Third Sunday of Lent
Lectionary: 29
Reading I
Exodus 20:1-17
In those days, God delivered all these commandments:
“I, the LORD, am your God,
who brought you out of the land of Egypt, that place of slavery.
You shall not have other gods besides me.
You shall not carve idols for yourselves
in the shape of anything in the sky above
or on the earth below or in the waters beneath the earth;
you shall not bow down before them or worship them.
For I, the LORD, your God, am a jealous God,
inflicting punishment for their fathers’ wickedness
on the children of those who hate me,
down to the third and fourth generation;
but bestowing mercy down to the thousandth generation
on the children of those who love me and keep my commandments.
“You shall not take the name of the LORD, your God, in vain.
For the LORD will not leave unpunished
the one who takes his name in vain.
“Remember to keep holy the sabbath day.
Six days you may labor and do all your work,
but the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD, your God.
No work may be done then either by you, or your son or daughter,
or your male or female slave, or your beast,
or by the alien who lives with you.
In six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth,
the sea and all that is in them;
but on the seventh day he rested.
That is why the LORD has blessed the sabbath day and made it holy.
“Honor your father and your mother,
that you may have a long life in the land
which 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,
nor his male or female slave, nor his ox or ass,
nor anything else that belongs to him.”
OR:
Exodus 20:1-3, 7-8, 12-17
In those days, God delivered all these commandments:
“I, the LORD am your God,
who brought you out of the land of Egypt, that place of slavery.
You shall not have other gods besides me.
“You shall not take the name of the LORD, your God, in vain.
For the LORD will not leave unpunished
the one who takes his name in vain.
“Remember to keep holy the sabbath day.
Honor your father and your mother,
that you may have a long life in the land
which 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,
nor his male or female slave, nor his ox or ass,
nor anything else that belongs to him.”
Responsorial Psalm
19:8, 9, 10, 11
R. (John 6:68c) Lord, you have the words of everlasting life.
The law of the LORD is perfect,
refreshing the soul;
The decree of the LORD is trustworthy,
giving wisdom to the simple.
R. Lord, you have the words of everlasting life.
The precepts of the LORD are right,
rejoicing the heart;
the command of the LORD is clear,
enlightening the eye.
R. Lord, you have the words of everlasting life.
The fear of the LORD is pure,
enduring forever;
the ordinances of the LORD are true,
all of them just.
R. Lord, you have the words of everlasting life.
They are more precious than gold,
than a heap of purest gold;
sweeter also than syrup
or honey from the comb.
R. Lord, you have the words of everlasting life.
Reading II
1 Corinthians 1:22-25
Brothers and sisters:
Jews demand signs and Greeks look for wisdom,
but we proclaim Christ crucified,
a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles,
but to those who are called, Jews and Greeks alike,
Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.
For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom,
and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength.
Verse Before the Gospel
John 3:16
God so loved the world that he gave his only Son,
so that everyone who believes in him might have eternal life.
Gospel
John 2:13-25
Since the Passover of the Jews was near,
Jesus went up to Jerusalem.
He found in the temple area those who sold oxen, sheep, and doves,
as well as the money changers seated there.
He made a whip out of cords
and drove them all out of the temple area, with the sheep and oxen,
and spilled the coins of the money changers
and overturned their tables,
and to those who sold doves he said,
“Take these out of here,
and stop making my Father’s house a marketplace.”
His disciples recalled the words of Scripture,
Zeal for your house will consume me.
At this the Jews answered and said to him,
“What sign can you show us for doing this?”
Jesus answered and said to them,
“Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up.”
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 about the temple of his body.
Therefore, when he was raised from the dead,
his disciples remembered that he had said this,
and they came to believe the Scripture
and the word Jesus had spoken.
While he was in Jerusalem for the feast of Passover,
many began to believe in his name
when they saw the signs he was doing.
But Jesus would not trust himself to them because he knew them all,
and did not need anyone to testify about human nature.
He himself understood it well.
Reflection 1
Catholic Daily Reflections
A Dual Cleansing
He made a whip out of cords and drove them all out of the temple area, with the sheep and oxen, and spilled the coins of the money-changers and overturned their tables, and to those who sold doves he said, “Take these out of here, and stop making my Father’s house a marketplace.” John 2:15–16
All four Gospels speak of Jesus’ cleansing of the Temple. However, there is a difference between the way this event is portrayed in the Synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark and Luke) and in the way it is portrayed in John’s Gospel. John’s Gospel places this event at the very beginning of Jesus’ public ministry during the first of His three annual trips to Jerusalem for the Passover. This was His first attempt at cleansing the Temple. Jesus was also less severe in John’s version of the story, stating only that the moneychangers had turned His Father’s House into a “marketplace.” In the three Synoptic Gospels, this event takes place at the very end of Jesus’ public ministry, less than a week before Jesus’ death when He returned to Jerusalem for the last time. In those versions, Jesus was more severe, stating that the moneychangers had turned His Father’s House into a “den of thieves” and not just a “marketplace.” In commenting upon the differences between John’s version and the Synoptics, Saint Augustine and Saint Thomas Aquinas believe that they are two different occasions when a similar act of cleansing of the Temple took place.
The Jewish Temple, at the time of Jesus’ public ministry, was the place people traveled to each year for Passover to offer the sacrifice of a spotless lamb in commemoration of the first Passover in Egypt when God set the Jews free from slavery. During this annual celebration, Jewish families who traveled to Jerusalem would purchase a lamb for sacrifice. At the appointed time, they slaughtered the animal in the courtyard of the Temple and then presented it to the priest who gathered some of the blood and sprinkled it on the altar, and then removed the skin, organs and fat to be burned in sacrifice. The meat was returned to the family and roasted on a pomegranate branch so that they could feast on it as they recalled the saving action God granted their ancestors in Egypt.
Today, we see the Jewish Temple as a symbol and prefiguration of Christ, the New Temple Who is also the priest and the Lamb of Sacrifice. Recall, also, that at Jesus’ death, the veil of the Temple was torn in two, opening it up to the whole world so that all may share in the Sacrifice of the Lamb of God. We are now invited into this Holy of Holies to share in the new life of grace accomplished by His Sacrifice. Since the grace of this Sacrifice of our Lord enters into each and every heart that believes, to cleanse and purify, then every person receiving this grace becomes a new dwelling place of God, a member of His new Temple, the Body of Christ.
When Jesus came to the Passover feast and witnessed the buying and selling of these animals in the Temple, He drove them out with much zeal. It was clear that this holy celebration of the Passover had become less of a celebration of faith and more of a marketplace for profit. Jesus’ action is also a symbol of the zeal with which He now seeks to cleanse the temple of your soul. At first, when sin and disorder pervade our souls, our Lord may take the approach of a gentle rebuke, as He did in His first cleansing of the Temple in John’s Gospel. If we persist in our sins, then our Lord will become more zealous in His cleansing as He was in His final attempt to cleanse the Temple the week before He died.
Reflect, today, upon this twofold cleansing of the Temple in Jerusalem by our Lord and apply Jesus’ sacred actions today to your own soul. Are there new sins that you have fallen into recently that require a gentle rebuke from our Lord? Are there sins that Jesus has been revealing to you for years now that you obstinately persist in? Allow Him to rebuke you in love and to cleanse you so that His saving Sacrifice as the Lamb of God will indeed purify you, and allow His judgment and wrath to “passover” you this Lent.
Reflection 2
One Bread, One Body
SPRING CLEANING
“He made a [kind of] whip of cords and drove sheep and oxen alike out of the temple area, and knocked over the money-changers’ tables, spilling their coins.” —John 2:15
This Lent, Jesus will cleanse the temples of our lives to whatever degree we let Him. Many people want Jesus to just dust them a little or simply brush over them with a damp rag. Very few want Jesus to get out the vacuum cleaner and get down to some serious spring cleaning. Fewer still want Jesus to get out a whip of cords, knock over those things in their lives that are not His will, and drive them out. Why don’t we trust Jesus enough to let Him really clean house?
If you are willing to have the Lord do spring cleaning on you:
1) Go to Confession at least twice this Lent.
2) Ask the Holy Spirit to take you to the cross and convict you of sin (Jn 16:8).
3) By God’s grace, decide to forgive everyone and apologize to those you have delayed in forgiving.
4) Ask the Lord to forgive your unknown faults and to heal your subconscious mind (Ps 19:13).
5) Ask others to lay hands on you and pray for healing of your mind, body, and spirit.
6) Ask the Lord to purify you through a fast of several days.
7) Thank the Lord for cleansing you as if you were a newly baptized baby (see 2 Kgs 5:14).
Prayer: Lord, “thoroughly wash me from my guilt and of my sin cleanse me” (Ps 51:4).
Promise: “We preach Christ crucified...the Power of God and the Wisdom of God.” —1 Cor 1:23-24
Praise: Praise You, risen Lord Jesus! You defeated Satan in the desert and on the cross. Praise You, victorious Lamb of God!
Reflection 3
Shared from God's Word
Soon after he began his ministry in Cana of Galilee, Jesus came to Jerusalem for the Passover. A pilgrimage to the temple was supposed to be a sacred experience. The Passover itself was a celebration of liberation. That sacredness was destroyed by the atmosphere that prevailed in the temple: buying, selling and currency exchange! Instead of establishing a relationship with God, the place turned out to be a commercial centre dealing with money. He shows uncharacteristic anger, an unexpected outburst and “cleans” up the Temple by turning the tables over and chasing the animals away. Lent is a time to clean up the “Temple” of our body. Our life gets cluttered in ways we never planned. There may be merchants and moneychangers that need to be driven out of the Temple of our lives. This could be a time to address the imperfections that may have grown into major areas of neglect.
Prayers
My cleansing Lord, You cleansed the Temple of Jerusalem not once, but twice. Your zeal for its purity of worship was clear. Please come and make my soul Your dwelling place today and cleanse me of all sin. Please help me to especially see any ways that I have remained obstinate in my sin, and please cleanse those sins with much vigor. Jesus, I trust in You.
Lord Jesus Christ, you open wide the door of your Father's house and you bid us to enter confidently that we may worship in spirit and truth. Help me to draw near to your throne of mercy with gratitude and joy.
Daily Reflections on Divine Mercy
Reflection 63: How do You Speak to Others?
When speaking to others, the love and Mercy of God must flow from our lips. But how? What should our speech look like? One way to examine our speech to others is to look at it in the light of how we should speak to God. When speaking to God we should speak with honesty, simplicity, humility and confidence. Think of a sincere child praying to God. This pure soul exudes these qualities well. So should we. And if we speak to God with these qualities, they will also be a good guide in our speech to others (See Diary #215).
Reflect upon the people and conversations that you have. Do you speak from pride or sarcasm? Do you struggle with gossip or? Think about what your speech would look like if it were honest, simple, humble and confident in God’s grace. Joy will be present in each conversation guided by these virtues.
Lord, help me to speak with a merciful and kind heart. Help me to guard my tongue against malice and harshness. Forgive me for my past indiscretions and help me to be a mouthpiece of Your generous and merciful Heart to others. Jesus, I trust in You.
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