First Reading
Ex 20,1-17
God spoke all these words. He said, "I am Yahweh your God who brought you out of
the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. Do not have other gods before me. Do
not make yourself a carved image or any likeness of anything in heaven, or on the
earth beneath, or in the waters under the earth; you shall not bow down to them or
serve them. For I, Yahweh your God, am a jealous God; for the sin of the fathers,
when they rebel against me, I punish the sons, the grandsons and the great-grandsons;
but I show steadfast love until the thousandth generation for those who love me and
keep my commandments. Do not take the name of Yahweh your God in vain for
Yahweh will not leave unpunished anyone who takes his name in vain. Remember the
sabbath day and keep it holy. For six days you will labor and do all your work, but
the seventh day is a sabbath for Yahweh your God. Do not work that day, neither you,
nor your son, nor your daughter nor your servants, men or women, nor your animals,
nor the stranger who is staying with you. For in six days Yahweh made the heavens
and the earth and the sea and all that is in them, but on the seventh day he rested; that
is why Yahweh has blessed the sabbath day and made it holy. Honor your father and
your mother that you may have a long life in the land that Yahweh has given you. Do
not kill. Do not commit adultery. Do not steal. Do not give false witness against your
neighbour. Do not covet your neighbour’s house. Do not covet your neighbour’s wife,
or his servant, man or woman, or his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is his."
Responsorial Psalm
The law of the Lord is perfect: it gives life to the soul.
The word of the Lord is trustworthy:
it gives wisdom to the simple.
The precepts of the Lord are right:
they give joy to the heart.
The commandments of the Lord are clear:
they enlighten the eyes.
The fear of the Lord is pure, it endures forever;
the judgments of the Lord are true,
all of them just and right.
They are more precious than gold
pure gold of a jeweller;
they are much sweeter than honey
which drops from the honeycomb.
Second Reading
1Cor 1,22-25
The Jews ask for miracles and the Greeks for a higher knowledge, while we proclaim
a crucified Messiah. For the Jews, what a great scandal! And for the Greeks, what
nonsense! But he is Christ, the power of God and the wisdom of God for those called
by God among both Jews and Greeks. In reality, the "foolishness" of God is wiser than
humans, and the "weakness" of God is stronger than humans.
Gospel
Jn 2,13-25
As the Passover of the Jews was at hand, Jesus went up to Jerusalem. In the Temple
court he found merchants selling oxen, sheep and doves, and money-changers seated at
their tables. Making a whip of cords, he drove them all out of the Temple court,
together with the oxen and sheep. He knocked over the tables of the money-changers,
scattering the coins, and ordered the people selling doves, "Take all this away and
stop turning my Father's house into a marketplace!" His disciples recalled the words of
Scripture: Zeal for your House devours me as a fire. The Jews then questioned Jesus,
"Where are the miraculous signs which give you the right to do this?" And Jesus said,
"Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up." The Jews then replied, "The
building of this temple has already taken forty-six years, and you will raise it up in
three days?" Actually, Jesus was referring to the temple of his body. Only when he
had risen from the dead did his disciples remember these words; then they believed
both the Scripture and the words Jesus had spoken. Jesus stayed in Jerusalem during
the Passover Festival and many believed in his Name when they saw the miraculous
signs he performed. But Jesus did not trust himself to them, because he knew all of
them. He had no need of evidence about anyone for he himself knew what there was
in each one.