Second Sunday of Lent

Today's Readings

He saved us and called us to a holy life, not according to our works but according to his own design and the grace bestowed on us in Christ Jesus before time began... - 2 Timothy 1:9

As I meditate on the Word of God, the theme of holiness becomes more and more prevalent. From the Old Testament to the New Testament, holiness is unavoidable - its everywhere! The verse above comes from today's second reading which is a snippet of Paul's First Letter to Timothy.

In the letter, Paul encourages Timothy after appointing him to lead the growing church in Ephesus. False teaching was a major point of emphasis because it was plaguing the Ephesian church. Paul gives Timothy criteria for appointing more leaders in the church, and he exhorts Timothy to not be ashamed of embracing the call to live a holy life: that is, a life that is set apart, a life that stands out because it is rooted in Christ instead of the world.

I have compiled a list of 15 verses for you to consider which indicate the deep necessity of holiness:

Leviticus 19:2 | “Speak to all the congregation of the people of Israel and say to them, You shall be holy, for I the LORD your God am holy."

Leviticus 20:7 | "Consecrate yourselves, therefore, and be holy, for I am the LORD your God."

Leviticus 20:26 | "You shall be holy to me, for I the LORD am holy and have separated you from the peoples, that you should be mine."

Leviticus 21:8 | "You shall sanctify him, for he offers the bread of your God. He shall be holy to you, for I, the LORD, who sanctify you, am holy."

Exodus 19:6 | "...and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words that you shall speak to the people of Israel.”

Malachi 3:3 | He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and he will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, and they will bring offerings in righteousness to the LORD.

Matthew 5:48 | "You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect."

John 17:17-19 | "Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. And for their sake I consecrate myself, that they also may be sanctified in truth."

Romans 6:22 | But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life.

1 Corinthians 3:17 | "If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him. For God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple."

1 Thessalonians 3:11-13 | Now may our God and Father himself, and our Lord Jesus, direct our way to you, and may the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another and for all, as we do for you, so that he may establish your hearts blameless in holiness before our God and Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his saints.

1 Thessalonians 4:7 | For God has not called us for impurity, but in holiness.

1 Thessalonians 5:23 | Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

2 Thessalonians 2:13 | But we ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers beloved by the Lord, because God chose you as the firstfruits to be saved, through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth.

2 Timothy 2:20-21 | Now in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver but also of wood and clay, some for honorable use, some for dishonorable. Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from what is dishonorable, he will be a vessel for honorable use, set apart as holy, useful to the master of the house, ready for every good work.

Are you convinced that holiness is God's will for us? The Christian life is one of perpetual deepening - letting our roots go deeper into the reality of Jesus: God's unfailing love and faithfulness. Here are a couple of questions as we go through this season of Lent:

When people ask me questions of identity or for a little description of myself, what do I typically say? Is my identity primarily rooted in what I do - my job or hobbies - or who I am to others - father, mother, husband, wife, son, daughter - or who God says I am - His adopted child?

Jesus prays that God will sanctify us in the truth. In other words, He prays that God will replant us in a new reality - a reality in which His word is true, set apart from what the world tells us. He desires for us to be deeply rooted in His promises - in this, God sanctifies us. May this Lent be a time of sanctification for us all - a season of having our identity progressively rooted in His trustworthy promises.

Timothy Nagy
Assistant Director, Mission, Ministry & Interfaith Dialogue
St. Francis College