ALLELUIA! This is the day the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it! Alleluia! This is truly a glorious day. We gather to celebrate the central message of our faith—Jesus is risen! Alleluia. As the singing of “Alleluia” has been absent during the Lenten season, with joy the Church sings “Alleluia” once again. Jesus has redeemed us and has given us the hope of eternal life. May the light of the Risen Christ continue to enflame your hearts to boldly proclaim that Jesus is Lord. He is risen from the dead. Alleluia!
We enter the most sacred and solemn time of the Liturgical year. We enter Holy Week. Holy Week is a time set apart from the rest of the calendar so that we might recall the suffering, Death, and Resurrection of Jesus. Holy Week begins on Palm Sunday and reaches its climax in what we call the Triduum, which means “the three days” of Holy Thursday, Good Friday, and Holy Saturday.
As Lent progresses, we come closer to the heart and meaning of the Gospel message: that Jesus must suffer and die for new life to happen. Jesus embraced what is painful and frightening to achieve life on our behalf. The new light of the Resurrection will shine its hope upon us all.
John 3:16: “For God so loved the world that he gave his only son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life.” It is the essential point of the Christian message.
We begin the Third Week of Lent this weekend. All four Gospels tell of Jesus expelling the merchants and money-changers from the temple. Each evangelist writes from his own perspective and purpose. Today’s telling is from John’s Gospel and he has his own approach to this dramatic scene.