3RD SUNDAY OF LENT (B)

He made a whip out of cords and drove them all out of the temple area.

Jn 2: 13-25

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EXEGESIS

The title of this episode is the “Cleansing of the Temple”. Jesus drove the sellers out of the Temple area. There would have been no problem had they been outside. So the question is: how did the sellers manage to sneak into the Temple area? Probably the temple authorities permitted them. And it is entirely possible that the sellers were paying them for this privilege. And this explains the angry reaction of the Temple authorities. The action of Jesus was an affront to them, to their authority and to their source of income.

The animals that were being sold were sheep, oxen and doves. These were for sacrificial offerings. Only in the Temple were sacrifices offered. The synagogues only had prayer services for the Sabbath.

There were also money changers. The coins in circulation were minted by the Romans. These contained images of the emperor. Consequently, they could not be used in the Temple. The money changers exchanged these coins for coins that had no images in them.

We are used to a Jesus who is kind and gentle. But here for the first time we are confronted by a Jesus who is angry and who uses force!

To capture the full significance of this event, we need to look into what happened before this. The Cleansing of the Temple was preceded by the Miracle at Cana where at the request of Mary, Jesus performed his first sign. There he turned water into wine. In St. John’s gospel, he does not use the word “miracle”. Instead, he used the word “sign”. And this is because the miracles of Jesus are like signs in that they communicate a message. 

Let us compare the Cleansing of the Temple with the Miracle at Cana. At Cana there was faith in Jesus. In the Cleansing of the Temple, there was none. In both places, a sign was given to the people. At Cana, a miracle was performed. In the Temple, a mysterious statement was given. “Destroy this Temple and in three days I will raise it up.” This statement was in response to the challenge of the Temple authorities: “What sign can you show us for doing this?” St. John explained that Jesus was talking about the temple of his body. He was talking about his death and eventual resurrection.

LESSON

1. Church

What can the Cleansing of the Temple teach us about our churches?

Our churches are the house of God. It is reserved for worshiping God. There we celebrate the Sacraments. Therefore, we must exhibit a respectful behavior. When we enter the church, we must make the sign of the cross. If there is holy water, we make the sign of the cross with the holy water. We genuflect or bow towards the Blessed Sacrament.

Jesus cleansed the Temple of sellers. We need to keep our churches clean of dust and dirt. Some churches have writings on the pews. That is vandalism and is disrespectful.

2. Anger

Jesus teaches us that there is such a thing as righteous anger. It is anger you feel in front of something wrong. This is the kind of anger that is NOT sinful. For instance, when I read that 31 Coptic Christians were beheaded by Muslim terrorists in Libya, I felt anger. When one no longer feels angry in the face of evil, it is a bad sign. It means that he has become at home with evil.

There is also such a thing as unrighteous anger. For example, a student is scolded by his mother because he has not been doing his homework. He gets angry and answers back. This is unrighteous anger. It is sinful.

It is also important to examine what we do when we are angry. Sometimes a basketball game or a football match becomes heated. For example, the forward is tackled by the defense, causing both of them to fall to the ground. The forward loses his temper and hits the defense. Not only will the forward receive a red card and thrown out of the game. He also commits sin. 

When I was principal, a student disobeyed me. I told him to return the plastic bowl he used for the morning break. I found that bowl on the table. He did not return it. I got very mad. I felt my ears burning. But Don Bosco said that we should not punish when we are angry. So I told the boy to see me at lunch break. There was a happy ending to that story. Because when he entered my office, the first words that came out of his mouth were: “Father, I’m sorry.” So I replied: “OK. All is forgiven. Enjoy your lunch!”

3. Cleansing

Jesus cleansed the Temple. Lent is a special time of spiritual cleansing.

Some flagellants say that they do what they do because of a vow. It is, however, not uncommon to hear this particular reason: mabawasan ang kasalanan.

We don’t have to join the flagellants to be spiritually cleansed. In fact it is all very easy. Here are three lines of action: Line of action number 1: Make a good confession. Line of action number 2: Do penance in order to strengthen your will power. A strong will power is needed to say “no” to temptation. For example, give up smoking for Lent and give what you save to the poor. A second example, for the entire season of Lent, our viand for supper is only vegetables. And third, every year a young Salesian gives up Facebook during the Lent. And finally, line of action number 3: Replace sins with virtues. If you tend to engage in gossip, replace it at least with silence. Do not add to the gossip. Do not spread the gossip.

CONCLUSION

Last Ash Wednesday we heard the words, “Turn away from your sins!” Our task for Lent is spiritual cleansing. Let us approach Jesus to help us succeed in this spiritual cleansing.