Third Sunday of Lent. Year B - Sunday, March 7, 2021
(EPISODE: 282)
Readings for Third Sunday of Lent. Year B
FIRST READING: Exod 20: 1-17
Ps 19: 8, 9, 10, 11. "Lord, you have the words of everlasting life."
SECOND READING: 1 Cor 1: 22-25
GOSPEL ACCLAMATION (John 3: 16). Glory and Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ. God loved the world so much, he gave his only Son. That all who believe in him might have eternal life.
GOSPEL: John 2: 13-25
Image Credit: Shutterstock Licensed. image: stock vector ID: 1212390121 Biblical vector. illustration series, Jesus cleanses the temple. By rudall30
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* (Prologue: Fr Paul Kelly)
The lines of the First reading, today set the scene for everything that follows. That first sentence is the key to the understanding of the ten commandments that follow.
God gives the Law to Moses saying, "I am the Lord your God who brought you out of slavery in Egypt." The "Words" from God that follow, which we know as the commandments are given to God's people in order to free them, to protect them and keep them in a good relationship with the Lord. (God is declaring to us that he is the God of liberation; God gives us this law to make us free).
God's law is not an onerous duty or a burden. it frees us to be everything we are created to be.
The Psalm sums it up so well: God's law is perfect. It is a real JOY. it gives wisdom. We are created not to be slaves, wearily doing the Lord's will as if it is a dreadful imposition and a burden. God's law is life and light.
From the outset, God names two things that imprison and enslave us;
- Putting other earthly things before God. and
- Creating false idols, (making passing "things" into our 'god'),
These things lead to disaster. Our Lord wants to free us from this. Our Lord sets us on the path of God's ways being first and respecting and showing reverence to ourselves, our communities and our neighbours.
To truly understand the real meaning and purpose of the law, it can be very helpful to understand the lawmaker. and then one sees what the purpose of the law is. God is love, God has unfathomable depts. Of compassion. God is just, true and loving. To keep God's law is a delight; because it is created by our loving and compassionate God.
And Our Lord, Jesus, who embodied and perfected the law, shows us God's loving, compassionate heart.
This is why Jesus knew the purpose and meaning of the law and how to apply it in Spirit and Truth. And, it is why he occasionally seemed to bend the letter of the law, in order to keep the spirit and meaning of the Law. Only Christ (who is the Law and the compassion of God), could understand the meaning of the Law so well as to complete it.
A good symbol of this issue in a modern example would be on our roads, As you drive along the highway. how many people do you see who look like or act like the road laws are a delight; a pure joy to keep. How many do you see driving around filled with delight and peace as they observe faithfully the laws of the road?
As they cut in or tailgate or sail past others doing four times the signed limit.
Like many laws, rules or regulations: - we know that the laws of the land, are for the purpose of protecting safety, regulating competing rights and ensuring the protection of life, liberty and property. but, in this one example, I am mentioning, many seem to go through life flouting laws and treating them as a bore and a burden; a silly restriction on their "freedom," as they drive at excessive speeds, cut people off, turn and brake dangerously tailgate, abuse, and so on. Too many people seem to have taken this view on the road rules and so many other aspects of life as well.
"This law is silly and it limits me. It doesn't apply to me. I am above all that; so I ignore it." But if everyone flouted laws when they felt it was unimportant who would obey any? And what would become of it?
Too many find out by accident that they were not such a master of the situation that they believed.
Actually, as I am sure most would agree; following the road rules can actually be a joy and a delight, because it frees us to be thoughtful and respectful to others and peaceful as we drive. Gone is the desperate effort to speed, rush, tail-gate and to rage over people who happen to be "in the way". The person who impatiently tailgates one car finally gets past them only to be pathetically stuck behind the next car. and all the while they never noticed that these cars aren't driving too slow; but rather, THEY keep getting stuck because they are going too fast!!!! Some people are slow learners. Especially when they get to their destination (not having saved any time), and with a speeding camera fine, coming in the mail. All riled up. and of course, it is always someone else's fault;
As necessary as human laws can be; God's law is so much better than this. It is true that, the more we understand the reason for laws and the purpose of a rule, the more likely we will be to follow it. Of course, as the second reading reminds us if God's ways are not like human ways, we have to obey God's wisdom even if we find it unusual. We can be more and more open to God's ways. and get deeper inside the heart of the one who makes the laws not to hold us back but for life, and life to the full.
The key to the gospel today is the first sentence too!!
- "Just before the Jewish Passover. " -
There is nothing wrong with people coming into the temple and offering up goats or pigeons or spotless lambs in reparation for sin and for offering up one's prayer and dedication to God. In fact, it was the law of the time to do this. The temple was the house of God's presence amongst his people.
The money changers would have claimed that they were there to simply assist with the people's religious duties. There are major problems here, though. At one time, "living animals" were not permitted to be brought into the temple grounds for sale. But that had changed. The area of the temple that was supposed to be reserved for Gentiles to worship God was now a marketplace where no one could possibly hope to pray or worship amidst all the noise, and the rabble of haggling. Our Lord saw that the Gentiles were being treated with contempt, as well as everything else wrong with this scene. The fees charged for the temple services had also gotten out of hand, costing poor visitors three or more days wages to be able to perform their religious duty there The attitude with which the money changers were robotically, mechanically and business-like performing these operations was making a mockery of the sacredness of the action. This was a place of mystery and awe and not a place to turn into a circus with markets and cold-businesslike precision. It is also never meant to be a case of "put in a penny and out comes a blessing". So, Our Lord was restoring the proper awe and reverence to God.
And, since it was indeed "just before the Passover, we cannot help but notice that Jesus is the TRUE Passover lamb. He is doing away with the need for lambs, goats and pigeons. he will be the one offering once and for all the perfect sacrifice which will now be the means of forgiveness and grace and redemption. He is restoring in himself right worship and effective sacrifice in which businesslike marketplaces will not be needed.
Also, Jesus will BE THE NEW TEMPLE. Our Lord will be for us always, the presence of God and the abiding promise of God's presence amongst us always.
In and through Christ, church and the Eucharist.
Jesus, (who not only knows the lawmaker but us actually ONE WITH him), restores, completes and renews the ancient sacrifices and makes them effective by his own life, his teaching, his death and resurrection. And he warns us, just as he did the moneychangers, never take this for granted. Do not go through rituals with the mechanical presumption of a slot machine. Always, let us do this in awe and reverence for the saving law and sacrifice found in the temple that is the body of Christ.
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Homily: Fr Peter Dillon:
For the Jewish people, the Temple was the most sacred of places. The Temple is God among his people. The theme of the Temple is essentially that of Presence. "I shall be with you…." This was their unique relationship with God. He was their God and they were his people. God's desire to be with his people is central to all of the Scriptures. He was with them in their Exodus from Egypt. He showed them the way with a pillar of cloud and a pillar of fire. He was present to them in the Commandments, the Ark of the covenant and the Meeting Tent.
Yes, God does want to be present to humanity, but we also have the need for localizing God in time and place. With King David and Solomon's construction of the Temple, the people of Israel found security in that Yahweh was with them. He had a place to reside among them.
But years passed and the Temple lost it's meaning as God's presence among his people. It was destroyed and the people exiled. But it was rebuilt again. And again it degenerated into a mere sign of guarantee and security. It had become now a place of business and God, through the prophets of old, had told his people to move away from the practices they had become accustomed to and to live his Word, his message of peace, integrity, holiness, justice, love. But society had moved to false worship, social injustice and insecurity.
Jesus witnesses what has happened to the Temple. Jesus is the new Temple of the Lord. He is the new Meeting Tent. He is the life of God among the people. And he shares that life, that presence with us. The question for us today is where do we see God's presence among us? Where is the Meeting Tent for us? Where is God's life among us? Jesus says that his Spirit lives among us and that our bodies become the Temple of the Spirit. We can meet God now in and through one another because the Spirit of God lives among us, lives within us.
Lent is a time for us to ponder how we live this presence of the Lord. How do I worship the Lord? Is it through Jesus, his teachings, his example, his commandments? How do I share with others God's life in me? Do others experience God's compassion, his love, his understanding in me and through my life's actions? Do others witness his forgiveness, his peace, his charity in me and through me? Or have I let the Temple of the Lord in me become a den of thieves and hawkers, profiteers and abusers? Have I moved to false worship; giving more of my self, time and resources to gods I create: money, status, power, control, work, sex and alcohol? Is there cleansing that is needed in me? Do I treat my body as a temple of God's spirit? Or do I abuse it by not taking care of my health, not respecting the parts of my body?
I need to ask also how I relate to others with and through this body. What do I need to do so that others experience God's life in me? Where do my children, my family, my friends, my co-workers see that God does live in me? How do I respect them, their dignity, their uniqueness? How do I demonstrate that I meet God through them? God has become flesh in Jesus and to love God is to love my neighbour.
Mother Teresa of Calcutta used to greet people in the traditional Indian style, her hands together as if in prayer. These hands are then extended in a gesture to those she would meet, and with a slight bow of the head this greeting said: "The divine in me greets the divine in you." Can others see that divine in me? Can I truly witness to others all that I have received from God so that they always receive from me, respect for their dignity as God's creation?
Jesus cleansed the Temple when he saw what it had become and to remind us all that it is through him, with him and in him that we meet the Father and to him give all honour and glory.
Let us look to the remainder of this Lent and clean whatever in us needs cleansing. Let us move into the next weeks of Lent acknowledging our need for the Messiah; for the one that is the way, the truth and the life. Let us worship him, his presence among us, by loving one another. Let us not allow our worship to become shallow, compromised or self-serving.
God makes his promise once again to his people, to you and to me: "I shall be with you." May we acknowledge always his presence with humility and gratitude.
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References:
Homily – Fr Peter Dillon
Prologue- Fr Paul W. Kelly
D'ARCY, T., JOHNSTON, J. AND COPLEY, B. (2015). BREAK OPEN THE WORD. BRISBANE. QLD.: THE LITURGICAL COMMISSION/ LITURGY BRISBANE.
DEBONA, G. (2014). BETWEEN THE AMBO AND THE ALTAR. YEAR B. 1ST ED. COLLEGEVILLE, MINNESOTA: LITURGICAL PRESS.
JOHN J PILCH . THE CULTURAL WORLD OF JESUS/ THE APOSTLES/ THE PROPHETS SUNDAY BY SUNDAY, CYCLE B. COLLEGEVILLE, MINN. LITURGICAL PRESS .1996, 2002.
BARCLAY, W. (1975). THE GOSPEL OF JOHN. VOLUME I. 2ND ED. EDINBURGH: ST. ANDREW PRESS
Image Credit: Shutterstock Licensed. image: stock vector ID: 1212390121 Biblical vector. illustration series, Jesus cleanses the temple. By rudall30
Third Sunday of Lent. Year B (Sunday, March 7, 2021) (EPISODE: 282 )
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
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{{Peace and Patience to you all}} welcome everyone, we gather - To offer or praise, prayers and intercessions to our loving God
my brothers and sisters, to prepare ourselves to celebrate the sacred mysteries, let us call to mind our sins.
Lord Jesus, you call your people to turn away from sin: Lord, have mercy//You teach us wisdom, and write your truth in our inmost heart: Christ, have mercy//You forgive sins through the ministry of reconciliation: Lord, have mercy//
May almighty God have mercy on us, forgive us our sins, and bring us to everlasting life. Amen.
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Memorial Acclamation
3. Save us, Saviour of the world, for by your Cross and Resurrection you have set us free.
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PREFACE: Lent II
EP III
(theme variation: 3 )
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{Thank you for giving generously of your time and prayer.}
Go forth, the Mass is ended.
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Further information relating to the audio productions linked to this Blog:
"Faith, Hope and Love - Christian worship and reflection" - Led by Rev Paul Kelly
Prayers and chants — Roman Missal, 3rd edition, © 2010, The International Commission on English in the liturgy. (ICEL)
Scriptures - New Revised Standard Version: © 1989, and 2009 by the NCC-USA. (National Council of Churches of Christ - USA)
"The Psalms" ©1963, 2009, The Grail - Collins publishers.
Prayers of the Faithful - " Together we pray" by Robert Borg'. E.J. Dwyer, Publishers, (1993). (Sydney Australia).
"Quiet Time." Instrumental Reflection music. Written by Paul W Kelly. 1988, 2007. & This arrangement: Stefan Kelk, 2020.
Lenten Hymn: "Have Mercy" inspired by Psalm 50(51). Music by Paul W. Kelly. Arranged and sung, with additional lyrics by Stefan Kelk. 2020.
[ Production - KER - 2021]
May God bless and keep you.
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