Third Sunday in Lent B

In this message, the speaker discusses the significance of the temple and Jesus' actions in cleansing it. The selling of animals and money changers in the temple had become disordered, hindering authentic worship. Jesus seeks to remove these obstacles and restore the temple as a place of encounter with God. Through his death and resurrection, Jesus himself becomes the living temple. The speaker encourages listeners to meditate on these ideas and have a personal conversation with Jesus about the impact of his word. Greetings, friends. What a joy to share the Gospel. The psalmist, in Psalm 84, verses 2 through 3, gives beautiful expression to the people of God's love for the temple. How lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord of hosts! My soul yearns and pines for the courts of the Lord. In the Gospel we are about to share, we witness the Son of God's love, intense devotion for His Father's house. To prepare ourselves to encounter Jesus in our Gospel, let's take a moment to quiet our inner selves. If you will, take a deep breath, slowly in and slowly out. Come, Lord Jesus, allow Your Holy Spirit to bring Your Word to life in me. May I hear Your voice, Good Shepherd. The ancient prayer of Lectio Divina invites us, first of all, simply to read a passage from Scripture. By reading we become familiar with the narrative, opening ourselves in this way to the movement of the Holy Spirit carried on the words of the Gospel. On this third Sunday of Lent, we read from John's Gospel, chapter 2, verses 13 through 25. Since the Passover of the Jews was near, Jesus went up to Jerusalem. He found in the temple area those who sold oxen, sheep, and doves, as well as the money changers, seated there. He made a whip out of cords and drove them all out of the temple area with the sheep and oxen, and spilled the coins of the money changers, and overturned their tables. And to those who sold doves He said, Take these out of here, and stop making My Father's house a marketplace. These disciples recalled the words of Scripture, Zeal for Your house will consume Me. At this the Jews answered and said to Him, What sign can You show us for doing this? Jesus answered and said to them, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up. The Jews said, This temple has been under construction for forty-six years, and You will raise it up in three days? But He was speaking about the temple of His body. Therefore when He was raised from the dead, His disciples remembered that He had said this, and they came to believe the Scripture and the word Jesus had spoken. While He was in Jerusalem for the feast of Passover, many began to believe in His name when they saw the signs He was doing. But Jesus would not trust Himself to them, because He knew them all, and did not need anyone to testify about human nature. He Himself knew it well. To begin, let me offer a brief clarification of the significance of the selling of animals and those money changers. People came to the temple to offer sacrifice. That sacrifice of an ox, sheep, or dove needed to meet certain purity standards. To assure this, people bought an already approved animal in the temple itself. To pay their temple tax as well, they needed coins free of images, specifically free from the image of the Roman Emperor, and so were required to exchange their money for temple coinage. All of this, as one can imagine, can easily become disordered, obscuring the heart of worship, much as in our day, when the church emphasizes tithing and the giving of money, this puts people off from God. In this prophetic act of cleansing the temple, Jesus seeks to remove all that stands between us and authentic encounter with God. Let us bring our focus now to the temple. The temple is the dwelling place of God, as we heard in Psalm 84. It is, more concretely, the point of encounter in worship between God and God's people. Note what this says about Jesus and the temple of his body. In his death and resurrection, Jesus himself becomes the living temple, the living point of encounter between God and God's people. Even further, recall St. Paul in 1 Corinthians 16, verse 19, saying to the Christians there, Your bodies are a temple of the Holy Spirit. In Christ, by the Holy Spirit, we become the place of God's dwelling, where he seeks to encounter his people. Let's read now again, for a second time, our Gospel passage. We are reading John, chapter 2, verses 13 through 25. Since the Passover of the Jews was near, Jesus went up to Jerusalem. He found in the temple area those who sold oxen, sheep, and doves, as well as the money changers seated there. He made a whip out of cords and drove them all out of the temple area, with the sheep and oxen, and spilled the coins of the money changers, and overturned their tables. And to those who sold doves he said, Take these out of here, and stop making my Father's house a marketplace. His disciples recalled the words of Scripture, Zeal for your house will consume me. At this the Jews answered and said to him, What sign can you show us for doing this? Jesus answered and said to them, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up. The Jews said, This temple has been under construction for forty-six years, and you will raise it up in three days? But he was speaking about the temple of his body. For when he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this, and they came to believe the Scripture and the word Jesus had spoken. While he was in Jerusalem for the feast of Passover, many began to believe in his name when they saw the signs he was doing. But Jesus would not trust himself to them, because he knew them all, and did not need anyone to testify about human nature. He himself knew it well. We come to the second step of Lectio Divina, which is, after reading, meditation. In meditating we pause to embrace the word, phrase, that movement of the passage that has spoken most powerfully to us. What is speaking to you at this moment? What really stands out for me is Jesus' response to the demand for a sign. He tells those who press in on him that he will indeed provide a sign. Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up. Jesus' zeal for his Father's house will consume him on the cross of Calvary. Once again my heart, my gaze is being directed to the Lenten destiny, Jerusalem, and that place of sacrificial worship fulfilled in Jesus' gift of love for me on the cross. Lord Jesus Christ, by your precious Holy Spirit, set my heart, my longing, my love on your cross, where I might touch the Father in worship, praise, and adoration. Friends please continue to sit with this Gospel passage. As you do, notice what it is saying to you, how it stirs your heart. Talk to Jesus about what his word is doing in you now. Before leaving prayer, intentionally place the word you have received deep in your spirit, where the Lord might bring it growth throughout this week ahead. And friends, it is a joy to share the Gospel with you.