Sacred Space

3rd Sunday of Lent  04 March 2018

First reading: Exodus 20:1-17 Then God spoke all these words: I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery; you shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself an idol, whether in the form of anything that is in heaven above, or that is on the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, punishing children for the iniquity of parents, to the third and the fourth generation of those who reject me, but showing steadfast love to the thousandth generation of those who love me and keep my commandments. You shall not make wrongful use of the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not acquit anyone who misuses his name. Remember the Sabbath day, and keep it holy. Six days you shall labour and do all your work. But the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God; you shall not do any work – you, your son or your daughter, your male or female slave, your livestock, or the alien resident in your towns. For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but rested the seventh day; therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and consecrated it. Honour your father and your mother, so that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you. You shall not murder. You shall not commit adultery. You shall not steal. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbour. You shall not covet your neighbour’s house; you shall not covet your neighbour’s wife, or male or female slave, or ox, or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbour.    Second reading:  1 Corinthians 22-25 For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men. Gospel: John 2:13-25 The Passover of the Jews was near, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. In the temple he found people selling cattle, sheep, and doves, and the money changers seated at their tables. 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. He told those who were selling the doves, “Take these things out of here! Stop making my Father’s house a marketplace!” His disciples remembered that it was written, “Zeal for your house will consume me.” The Jews then said to him, “What sign can you show us for doing this?” Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” The Jews then said, “This temple has been under construction for forty-six Years, and will you raise it up in three days?” But he was speaking of the temple of his body. 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. When he was in Jerusalem during the Passover festival, many believed in his name because they saw the signs that he was doing. But Jesus on his part would not entrust himself to them, because he knew all people and needed no one to testify about anyone; for he himself knew what was in everyone.

Reflection
by Theresa Ballo

I remember when I attended a seminar entitled Finding Your One True Love, the speaker mentioned that one important aspect of getting to know a potential boyfriend is to see him really angry. In this you will get to validate the authenticity of the kindness he shows you in the dating process. I have also seen a lot of calm and kind people transforming into “Incredible Hulk”, people who suddenly “got lost” and lashed out to emphasize a point and make other people agree or make amends to him/her. More so, I have been hurt by my 3 year old niece when she got really mad and accused me of being a terrible person just because I didn’t allow her to play outside at noon time. I think being angry is my least used emotions among others that could also be the reason why it is also a challenge for me to deal with angry people. 

I would be very anxious as I imagine myself being in the temple looking at Jesus so infuriated, turning tables of money, making a whip from ropes and driving animals out of the temple.  The problem was that greed, dishonesty, and extortion have taken over the temple. The merchants overlooked the sacred nature of the temple and have lost sight of the true purpose of sacrifices. Undoubtedly, Jesus was proclaiming that He was the Son of God, the Messiah. He had the authority and right to do what He did. The disciples saw that Jesus felt strongly about the house of God. He emphasized that a sacred place deserves to be treated with full reverence.  

Secondly, it was not wrong for the merchandisers to sell animals and doves. Nor was it wrong to change money. However, it was wrong to do it with greed and dishonesty. They make people believe that through the offering of the animals they can please God. We must be cautious about our motivation. We must put God first in all our motivation not for our own good and not for profit. 

Today may be a day to ask ourselves: What happens to me when I am angry? Do I get angry for the right reasons? What do I do when being mad subside? May we be like Jesus who out rightly asserted wrongdoings. May we take courage to go against abortion, extra-judicial killings and divorce. Moreover, what and where are our sacred places? What are the places that are sacred to us? Where do you commune with God in prayer? It might be your local parish church, a forest, the mountains, the beach or simply a swing in your backyard or a special bench in your house. We all need sacred places in our lives. Places where our only motivation is to experience and open ourselves to God’s presence in beauty, in silence, in peace – be that in nature, that small quiet corner in your house or in church. These sacred places and spaces help to ground us in God. Thus, we may experience God’s presence in that place more intensely and more concretely. That sacred place as well as sacred activity (such as simply sitting quietly in a chair, gazing in nature, etc.) also may help us open ourselves more intimate to God’s presence, word and grace. 


This third Sunday of Lent I am inviting you to deliberately sit quietly with God for 5, 10, or 30 minutes. We may receive many gifts and serenity as we quietly and peacefully simply sit with God. He longs for us and God is waiting for us. 

Prayer

Father, thank You for an example of Jesus' moral outrage and cleansing of the temple. Help us to stand strong against wrong acts. May You cleanse the temples of our hearts, no matter how much we might be offended and upset, so that our hearts might be holy places that welcome You. In Jesus' name, we pray. Amen.