(Christ driving the money changers from the Temple:
Bartalomeo Manfredi)
John 2:13-25
The Word: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/030324-YearB.cfm
It’s an interesting fact about human nature that when we are told not to do something, we choose to do it. Typically, children will test the patience of their parents in this regard. Teenagers may think, “Well, why not? I’ve never done this. My friends tell me there’s nothing wrong and it’s fun. I’m not hurting anyone.” We adults, while pretending to be more enlightened may skirt around the “shall nots” by creating a kind of compromise or we minimize the seriousness of an action to avoid taking responsibility or living with guilt. We sometimes refer jokingly to “catholic guilt” which implies there are many things, sins, which we can commit and so we rather live with this sense of burdensome hyper-responsibility.
This Sunday’s readings near the mid-point of Lent bring
to us a clear listing of what we call the Ten Commandments. If we only look at the “shall not” part of
the Commandment we may miss their positive force.
In the Gospel we see a somewhat out of character Jesus
cleansing the sacred temple of financial commerce in a forceful display of
prophetic righteousness. In this case, his anger is justified and constructive
rather than a kind of destructive irrational rage. While the exchange of money
to Jewish coins was a necessity for visiting pilgrims to Jerusalem, as was the
purchase of animals for sacrifice, it was not that normal commerce that Jesus
rebelled against. It was rather the place in which it was done. He makes a whip
out of cords and turns over their tables!
What’s going on?
To the Jews the temple was the most sacred place on
earth. Here it was believed God chose to
dwell among his chosen people. Here
heaven and earth meet. Here sacred
worship and animal sacrifice is carried out and the people see this place as
the center of all they hold dear in their existence. The money changers, while
providing an essential exchange for the temple tax and animals for sacrifice,
should have been left outside the temple. This bargaining, dishonest at its core, took place in the outer
courtyard, the area of the Gentiles, which was considered sacred ground and
worthy of sanctity in public worship. Yet it is filled with booths and animals
being sold apparently with disregard for its holiness
To get a real-life example of this, would be at the Marian
shrine in Lourdes, France or the Marian shrine in Fatima, Portugal. If you have
been to both or either, you will see the large open areas around the places of
apparition reserved for prayer and procession, while in the city outside this
area, literally across the street, there are multiple religious
goods shops, restaurants, and hotels.
All such venues remain outside the sacred space of the shrine reserved
for only one purpose. To ignore the sacred in favor of the secular is a
violation. Such was the Temple situation
in Jesus’ time.
Many looked the other way, including religious leaders of
the time, and gave in to the lower temptation of using it for financial
convenience and gain. It needed to be purified
and returned to its original purpose as a sacred place. Jesus takes it upon himself to carry out this
forceful symbolic action as coins are scattered, animals flee, and a great
ruckus surely must have been made. His action, though, was more than just irrational rage. Here he claims the Temple, moves to the higher purpose of sacred worship away from animal sacrifice, and now the the sacrifice of his own body on the cross, for the atonement of all sin. The ring of the early prophets must have
been in his ears for they too called the people to right worship and away from idols
and religious compromise. Yet, only Jesus could claim by his own authority, to do such a thing. Nothing he did was empty or meaningless; it all connected to ancient prophecy as a fulfillment.
The Commandments of God, or the Decalogue (Ten Words) in our reading from Exodus and
this cleansing of the temple by Jesus provide a good Lenten exercise for
us. After the confrontation by the
religious leaders: “What sign can you show us for doing this?” Jesus speaks of
his body, though the reference is lost, as a “temple” that will be raised up
after three days. An obvious reference to the resurrection but his reference
point is greatly significant. His Body,
his person and faith in him, will be the new place of worship. In Christ Jesus God abides. Those who come to him will meet the living
God and be cleansed through his mercy and love.
For if the Body of Christ is the new Temple, and his
Spirit dwells in us as Paul reminds us, then it is our person whom Christ will
cleanse with forgiveness and mercy. He can drive out of us all that
is not centered on God and love for others. In three ways, the Commandments form our daily life by: 1. honoring God, 2. living well with others, 3. keeping the Sabbath.
Do I love God above all things? Is he the center of my existence? Do I keep the Lord’s Day sacred by attending
Mass and by offering charity towards others?
Do I respect my neighbor’s possessions and family members? Do I keep my own body clean as a temple of
God? Do I respect the sanctity of human life in all stages of existence? Am I
honest and trustworthy? Can I be a
person of integrity? The “shall nots”
are in place not for restriction but for freedom. They guide us in containing
our behavior and center us in harmony with God and others as he remains the core
of our lives as we have “no other gods besides me.” They belong to God’s
gracious self-communication with humanity.
We are cleansed by Christ in the sacraments, in our good
works, in sharing with a faith community, and particularly through the Holy
Eucharist that “super abundant” bread for our journey, Christ himself. His grace is mercy, forgiveness, love and a
powerful “detergent” of grace that calls us to holiness. In and through the Church Christ is present
in his Body and members. His cleansing
grace comes to us.
The earliest of Christian communities and the preaching
of Paul himself centered on the power of Jesus’ death and resurrection. There was no other truth more central than
that. So, this Lent lets allow us to be
cleansed and renewed through the power of Jesus Christ as he enters the temple
of our persons to cleanse and prepare us for new life at Easter.
O God, author of every mercy
and of all goodness, who in fasting, prayer and almsgiving
have shown us a remedy for sin
look graciously on this confession of our lowliness,
that we, who are bowed down by our conscience,
may always be lifted up by your mercy.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God, for ever and ever.
(Collect of Mass)
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