Cleansing the Temple

During Lent, we are purifying and preparing ourselves to enter into the Easter mysteries together with Jesus our Lord. Our bodies are created to be temples for the Holy Spirit, temples that receive Christ during the Eucharist and go out to live His Gospel in the world at the end of the celebration. Today in the first reading we hear the constitution for that temple – the ten commandments. The dramatic revelation of the ten commandments at Sinai marks a turning point in the history of salvation: the beginning of the reception of the Torah, God’s will for Israel, whose identity and mission it is to live according to the Torah. These commandments are the only part of the Torah revealed directly to Israel without the mediation of Moses. During Lent, we admit that we have not been as faithful as we should, we have transgressed these commandments and we ask forgiveness. Likewise, we hear these commandments anew, meditate on them and renew our commitment to live according to them. We set Jesus, who lived these commandments perfectly before our eyes, providing us with a living icon of obedience to the Word of God, in him the Torah became flesh.

In the second reading, from the First Letter to the Corinthians (1:22-25), Paul reminds us that full obedience to the Torah does not coincide with the ways of this world. For those who seek signs, the only sign we have is “Christ crucified”, the Christ obedient to the Word of God is the Christ crucified. The world invites us to games of power and wealth, competition and violence. In rejecting these games and remaining true to his Father, Christ gives us a sign – the cross. In his crucifixion, Christ offers us a key to eternal life, a key to life in the Kingdom, in the bosom of the Father.

In the Gospel reading, Jesus cleanses the Temple, expelling the money changers and sellers of pigeons. He makes a whip out of cords, chasing out those who have turned the holy place into a place of commerce. This is a Jesus full of zeal for his Father’s house. When asked what sign he gives to legitimate his actions, Jesus responds: “Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up” (John 2:19). Later, his disciples understood that he spoke about his body… crucified and then risen after three days. However, we today are called to invite Jesus into our temples, our own bodies, destroyed by our transgressions. We invite him in and ask him to cleanse the temples, which are our bodies. We ask him to drive out all that separates us from the focus on the Word of God, putting an end to the games we play – power and money games, competition and jealousy… Lord Jesus, in this Lenten season cleanse us so that we can continue our Lenten march and join you in your death and glorious resurrection.