Today Jesus does something absolutely unthinkable & incredibly offensive to the people of his time. In context this was equivalent to desecrating St. Peter’s Basilica. This one act probably led directly to his crucifixion – the Romans were very sensitive to any civil unrest, especially at the Temple.
What did Jesus do?
He found in the temple area those who sold oxen, sheep, doves, as well as, money changers. He made a whip of cords and drove them out.
Asked why he did this he would say that his Father’s house is not a market place. The disciples recalled Scripture, Zeal for your house consumes me.
Asked what sign gave him this authority, Jesus responded,
“Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up.”
The disciples recalled that he was speaking about his … body?What does this all mean?
First we must understand what the Temple meant….
The Temple represented the living Covenant relationship between God & Israel. Here humanity walked with God in Eden (the interior was decorated as a garden). The Temple was the center of all life, religious, political, personal, & communal. Here, quite literally, right worship of God created cosmic & personal order. Wrong worship of idols destroyed life itself.
“We become what we worship.”
Worship: money, power, celebrity … & harmony will be destroyed.
These are selfish interests & society itself is destroyed.
Worship: God … & life will be enhanced & the community flourishes.
(Catholicism, Barron, p.21)
Israel had a vocation to lead all people to God, to Eden, to Life. It failed because of injustice (Biblically stated, to the orphan, the widow, & the stranger among you). Injustice, the lack of compassion, stirred God’s anger. God’s anger in based on God’s jealousy! …oh yes ... God cares.
For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God. Ex 20:5
Jealousy, in our terms, is a powerful passion. God is “jealous” because the Creator loves creation, loves us, wants only what is best for us, & allows us to be the divine hands of that life giving love. Neglect of social justice, of caring & concern, hurts the most vulnerable. And God becomes angry….
God is the Messiah, the champion of the people.
Now, Jesus acts as the very person of God in the Temple incident. Oddly, he declares that his own body is the new holy ground of the Temple. How foolish the gospel is: this Messiah will be crucified! Yet, this Messiah is, as Paul tells us, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. How?2 A cross is a different expression of power. Power is not about domination, coercion, & control … that thrives on rivalry & competitiveness. God’s decisive entry into our world comes through the ordinary, in humiliation & scandal, a suffering, crucified Messiah. He will even love/save his enemies!
If you understand this, you understand the gospel:
Love not Hate, Mercy not Vengeance, Peace not War, Life not Death.
We proclaim Christ crucified. (1Cor 1:23)
The Temple is the presence of God. The Temple tells us how to live & grow together. Now, Jesus is the Temple. The Risen Christ is the ultimate countersign in a world … where death is imagined … as the end.
Jesus is the new visible presence of God in the world, in us.
This crucified Christ, Jesus, rose vindicated from the dead.
It seems like weakness & foolishness … this power & wisdom of God. And, yet, it defeats all evil & death. If we follow this ‘wisdom’ we will be called stupid or weak, because we will perceived as giving in, when we are being open & flexible. We are thought of as fools to forgive. We are weak when we sacrifice for others. We are crazy for giving our time, treasure or talent to serve others in need …. Still, Zeal for your house consumes me.
And, this is how a human body becomes a Temple of the Most High.
Human weakness & foolishness are transformed
… into divine wisdom & power.
And a cross becomes a throne ….
It has been said that long ago… two brothers lived near each other, one happily married with children & the other also happy and single. They were farmers & each thought, “my brother needs so much more than I”. Secretly, they planned to fill each others barns after the harvest. For the next two nights, they carried bundles of wheat to each others barns. Arising each day they were amazed at their still full barns! How could this be?
On the third night, carrying as many bundles of wheat as they could, they met each other face to face on top of the hill between their farms. Realizing what had happened, they embraced & returned home.
When God saw how much the brothers loved each other, God decided that here is where Solomon would build the Holy House of God, the Temple.
Jewish Legend, unk (Beit HaMikdash, the Holy Temple)
Only unconditional Love fulfills the Covenant.
At this Liturgy of God’s divine power & wisdom, let us learn that sacrificial love, caring for our world is the expression of right worship, is the living of real life … even if it is a little foolish!