At first glance, it can be hard to make any connections between our readings for this weekend. Our First Reading gives us the Ten Commandments. St. Paul reminds us that Christ’s crucifixion is our hope, even if it is seen as foolishness or a stumbling block. Our Gospel shows us Jesus cleansing the temple, and driving out all of the money changers and those who were selling animals to pilgrims. What are these scripture passages trying to teach us on this Third Sunday of Lent?
According to Fr. Larry Gillick, SJ, a Jesuit Priest who works at Creighton University, the key to linking these readings together comes in understanding the first line of today’s First Reading. When God proclaims that he is the God who saved Israel from slavery in Egypt, he is, in essence, telling the Israelites that they have been saved because of God’s love for them. The Commandments, then, become the way for us to respond to the love that we have received from God. By living the commandments, we grow closer to God, and we allow his saving love to be at work in our lives.
It is important to recognize that no one is able to perfectly keep God’s commandments. We are only human, and we can all say that we have fallen short of keeping the commandments in one way or another. The question is: how do we respond when we fall short? Do we recognize that God still loves us, and allow Him to pick us up, and continue to lead us to experience his love? Or do we give into the false belief that we are “not holy enough”, and we have to work harder to be worthy of God’s love? This belief is incredibly dangerous, because it can lead to despair, especially when we realize that we will never be “perfect” enough according to our own self-imposed standards. Yes, they are our standards, and not God’s!
This is where the story of Jesus cleansing the temple takes on new meaning. The cleansing represents a “stripping away” of all of the things that we think will help us grow closer to God, in order to truly return to the One who is our justification: our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. This week gives us a wonderful opportunity to reflect, and ask ourselves: what areas of my life need to be cleansed, so that God’s love can reach into them?
As we continue to Journey through Lent, I ask you to please keep the members of our RCIA program in your prayers, as they complete their final preparations for the reception of the Sacraments at Easter. May this be for them a time of deep Spiritual growth.
Sincerely in Christ,
Fr. Steven Huber, CSB