March 28, 2015

Reading

The Book of the Prophet Ezekiel   37: 21-28

37:21 And you shall say to them: Thus says the Lord God: Behold, I will take up the sons of Israel, from the midst of the nations to which they have gone, and I will gather them together on every side, and I will lead them onto their own soil.
37:22 And I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel, and one king will be ruler over all. And they will no longer be two nations, nor will they be divided any more into two kingdoms.
37:23 And they will no longer be defiled by their idols, and by their abominations, and by all their iniquities. And I will save them, out of all the settlements in which they have sinned, and I will cleanse them. And they will be my people, and I will be their God.
37:24 And my servant David shall be the king over them, and they shall have one shepherd. They shall walk in my judgments, and they shall keep my commandments, and they shall do them.
37:25 And they shall live upon the land that I gave to my servant Jacob, in which your fathers lived. And they shall live upon it, they and their sons, and the sons of their sons, even for all time. And David, my servant, shall be their leader, in perpetuity.
37:26 And I will strike a covenant of peace with them. This will be an everlasting covenant for them. And I will establish them, and multiply them. And I will set my sanctuary in their midst, unceasingly.
37:27 And my tabernacle shall be among them. And I will be their God, and they will be my people.
37:28 And the Gentiles shall know that I am the Lord, the Sanctifier of Israel, when my sanctuary will be in their midst, forever.”

Gospel

The Holy Gospel According to John    11: 45-56

11:45 Therefore, many of the Jews, who had come to Mary and Martha, and who had seen the things that Jesus did, believed in him.
11:46 But certain ones among them went to the Pharisees and told them the things that Jesus had done.
11:47 And so, the high priests and the Pharisees gathered a council, and they were saying: “What can we do? For this man accomplishes many signs.
11:48 If we leave him alone, in this way all will believe in him. And then the Romans will come and take away our place and our nation.”
11:49 Then one of them, named Caiaphas, since he was the high priest that year, said to them: “You do not understand anything.
11:50 Nor do you realize that it is expedient for you that one man should die for the people, and that the entire nation should not perish.”
11:51 Yet he did not say this from himself, but since he was the high priest that year, he prophesied that Jesus would die for the nation.
11:52 And not only for the nation, but in order to gather together as one the children of God who have been dispersed.
11:53 Therefore, from that day, they planned to put him to death.
11:54 And so, Jesus no longer walked in public with the Jews. But he went into a region near the desert, to a city which is called Ephraim. And he lodged there with his disciples.
11:55 Now the Passover of the Jews was near. And many from the countryside ascended to Jerusalem before the Passover, so that they might sanctify themselves.
11:56 Therefore, they were seeking Jesus. And they conferred with one another, while standing in the temple: “What do you think? Will he come to the feast day?”

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