Jesus as Action Hero
Third Sunday of Lent
Exodus 20:1–17 or 20:1–3, 7–8, 12–17 / John 6:68c / 1 Corinthians 1:22–25 / John 2:13–25
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Reflecting on the Word
By Rev. James A. Wallace, C.Ss.R.
As a boy, I loved this Gospel story. Suddenly Jesus was a superhero. Watch out, Clark Kent! Gentle Jesus is now revealed as Super-J! Red with rage, one strong arm cracking that whip while the other overturns the tables. Sheep and oxen scattering, doves heading for the highest columns of the temple, coins spilling down the steps, some merchants cowering, others heading out the gate. Kapow! Kazaam!
Age has brought me a more refined understanding of this scene. Recorded in all four Gospels, John places it closer to the beginning of Jesus’ ministry, rather than during his last days. Some see it as the act of a prophet enraged at the commercialization of the house of the Lord; others as a sign of the coming of the messianic age when anything inappropriate to the true nature of the temple as a place for encountering God will be purged and purified.
For our reflection during Lent, we might take it as a wake-up call to all the compromises we have settled for in our lives that are unworthy of our being the temple of God’s Holy Spirit, made so by baptism. In light of the first reading reminding us of God’s covenant with Israel at Mt. Sinai, we too are called to live lives that honor God as our only God and to live with all others in a just and loving manner. We do this when we proclaim Christ crucified in our own bodies by living for others.
Consider/Discuss
- How do you react to this portrayal of Jesus cleansing the temple?
- How do you relate this action to the final words today about Jesus not trusting himself to those who were beginning to believe in his name because he “understood human nature well”?
Responding to the Word
Lord Jesus, you call us to live as children of the Father, offering our very lives as a spiritual sacrifice. We do this when we replace our selfish desires with a will ingness to listen to the cries of the poor. Continue to shape us into your dwelling place in our world.