Homily for 3 March 2024 by Fr. Gerard Jonas
Third Sunday of Lent
Exodus 20:1-17; Psalm 18; 1Corinthians 1:22-25; John 2:13-25
Spring cleaning season is just around the corner. The cleanup and putting things back in order may be daunting and tiresome but the result is always anticipated. As usual, the end motivates the means. It renders not only a fresh external look but ushers an internal refreshed feeling as well. But what if the cleanup is for moving out, say, to another job, to another house? That causes more anxiety. The cleanup may even be more daunting and tiresome. And with looming uncertainties, hope is mustered to summon the energy and motivation for the work.
In the Gospel Reading, we hear that Jesus goes to the temple of Jerusalem, the center of worship and sacrifice for the Jews, and the visible sign of God’s presence among them. Then we hear the Johannine dramatic account of the temple-cleansing — Jesus upsetting both the money-changers’ tables and also the temple leaders who question his authority. This introduces the passion of Jesus, not the physical suffering but his great energy, his great zeal for his mission, as we hear his disciples affirm recalling the words from the Scriptures: “ Zeal for your house will consume me.”
This episode shows Jesus’ passionate work that is beyond external cleansing and introduces the “moving out” intention. This speaks of the replacement, and not simply the restoration, of Jewish worship space and the temple system of sacrifices. The ensuing dialogue between Jesus and the temple officials confirms that Jesus was replacing the temple with Himself and his community as the dwelling place of God, the locus of encounter with God. Alluding to his passion, death, and resurrection, Jesus further replaces the temple sacrifice once and for all.
Through his death and resurrection, the Lord Jesus not only reconciles us with God, He fills us with His Holy Spirit and makes us living temples of the living God, the place of life-giving encounter between God and humanity.
We are the Body of Christ, both individually as Baptized faithful, and communally, as the community of believers, the Church. The family too is called the domestic Church.
As such, the challenge for us is to see how the Lord wills that we maintain the pristine dwelling place of God personally in ourselves and communally in the domestic and the universal Church. As we reflect on how Jesus cleanses the temple, how do we let Christ cleanse us?
The First Reading from the Book of Exodus reminds of the commandments God delivered to His Chosen People. It’s not just a matter of living within the stipulated limits of lifestyle but the spirit of expressing love for God and others. Just like the cross of Christ, to be crucified is to be limited in mobility. For Christ and his invitation to us, the call is to embrace the cross willingly. And as St. Paul declares in his First Letter to the Corinthians, we proclaim Christ crucified as the power and wisdom of God. We proclaim with words as with deeds — with our whole life that needs regular clearing up and reorganizing by, with, and for Christ Himself. Thus, to embrace the cross of Christ is to be alive as the Body of Christ, actively being the locus of encounter with Christ.
And so again, join me as I pray, O Lord, grant that all my encounters with others, be for me and for them, encounters with You.
