Why Jesus inspires us to do right and act justly
March 3—Third Sunday of Lent
Readings: Exodus 20: 1-17, Psalm 19, R. Lord, you have the words of everlasting life.; 1 Corinthian 1:22-25; Gospel—John 2:13-25The Cleansing of the Temple is a very memorable episode in the Gospels. This year we read this narrative from the Gospel of John. One interesting prenote, “trivia,” is how the episode is placed in John’s Gospel at the start, chapter 2, while the Synoptic Gospels place it toward the end, after the entry into Jerusalem.
There are three points for our consideration. One, how the cleansing was an exercise of Jesus’ prophetic office. Two, how it denounced corruption and injustice. Three, how it established Jesus’ authority.
When we were baptized, we were anointed to share in the priestly, kingly and prophetic office of Jesus. Here we witness a very dramatic prophetic act of Jesus as He cleansed the temple.
The prophetic voice always challenges the status quo, particularly when it is a distortion of what the truth or authentic reality should be. It calls people to conversion whenever they stray from the path.
We know that during the time of Jesus, the prophetic voice was silent for 400 or 500 years. So, by the time John the Baptist and then Jesus came, there were so many distortions of the idea and practice of religion, in this case, a distortion of worship.
Jesus called them out and cleansed the temple, which the religious authorities allowed to be turned into a marketplace.
Denunciation of corruption
But there was so much more that got Jesus so angry than the temple becoming a marketplace. His prophetic action was also a denunciation of the corruption in the temple.
The money changers and the vendors who sold animals for the temple sacrifice made a killing with the undue advantage of being inside the temple. With this they enjoyed a captured market.
All animals were to be bought inside the temple, and those bought outside were disapproved by the temple priests, so the people had to buy for within.
The money changers also made a killing by paying people who came from the different parts of the world lower than the exchange rate for the local currency.
All of these were happening under the noses of the temple officials. Why so? Because they received a cut from the earnings of the vendors and money changers. This was the corruption.
Worse than the corruption was the resulting injustice inflicted on the poor. Majority of those who journeyed to Jerusalem were poor people, so a sacrifice equivalent, by some estimates, to 200 days’ wages was a scandal.
This, I believe, was the greatest reason for Jesus’ anger. His action denounced this injustice, a very powerful inspiration for us who struggle to do right and act justly.
The final point for reflection is how the cleansing established Jesus’ authority. His action not only reestablished the rightful practice in the temple of what is essential to religion, but it also reminded us of the essence of religion and worship.
His prophetic action was so inspiring that it triggered so much more than the cleansing. The people were spellbound, astonished, amazed by His action. It was life-giving.
This was how Jesus established His authority, always gracious and life-giving.
With this one powerful action, we saw the many distinct aspects of our witness to faith. May our reflections help renew our prophetic voice which out world so badly needs now. —CONTRIBUTED INQ
