March 11th 2012: Sunday Gospel Reflection

John 2:13-25

When someone is faced with a tough/trying decision people often ask: ‘WWJD: What would Jesus do?’--be kind, loving, gentle, give the benefit of the doubt, etc. Yet in today’s Gospel we hear a very different and shocking story of Jesus overturning tables of merchandise, making a chord our of whips to drive people out of the Temple, and firmly commanding people to stop trying to turn the Temple, a place of prayer and the house of God, into a marketplace or mall. Why does Jesus do this? Is He getting angry? Is this a sin? No.

Sometimes doing what is right and just requires us to take a stand and turn away from or overthrow bad habits or structures. Jesus is restoring God’s house to a house of prayer by clearing out the junk that gets in the way between people and God; this is the story of Lent, to take a stand in our own lives.

Jesus took a stand by clearing out the people who had come to the Temple simply to make a profit by selling items for the Temple sacrifices. They forgot the whole point of the sacrifice and were just there to make money or to be seen. Sometimes we too have the wrong motives in our relationship with God or a faith community that get in the way of us actually drawing closer to God. During Lent we have the opportunity to more intentionally clear out bad habits, addictions, or things we cling to more than we should (technology, food, drink, etc.) and do something extra to help us intentionally draw closer to God and to those in need. These actions of fasting, praying and giving more remind us of who God made us to be and how we are meant to live.

After clearing out the Temple Jesus promises the people that if the Temple is destroyed He will rebuild it in three days, an impossible task for a huge building that they had been working on for over 40 years! Yet Jesus was not talking about the physical Temple, but of the Temple of His body. What the people did not understand yet is that worshiping God is not limited to making sacrifices in the physical structure of the Temple. Jesus Himself is the Temple of the Lord. Instead of going to the Temple to make sacrifices Jesus sacrifices Himself for us once and for all. We are called to walk with Jesus in our own lives and to allow Him to take our sin and brokenness from us so that He may overcome it in us with His grace. This requires us to take a stand for ourselves and to clear out the junk that gets in the way between us and God through our fasting, prayer, and giving to those in need.

Questions for Reflection and Discussion

-What commitments have you made during Lent to Fast. Pray. And Give?

-How have you been doing in your commitments to clear a space for God in your life?

-What have you done well so far this Lent? What needs work or is still missing?

-What do you need in order to be successful in the coming week? How can family or friends support you?




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