3rd Sunday of Lent (B) purple
3rd week of the psalter.
Texts taken from the “Sulla Tua Parola” Missal for March-April 2021
After the desert and the mountain, Jesus brings us into the temple. He does this to show us the absolute primacy of God. He does this to tell us that the time has come to question ourselves about what is found in our temple, in our hearts. The first reading also helps us with this passage. God's commandments are not meant to be burdens that are more or less onerous; rather, they aim to gladden and encourage us. They are intended to enlighten our eyes, so that they may see the world as it really is. Jesus enters the temple and finds merchants; and when he enters our hearts, what does he find? Does he find in us a house of prayer or a place of confusion? Is God's presence and his Word within us? Is there zeal for observing the commandments? Let us allow Jesus to overturn our stalls so that we may enter into the freedom of love.
FIRST READING
From the Book of Exodus (Ex 20:1-17)
In those days, God spoke all these words: «I am the Lord, your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the place of slavery: You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself an idol or any image of anything that is in heaven above or on earth beneath or in the waters under the earth. You shall not bow down before them or worship them. For I, the Lord, your God, am a jealous God, punishing the guilt of the fathers in their children to the third and fourth generation for those who hate me, but showing steadfast love to the thousandth generation of those who love me and keep my commandments. You shall not invoke the name of the Lord, your God, in vain, for the Lord will not leave unpunished anyone who invokes his name in vain. Remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work; but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord, your God: you shall do no work, neither you nor your son nor your daughter, nor your male or female slave, nor your livestock, nor the foreigner who resides with you. For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth and the sea and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy. Honor 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 kill. You shall not commit adultery. You shall not steal. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. You shall not covet your neighbor's house. You shall not covet your neighbor's wife, or his male or female slave, or his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor». – The word of the Lord.
Commentary on the first reading
«I am the Lord, your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the place of slavery». Whenever we deliberately distance ourselves from the Lord and choose to do evil, we arrive in the «land of Egypt». Has it ever happened to you in the course of your life to find yourself walking through this “country”, alone, disappointed, and enslaved by yourself and your wrong choices? We hit rock bottom, but we can say that there, more than anywhere else, we experience and touch firsthand who our God truly is: he takes care of me, heals my wounds, and leads me with his love, little by little, toward freedom. I then discover that his rules and commands are not a limitation on my freedom, but a valuable help that enables me to keep walking. Let us not reject the goodness that the Lord reserves for those who love him and observe his commandments, otherwise we will condemn ourselves to unhappiness. The great Saint Anthony of the Desert, at the point of death, surrounded affectionately by his disciples, exclaimed through tears: «I was just beginning to love the Lord!»: may this also be true for us.
SECOND READING
From the First Letter of Saint Paul the Apostle to the Corinthians (1 Cor 1:22-25)
Brothers and sisters, while the Jews demand signs and the Greeks seek wisdom, we instead proclaim Christ crucified: a stumbling block to the Jews and foolishness to the 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 human beings, and the weakness of God is stronger than human beings. – The word of the Lord.
Commentary on the second reading
For the Jews, Jesus' death on the cross is a scandal; for the Gentiles, foolishness; for those who are called, it is the power and wisdom of God. And for us? What does Jesus' death on the cross say to us? Let us be honest: his docility in allowing himself first to be led away and then nailed to the cross contrasts sharply with our “combative” spirit. Spitting, humiliation, beatings, physical and moral suffering, all before the “audience”, the enthusiastic and treacherous crowd. And Jesus does not say a word. How great his gift was! As great as the reason why he did it: his immense love for us. The cross cannot be understood unless we first pass through the Garden of Olives, where he surrendered himself without reserve to the Father's will: «Take this cup away from me! Yet not my will, but yours be done». Jesus, you made yourself his will! How much we have to learn! May your mercy come to our aid and guide us to make room in our lives for God's will. Once again, it is not God's suffering alone that saves, but the love with which the Lord lived through it.
GOSPEL OF THE DAY
From the Gospel according to John (Jn 2:13-25)
The Passover of the Jews was near, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. In the temple he found people selling oxen, sheep, and doves, and the money changers seated there. So he made a whip of cords and drove them all out of the temple, along with the sheep and oxen; he scattered the money changers' coins and overturned their tables, and to the sellers of doves he said: «Take these things out of here, and stop making my Father's house a marketplace!». His disciples remembered that it was written: «Zeal for your house will consume me». Then the Jews said to him: «What sign can you show us for doing these things?». Jesus answered them: «Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up». Then the Jews said: «This temple has been under construction for forty-six years, and you will 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 word that Jesus had spoken. While he was in Jerusalem for the Passover feast, many believed in his name because they saw the signs that he was doing. But Jesus would not entrust himself to them, because he knew them all and did not need anyone to testify about human nature. He himself understood what was in everyone. – The Gospel of the Lord.
Commentary on the Gospel of the day
In this Gospel passage we see Jesus in action: he “cleans house” in the temple, and he does so quite energetically. It seems strange to see him act this way, but we like this style! Great Jesus! You too let yourself be consumed by zeal. In you we admire our humanity, putting our heart into things, having the courage to bear witness and go against the tide, and so much more. Following in your footsteps is therefore possible. Your steps are those of a man, and with your help we are able to walk in your footsteps. We want to follow you. Now is the time to see and imitate the zeal that has always animated you: love for the Father and his House. What should we do? Let us begin to clean house within the temple of our hearts as well; let us remove all our “merchandise”, mementos, and encrustations; let us ask Jesus to enter and allow him in, and he will restore the Father's Kingdom within us. Let us welcome him and allow ourselves to be guided. This Gospel may seem almost banal to us (finally Jesus lets loose!) or a reading that scandalizes us (but isn't Jesus pure goodness and gentleness?): Jesus, true God and true man, helps us put God first, all the way to the cross, all the way to the resurrection.
