John 2:13-22
13 The Passover of the Jews was near, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. 14In the temple he found people selling cattle, sheep, and doves, and the money changers seated at their tables. 15 Making a whip of cords, he drove all of them out of the temple, both the sheep and the cattle. He also poured out the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables. 16 He told those who were selling the doves, “Take these things out of here! Stop making my Father’s house a marketplace!” 17 His disciples remembered that it was written, “Zeal for your house will consume me.”
18 The Jews then said to him, “What sign can you show us for doing this?” 19 Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” 20 The Jews then said, “This temple has been under construction for forty-six years, and will you raise it up in three days?” 21 But he was speaking of the temple of his body. 22 After he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this; and they believed the scripture and the word that Jesus had spoken.
God's Temple
We are used to seeing the gentle and kind Jesus. We hear His words of love, wisdom and mercy in His teaching, preaching and healings. What happened to make Him so angry that He uses whips, expels animals and birds, overturns tables, and rebukes the leaders in the Temple?
The Temple represented the focal point and center of Israel. It was the dwelling house of God among His people, and the ultimate spiritual, cultural, devotional and national symbol.
Model of the Second Temple at the Israel museum in Jerusalem.
Three times a year pilgrims had to visit this Temple, where offerings and sacrifices were received. Offerings included lambs, goats, calves, birds, fruit, oil, coins, and different field products. Pilgrims coming from distant areas preferred to buy their sacrifices or offerings from a market close to the Temple. The Temple area became the best place to provide pilgrims with their needs.
Selling and buying transformed the Temple esplanade into a commercial area. Prices became exorbitant for the poor and the strangers coming from abroad. Due to that fact, the spiritual atmosphere deteriorated. It lost the intervention of the spiritual authority and respect for the sanctity of the place.
This is why Jesus, out of reverence for the Temple, said to them "Stop making my Father's house a marketplace" (V. 16). The sacred establishment was turned into a commercial market.
Then Jesus spoke about His body as the New Temple. This is where we are invited to concentrate in this season of Lent. We have been made the Temple of the Holy Spirit thanks to our Baptism. "Do you not know that your body is a holy temple of the Holy Spirit?" 1 Corinthians 6:19.
Today's Gospel invites us to think about how we honor this temple. Is our body consecrated by our baptism to witness to God's presence in all we do and live?
Jesus respected the handmade temple where the faithful worshipped God, knowing that no place on earth can contain His Glorious presence (Isaiah 66:1). Jesus also respects the indwelling of the Holy Spirit within us. He cares for keeping it clean, clear of sins and active in our daily life.
Again, a time of fasting is more than a time of abstaining from food and beverage together with generous contributions to Charity. It is the appropriate time to be reminded of our Christian identity, which is granted to us by the gift of the Holy Spirit. He makes us temples and provides us with necessary energy to work hand in hand with our present and Loving God today.
May we take some time to think about and to pray for the faithful all over the globe to be the temple Jesus wants us to be. Lord, grant us to respect your Holy Spirit within us, who leads us to love with your heart, to see with your eyes, and to perform all our acts in your presence and according to your will. May our witness be the light that illuminates everyone and everything around us!