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with Frank Doyle SJ THIRD SUNDAY OF LENT Exodus 20:1-17; 1 Corinthians 1:22-25; John 2:13-25
THE GOSPEL PRESENTS a dramatic scene where Jesus shows himself as Lord of the Temple. It does not seem in character to see Jesus with a small whip of cords physically driving out the traders in cattle, sheep and pigeons - animals to be used in sacrifices. And the moneychangers. Their services were actually needed because only Jewish money could be offered in the Temple. Roman coins had the image of "Divus Augustus" (the 'divine Augustus') and so were regarded as idolatrous; they had to be exchanged for Jewish coinage.
Move On God's House is not a market Jesus objected not to the trade as such which was quite legitimate but to its being done in the temple precincts, "my Father's house". "Take all this out of here and stop turning my Father's house into a market." Such business should have been carried on just outside the temple precincts but we know that in our own time hawkers try to get as close to the action as possible, especially if they have competition. It is also not at all impossible that the temple authorities connived at the practice and may have even benefited if the traders had to "rent" spaces in the Temple to do their business. Move On The new Temple This would explain their anger at what Jesus was doing. "What's going on here? What sign can you show to justify what you are doing?" Jesus replies: "Destroy this sanctuary, and in three days I will raise it up." They come back: "It has taken 46 years to build this temple and you can raise it in only three days?" This was indeed true and, in fact, the construction of this massive building had not yet been fully completed at this time. But, of course, Jesus was speaking about another Sanctuary, another Temple where God lived - his own Body. Through this event we are reminded during Lent of what we are preparing to remember and celebrate - the death and resurrection of Jesus. Move On A hard saying It is the very heart of our faith. But, as Paul explains, writing to the Christians of Corinth, Jesus' death to the Jews was (and is?) a stumbling block, a scandal, an insurmountable obstacle. It was impossible for them to accept that the Messiah, their Saviour and King, could suffer such an ignominious death at the hands not only of Israel's enemies but even more of his own people. That just could not be; God could not allow it. Even Jesus' own disciples found it hard to accept. To the Gentiles, the pagans, it was quite meaningless. Power and domination and influence were what counted in their world. The idea that someone executed like and with common criminals should be worshipped as Lord was nonsense, it was something to be ignored and laughed at and rubbished - as it still is by many in our own society today. Move On God's wisdom But to those who have been called and who answer the call - be they Jews or Gentiles, men or women, slave or free - it is the power and wisdom of God. The death of Jesus to any objective observer seems like utter failure, to believe in such a Lord seems stupid but those with the eyes of faith can see the power of love in that death. The greatest love anyone can show is to give one's life for one's friends. And Jesus did this not only for his friends but for all, including those who rejected him and caused his death. "Father, forgive them; they do not know what they are doing." As Paul says in today's reading, "God's foolishness is wiser than human wisdom, God's weakness is stronger than human strength." Move On Wisdom of the Cross After 2,000 years the wisdom of Jesus and the cross prevails and has been repeated by many sacrificial deaths of Christian martyrs since then. Oscar Romero, Martin Luther King, Maximilian Kolbe, Dietrich Bonhoeffer... to mention only a few in our own lifetime. Human strength has never been able to overcome or to crush what Jesus started. Every anti-Christian movement has eventually failed and the vision of Christianity has prevailed. Communism was one of the most ruthless in this regard and look where it is now. And it will continue to prevail because, ultimately, it is based on the deepest longings of the human heart, longings which originate from the Creator God. Move On Strength in weakness We ourselves continue to exercise that wisdom and strength in foolishness and weakness. We do that by lives based on unconditional love and compassion, rejecting (as the First Reading tells us):
Move On Apparent folly of the way of the Cross For some, not to do these things is foolishness and weakness, in a society where all that matters is how much you can get and how much you can enjoy. For us, as we follow the foolishness of the cross as our way to life, what matters is the worship of a loving God. In that respect, we might consider what the First Reading says about the observance of the Sabbath without tying ourselves to the literal details. In our secular society, Sunday has become just another day of business and shopping. For many rest consists of staying in bed, reading tabloid newspapers, worshipping in shopping malls or slumping in front of a TV set watching violence dressed up as "sport". We might consider what would be a better and more Christian way of spending our Sundays. It might include communal worship with brothers and sisters in Christ and wholesome and proactive activities for refreshment and relaxation. Move On Wisdom, happiness and peace And, in general, our following of the crucified and risen Christ will involve using our talents and energies in making constructive contributions to the quality of life in our society. Here is wisdom; here is happiness and peace. Let us think seriously about all this during this Lenten season. |