HOMILY FOR THIRD SUNDAY OF LENT, YEAR B. 07.03.2021.

The Temple of Jerusalem

Readings: Exodus 20:1-17; Psalm 19; 1 Corinthians 1:22-25 and John 2:13-25. 

CHRIST THE CENTER OF OUR WORSHIP

 

As we continue on our Lenten pilgrimage, we recall how we journeyed with Christ to the desert on the first Sunday of lent, where he fasted for forty days. The second Sunday, he took us to Mount Tabor, where he gave us a glimpse of his glory through his transfiguration and today, we are entering into the temple with Christ, so that we can have a true worship of God the Father.

 

The event of today took place in Jerusalem, specifically in the temple during the celebration of the feast of the Passover, otherwise known as the paschal sacrifice, customary offered for the people’s deliverance. The Passover is a celebration of liberation from Pharaoh, a symbol of adulatory and oppression. This is obvious in the first reading, taken from the Decalogue, the law given to Moses for Israel to help strengthen their relationship with God and to organize their social and religious life. In this law, God said, “You shall have no other gods before me.” This brings to mind a Jealous God who takes no pleasure in idolatry. Idolatry and oppression took a new face in the Gospel, which led to the purification of the temple.

 

John in the Gospel presents to us the purification of the temple. We were told the Passover of the Jews was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem and found those doing market and business in the outer court of the temple. In anger, he overturned the tables of businesses saying, “Take these things away, you shall not make my Father’s house a house of trade.” With this, we are tempted to ask: why was Christ angry or act in anger? What Christ found in the temple is a new form of oppression of the people as Pharaoh oppressed the Israelite. This prevents true worship due to the “Jealous God” as the Decalogue indicates in the first reading, “You shall not bow down to images or serve them” (Ex. 20:5). Christ was angry because the people were entering into relationship with God by way of money. With the crowd expected to be in the temple on this feast day, they all had to pay the temple tax, for the upkeep of the temple services and the temple authorities known as the Sadducees.

 

The temple authority will require that the tax is paid in the Jewish currency/special coin, because other coins bore images of foreign rulers and were regarded as idolatry by pious Jews, which the commandment/Decalogue also condemns (you shall not make for yourself a graven image). This made the moneychangers do so much business in the temple. They capitalized on this to exploit and extort the pilgrims that had come for their sacrificial worship. This exploitation was sponsored and encouraged by the high priest Caiaphas, and anyone who challenges his profit making business is liable to death. The Jewish law also demanded “Unblemished animal for sacrifice” (Lev. 22:17-21) and so there was need to give priority to animals purchased in the Temple. All these were legal but were used to oppressed the poor who could not purchase the expensive items for sacrifices at the temple. Christ was against this oppression because he came not only for the rich but also for the poor, so that we all can have access to the temple for true worship. Put differently, access to God.

 

Importantly, Christ driving the moneychangers and animal vendors out of the temple bore a Messianic overtone because the prophet Malachi had foretold the coming of the Messiah who will suddenly enter the Temple to purify the sons of Levi (the priests of the temple), so that acceptable offerings could be made (Mal 3:1). The temple officials were aware of this prophesy and when they saw the action of Christ, they understood Him and asked for a sign. In response, he said, “Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up.” Christ spoke here of the temple of his body, he already knew this religious leaders will do their best to destroy his body but will not succeed and the three days here refers to his passion, death and resurrection, which they could not understand.

 

This was the sign St. Paul was referring to in the second reading, that the Christ crucified is a scandal to the Jews and foolishness to the Gentiles (pagans/Greeks) who want to subject God to philosophical reasoning. It was scandal to the Jews because they cannot fathom the messiah passing through the cross of suffering. Christ had earlier said, to be my disciple, you must take up your cross and follow me.

 

In a nutshell, the message of today calls us to respect the Temple of God, the place of our worship. Let our interest for money not take precedence over the true worship of God. Also, by chasing animals from the temple, Christ symbolically abolish animal sacrifice and ended the temple worship, just as he told the Samaritan woman that a day is coming, when true worshippers will no longer worship in the temple of Samaria or Jerusalem, but they would worship God in truth and in Spirit (John 4:23). Abolishing the animal sacrifice, he introduced to us the sacrifice of his body and blood to replace the old. Even when Moses struck the river Nile with his staff and the water turned into blood (Ex. 7:14-25), Christ in his first sign in John’s Gospel turned water to wine (John 2:1-11), and at the end of his public ministry, he turned this wine to his blood, which is the sacrifice needed for the purification of the temple. This temple is our body, the dwelling place of God and we must place God first before any other thing. If not, such a thing will become our God. Hence, let us guard against idolatry. May God help us to keep his commandments and use it to evaluate ourselves this season of lent through Christ our Lord. Amen!

 

Happy Sunday!

Fr. Ken Dogbo, OSJ