Gospel: John 2:13-25
The Jewish Passover was approaching, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. In the Temple, he found sellers of oxen, sheep, and doves, and money changers sitting at their tables. Making a whip from ropes, he drove all of them, along with the sheep and oxen, out of the Temple. He scattered the money of the money changers and overturned their tables. To those selling doves, he said, “Take these things away from 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 to justify doing this?” Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” The Jews replied, "It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and will you raise it up in three days?" But he was speaking of the temple of his body. When he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this, and they believed the Scripture and the words that Jesus had spoken. While he was in Jerusalem during the Passover festival, many believed in his name when they saw the signs he performed. But Jesus did not entrust himself to them, because he knew all people and did not need testimony from anyone. For he knew what was in every person.
Fruit: Reflect on the new temple, Mystical Body of Christ.
Guidelines for reflection
Today we face a Jesus who does not speak soft words, nor does he heal the sick. It is a facet of our Lord that humanly clashes with what we are accustomed to seeing from Him. But we must understand well the reasons he had for doing all this.
Christ, harmony in the extremes
At times, artists, especially from the Renaissance onward, have painted Jesus Christ as very gentle. If we look at icons from the early centuries of the Church, we see a more austere and self-assured Christ. It is difficult to represent Christ faithfully, as in Him lies the harmony of extremes: He is tender and compassionate with children, sinners, and the sick, and energetic and forceful with hypocrites, scribes, and Pharisees. Today's Gospel speaks to us of an energetic Christ, who knows exactly what He wants to do and does it without hesitation. That is why He cleansed the Temple.
2. A more universal vision of worship
Christ feels jealousy for His Father's rights. God has the right to be glorified and worshiped in a proper way and not be manipulated by petty interests. For the religious authorities of the time, worship in the Temple was a big business. What bothered Jesus most was the discrimination against the so-called Gentiles: they were so despised that not even their coins could be accepted in the Temple, and that's why there were money changers' tables there to exchange them for Temple coins. Christ overturned those tables. God has the right to be loved by all people of all times and places. Christ shows us a more universal vision of worship, something more mystical; He loves with the heart of God, which has no limits.
3. The New Temple
Christ fights for God's rights, but also for those of men. He wants God to be worshiped with authentic worship, but also that all men have the possibility to offer this worship to God. What happened that day in Jerusalem has very great consequences. Christ said: Destroy this temple (which was his body) and in three days I will rebuild it (referring to his resurrection). The new temple of God is Christ: outside of Him there is no true worship of God. For this reason, the members of the mystical Body of Christ offer this worship through the fulfillment of Christ's law, which is love and participation in the sacraments. All men are invited to belong to this mystical Body of Christ.
Purpose: Review how my worship of God is, to see if it is animated by true love for Him or if it is something very mechanical, superficial, and meaningless.
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You may be interested in: The worship that Christians are called to give.
