THE THIRD SUNDAY IN LENT MARCH 7, 2021

Luca Giordano (17th century)

MASS READINGS:

A reading of the Gospel according to John 2:13-25

Since the Passover of the Jews was near, Jesus went up to Jerusalem. He found in the temple area those who sold oxen, sheep, and doves, as well as the money changers seated there. He made a whip out of cords and drove them all out of the temple area, with the sheep and oxen, and spilled the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables, and to those who sold doves he said, “Take these out of here, and stop making my Father’s house a marketplace.” His disciples recalled the words of Scripture, Zeal for your house will consume me. At this the Jews answered and said to him, “What sign can you show us for doing this?” Jesus answered and said to them, “Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up.” The Jews said, “This temple has been under construction for forty-six years, and you will raise it up in three days?” But he was speaking about the temple of his body. Therefore, when he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this, and they came to believe the Scripture and the word Jesus had spoken. While he was in Jerusalem for the feast of Passover, many began to believe in his name when they saw the signs he was doing. But Jesus would not trust himself to them because he knew them all, and did not need anyone to testify about human nature. He himself understood it well.

REFLECTION: Zeal for your house will consume me.

In visiting the Holy Land one can be overwhelmed with commercialism and the selling of souvenirs. One particular memory was the Via Dolorosa, in the City of Old Jerusalem. It is the winding route that Jesus took on His way to His Crucifixion. It begins at the Antonia Fortress ( fortress built by Herod the Great named after Mark Antony) and ends in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre (the most holy site in the world where Jesus was crucified, buried and resurrected). As one prays and meditates on the fourteen stations, you can't help but notice the many vendors along the way in this most holy place. It angered me to see profit, lack of respect and blasphemy to the suffering endured by Jesus the Christ over 2000 years

In Jesus' time during Passover, Jews from all over came to Jerusalem to celebrate this holy day in the Temple, the house of God. They paid their yearly Temple taxes and offered animal sacrifices. They came with money. The money exchangers had high rates. The animal handlers would examine your animal offering and if they found a blemish you would have to buy an unblemished animal from them at a high price. One can imagine; human shouting, animal noises, animal smells, perspiration, pushing, shoving and maybe cheating, lying and money under the table. Some were hucksters and were squeezing the pilgrims and maximizing their profit. All this was going on within a shout of the Holy of Holies but in full observance of the Mosaic law.

Jesus is angry at the desecration of His Father's House. We are temples of God and Jesus came to drive out all sin from us with zeal. God will not live in a desecrated temple. The Ten Commandments tell us right from wrong; we also have the Beatitudes as a guide. Just as the moneychangers and the inspectors and sellers of unblemished animals, we, too, find loopholes to justify why we do and act a certain way. We can redefine when the unborn is a child of God; we can excuse rudeness to one another; we can criticize the Pope and our priests, because, after all, we are catholic; we can justify not caring for the poor or the ill better, and we can even presume that prayer is a one time deal only on Sunday. Sometimes we do the least hoping that that is enough!

Turn the temple of our soul to Jesus for inspection. What will His reaction be? Will we be met with righteous anger by Jesus if we persevere in sin? Would the Holy Spirit dwell in us today? Are we faithful in our relationship with Jesus?

Today spend time with the Keeper of our soul.

God Bless You