Third Sunday in Lent – Cycle B
Reflecting on John 2: 13-25
Follow the money. That’s usually the quickest way to get to the bottom of any great sin. Scratch the surface of nearly every war, every oppressive political system, and every “custom” in a culture that puts some on the inside and the rest on the outside, and you guessed it. No matter the official rationale, the real reason is always money.
But is money the root of the evil Jesus tries to expel when he acts out so shockingly in the Temple? Maybe. Some commentaries say that the high priest received a percentage of the profits from the sale of the cattle used in the sacrificial offerings for the Passover celebrations. Jesus’ disruption of that lucrative commerce may well have been the reason why those authorities eventually set out to kill him.
Other commentaries note that this buying and selling was taking place in the outermost section of the Temple where the Gentiles were allowed to pray. Imagine the stench, the cacophony, the squealing of the tens of thousands of animals bought and sold in that space just before Passover. And this is the space assigned to the non-Jews who came to the Temple to pray.
Ugh. Might it be this very rudeness, this lack of openness to people of all backgrounds, which Jesus finds so repulsive?
My favorite explanation is this: Jesus is making a statement about the terrible slaughter of innocent animals in order to appease God’s wrath. I don’t want your sacrifices, said God through the prophet Hosea. I want you to love me (6:6).
I want you to love me, says Jesus to us. That has always been the sole reason for Lent.
How is your Lenten fast drawing you closer in love with Jesus?