February 25 2024

First Reading

Hebrews 12:12-21
12So put your hands to work. Strengthen your legs for the journey. 13“Make level paths for your feet to walk on.” (Proverbs 4:26) Then those who have trouble walking won’t be disabled. Instead, they will be healed.

A Warning and an Appeal

14Try your best to live in peace with everyone. Try hard to be holy. Without holiness no one will see the Lord. 15Be sure that no one misses out on God’s grace. See to it that a bitter plant doesn’t grow up. If it does, it will cause trouble. And it will make many people impure. 16See to it that no one commits sexual sins. See to it that no one is godless like Esau. He sold the rights to what he would receive as the oldest son. He sold them for a single meal. 17As you know, after that he wanted to receive his father’s blessing. But he was turned away. With tears he tried to get the blessing. But he couldn’t change what he had done.

The Mountain of Fear and the Mountain of Joy

18You haven’t come to a mountain that can be touched. You haven’t come to a mountain burning with fire. You haven’t come to darkness, gloom and storm. 19You haven’t come to a blast from God’s trumpet. You haven’t come to a voice speaking to you. When people heard that voice long ago, they begged it not to say anything more to them. 20What God commanded was too much for them. He said, “If even an animal touches the mountain, it must be killed with stones.” (Exodus 19:12,13) 21The sight was terrifying. Moses said, “I am trembling with fear.” (Deuteronomy 9:19)

Second Reading

1 Peter 1:19-25
19Instead, you were bought with the priceless blood of Christ. He is a perfect lamb. He doesn’t have any flaws at all. 20He was chosen before God created the world. But he came into the world for your sake in these last days. 21Because of what Christ has done, you believe in God. It was God who raised him from the dead. And it was God who gave him glory. So your faith and hope are in God.

22You have made yourselves pure by obeying the truth. So you have an honest and true love for each other. So love one another deeply, from your hearts. 23You have been born again by means of the living word of God. His word lasts forever. You were not born again from a seed that will die. You were born from a seed that can’t die. 24It is written,

“All people are like grass.

All their glory is like the flowers in the field.

The grass dries up. The flowers fall to the ground.

25But the word of the Lord lasts forever.” (Isaiah 40:6–8)

And this is the word that was preached to you.

Gospel

John 10:34-42
34Jesus answered them, “Didn’t God say in your Law, ‘I have said you are “gods” ’? (Psalm 82:6) 35We know that Scripture is always true. God spoke to some people and called them ‘gods.’ 36If that is true, what about the one the Father set apart as his very own? What about this one the Father sent into the world? Why do you charge me with saying a very evil thing? Is it because I said, ‘I am God’s Son’? 37Don’t believe me unless I do the works of my Father. 38But what if I do them? Even if you don’t believe me, believe these works. Then you will know and understand that the Father is in me and I am in the Father.” 39Again they tried to arrest him. But he escaped from them.

40Then Jesus went back across the Jordan River. He went to the place where John had been baptizing in the early days. There he stayed. 41Many people came to him. They said, “John never performed a sign. But everything he said about this man was true.” 42And in that place many believed in Jesus.