March 7 2021
First Reading
Hebrews 13:4-16
May marriage be honorable in every way, and may the marriage bed be immaculate. For
God will judge fornicators and adulterers. Let your behavior be without avarice; be
content with what you are offered. For he himself has said, "I will not abandon you, and I
will not neglect you." So then, we may confidently say, "The Lord is my helper. I will not
fear what man can do to me." Remember your leaders, who have spoken the Word of
God to you, whose faith you imitate, by observing the goal of their way of life: Jesus
Christ, yesterday and today; Jesus Christ forever. Do not be led away by changing or
strange doctrines. And it is best for the heart to be sustained by grace, not by foods. For
the latter have not been as useful to those who walked by them. We have an altar: those
who serve in the tabernacle have no authority to eat from it. For the bodies of those
animals whose blood is carried into the Holy of holies by the high priest, on behalf of
sin, are burned outside the camp. Because of this, Jesus, too, in order to sanctify the
people by his own blood, suffered outside the gate. And so, let us go forth to him,
outside the camp, bearing his reproach. For in this place, we have no everlasting city;
instead, we seek one in the future. Therefore, through him, let us offer the sacrifice of
continual praise to God, which is the fruit of lips confessing his name. But do not be
willing to forget good works and fellowship. For God is deserving of such sacrifices.
Second Reading
James 4:7-12
Therefore, be subject to God. But resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to
God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners! And purify your
hearts, you duplicitous souls! Be afflicted: mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned
into mourning, and your gladness into sorrow. Be humbled in the sight of the Lord, and
he will exalt you. Brothers, do not choose to slander one another. Whoever slanders his
brother, or whoever judges his brother, slanders the law and judges the law. But if you
judge the law, you are not a doer of the law, but a judge. There is one lawgiver and one
judge. He is able to destroy, and he is able to set free.
Gospel
John 3:1-21
Now there was a man among the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a leader of the Jews. He
went to Jesus at night, and he said to him: "Rabbi, we know that you have arrived as a
teacher from God. For no one would be able to accomplish these signs, which you
accomplish, unless God were with him." Jesus responded and said to him, "Amen, amen,
I say to you, unless one has been reborn anew, he is not able to see the kingdom of
God." Nicodemus said to him: "How could a man be born when he is old? Surely, he
cannot enter a second time into his mother's womb to be reborn?" Jesus responded:
"Amen, amen, I say to you, unless one has been reborn by water and the Holy Spirit, he
is not able to enter into the kingdom of God. What is born of the flesh is flesh, and what
is born of the Spirit is spirit. You should not be amazed that I said to you: You must be
born anew. The Spirit inspires where he wills. And you hear his voice, but you do not
know where he comes from, or where he is going. So, it is with all who are born of the
Spirit." Nicodemus responded and said to him, "How are these things able to be
accomplished?" Jesus responded and said to him: "You are a teacher in Israel, and you
are ignorant of these things? Amen, amen, I say to you, that we speak about what we
know, and we testify about what we have seen. But you do not accept our testimony. If I
have spoken to you about earthly things, and you have not believed, then how will you
believe, if I will speak to you about heavenly things? And no one has ascended to
heaven, except the one who descended from heaven: The Son of man who is in
heaven. And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert, so also must the Son of
man be lifted up, so that whoever believes in him may not perish, but may have eternal
life. For God so loved the world that he gave his only-begotten Son, so that all who
believe in him may not perish, but may have eternal life. For God did not send his Son
into the world, in order to judge the world, but in order that the world may be saved
through him. Whoever believes in him is not judged. But whoever does not believe is
already judged, because he does not believe in the name of the only-begotten Son of
God. And this is the judgment: that the Light has come into the world, and men loved
darkness more than light. For their works were evil. For everyone who does evil hates
the Light and does not go toward the Light, so that his works may not be corrected. But
whoever acts in truth goes toward the Light, so that his works may be manifested,
because they have been accomplished in God."