THIRD SUNDAY OF LENT

Exodus 20:1-17

Psalm 18:8-18

1Corinthians 1:22-25

John 2:13-25

CLEANSING OUR TEMPLE 

As we know, Lent is a time for spiritual renewal, a time to cleanse our hearts so as to offer a worthy worship to God by keeping his Commandments. In today’s first reading, God gives the Decalogue or the Ten Commandments to his people Israel liberated from Egyptian slavery. These laws are not to be seen as a burden or limitations to human freedom, but as directives to help us live our covenant relationship with God and create a society of love and mutual respect. 

In the second reading, Saint Paul opines that the cross was nonsense for the pagans and a stumbling block to the Jews, because they could not believe that the Messiah could be crucified on a cross, a symbol of shame, humiliation and curse. But for the believer, the cross manifests God’s power and wisdom. It reveals the love of God who wished to renew his Covenant with mankind in his Son Jesus Christ. 

This is why even Jesus’ action of angrily driving the merchants and moneychangers out of the Temple was a prophetic action. When the Jews asked him about his authority of doing so, Jesus told them to destroy the Temple and in three days he would raise it up. He was referring to his death and resurrection. But they did not understand him as they would not understand the real meaning of the cross. 

Three lessons may be drawn from today’s readings. First, we should always keep sacred and respect our churches and other places of worship. They are the House of God, a house of prayer, and not a marketplace or an entertainment center. Second, the Lenten season is an opportune time to cleanse our hearts of sinful and bad habits, because our hearts are the outmost places of worshipping God. Third, to be able to keep our hearts always clean, we need to observe God’s Commandments every day. It is therefore important for each one of us to examine often his conscience and see if he/she is faithful to God’s covenant or not. Let us remember: the Decalogue is not a list of things to be learnt by heart, but Ten Words to be lived with the heart.

 

May the Lord grant us the grace to prepare ourselves so as to celebrate worthily his Passion, death and resurrection at Easter. Amen