapter and verse from the scriptures. Parroting precedents of the rabbis. instead, he taught like one with authority. In his own words. Speaking his own mind. Intimate! Personal!
Well, this week, we have John’s version of the same thing. Jesus chases the sellers of cattle and sheep and doves out of the temple, along with the money changers. And throughout the story, never once does he mention earlier interpretations! Instead – start to finish, beginning to end – he uses his own words. Even the part about destroying one temple and raising up another. It’s all uniquely Jesus! So, interestingly enough, John tells us that later on – after the cross, after the resurrection – when the disciples remember this moment, they, of course, remember the words from the bible. But they remember the words Jesus spoke, as well. Because, we’re told, they believed in scripture! AND … AND … AND … they believed in what Jesus had said!