Third Sunday of Lent in Year B

Destroy this sanctuary, and in three days I will raise it up

Jesus drove the merchants out of the Temple

# The Second Temple in Jerusalem is a temple rebuilt on the foundations of the First Temple, known as Solomon’s Temple, which was destroyed and looted during the siege of Jerusalem in 586 BC. Construction of the Second Temple began after the Jews’ captivity in Babylon, during the Persian period under the governor Zerubbabel. In 538 BC, Zerubbabel began building the Jerusalem Temple. The Temple of Zerubbabel was completed in 417 BC under Darius II. It was then extensively rebuilt and enlarged under Herod I from 20 BC.

Because of the massive expansion of Herod’s place of worship, it is sometimes called the Temple of Herod. The Second Temple became the cultural and spiritual centre of Judaism and the site of the ritual sacrifices, the korbanot, until its destruction by the Romans in 70 AD at the end of the First Jewish-Roman War. According to Jewish tradition, both temples were destroyed on the same day, the 9th of Av according to the Jewish calendar. The retaining wall of the temple façade has been preserved: The  » Wailing Wall  » is a fragment of it. The essential elements described in the first temple could not be replaced.

# The cleansing of the Temple narrative tells of Jesus expelling the merchants and the money changers from the Temple, and occurs in all four canonical gospels of the New Testament. The scene is a common motif in Christian art. In this account, Jesus and his disciples travel to Jerusalem for Passover, where Jesus expels the merchants and consumers from the Temple, accusing them of turning the Temple into « a den of thieves » (in the Synoptic Gospels) and « a house of trade » (in Gospel of John) through their commercial activities.

The narrative occurs near the end of the Synoptic Gospels (at Matthew 21:12–17, Mark 11:15–19, and Luke 19:45–48) and near the start in the Gospel of John (at John 2:13–16). Some scholars believe that these refer to two separate incidents, given that the Gospel of John also includes more than one Passover. According to the apocryphal Narrative of Joseph of Arimathea, Demas, one of the two robbers who were crucified with Christ, stole the ‘secret deposit’ of Solomon from the Holy of Holies, an act which Judas blamed on Christ : He made attacks upon the rich, but was good to the poor…And he set his hand to robbing the multitude of the Jews, and stole the law itself in Jerusalem, …

From the Gospel of Jesus Christ, according to St. John

When the Jewish Passover was approaching, Jesus went to Jerusalem. In the temple he found traders of cattle, sheep and doves, as well as traders of money. He made a whip with cords and drove them all out of the temple, along with the sheep and oxen, and threw the money-changers to the ground, overturning their counters, and said to the traders in doves,  » Take this away.

Do not make my father’s house a house of commerce.   » His disciples remembered that it is written :  » The love of your house will be my torment.  » Some of the Jews asked him :  » What sign can you give us for this ? Jesus answered them :  » Destroy this sanctuary, and in three days I will raise it up. « 

The Jews replied : « It took forty-six years to build this sanctuary, and you will build it in three days !  » But he spoke of the sanctuary of his body.  » When He rose from the dead, the disciples remembered that He had said this, and they believed the Scriptures and the word spoken by Jesus.

When He was in Jerusalem for the Passover, many believed in His name because they had seen His signs. But Jesus did not trust them, for He knew them all and did not need the testimony of men, for He Himself knew what was in man. (John 2, 13-25)

God gives himself freely !

 After Jesus had performed his first miracle at Cana in Galilee, he went to Jerusalem and entered the temple to pray and proclaim the good news he had come to bring to earth. But how amazed he was when he saw that the temple of God, his temple, was filled with merchants and traders of all kinds !

God in the person of Jesus comes to his house, and what does he find there ? Are the people praying ? Are the Levites doing their duty ? No, they are not !  But many merchants, smugglers, people who seem to care about only one thing : collecting money for their life on earth, instead of praying for the Father to receive them into his dwelling place in heaven ! We would say that the world is turned upside down !

He made a whip with ropes and drove them all out of the temple, along with their sheep and oxen ; he threw the money of the moneychangers on the ground, overturned their notes and said to the dove merchants :  » Take them away. Do not make my Father’s house a house of cork.  « (John 2, 15-16).

It would be an avoidable mistake to think that Jesus, by driving the merchants out of the temple, shows a cruel contempt for commerce and merchants. Christ’s resolution (he had to find the ropes, make the whip, which takes time) means something quite different : it is the whole temple cult, the whole religion, that has become a trade, a negotiation, a story of  » giving, giving « . And this is what Jesus is fighting against violence.

People came to the temple to offer sacrifices. The rich, for example, offered an ox, a bullock; the less well-off offered a lamb, and the poor offered a few doves. But these sacrifices were gestures of self-interest: some gave in order to receive. Some hoped that through this sacrifice they would receive God’s help in this or that area, for health or for some other request.

Are we any further than that ? I am not so sure ! In fact, we often think that we have to earn something and that God does not give anything for free! Jesus came to reveal something essential to us: God gives freely. He even gives for free, without any merit on our part. We must move from a religion of « give, give » to a religion of welcoming grace, welcoming the free gift of God.

The great certainty of the whole Bible is that God wants man to be happy and He gives him the means to do so, a very simple means : it is enough to heed the Word of God written in the Law and to live by it (First Reading). The path is marked, the commandments are like signs along the way to warn our eyes of possible dangers :  » The commandment of the Lord is clear, it makes us clear  » (Psalm 18). (Psalm 18).

Faith lives in relationship with God, for the resurrection, finally where two or three are gathered in the name of Christ, we rediscover that we cannot control, negotiate or buy the things that make our lives meaningful. Our faith must live in surrender and total trust in God.

Deacon Michel Houyoux

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◊ Missionary society of st Paul : click here to read the paper → Sunday Reflection: 3rd Sunday in Lent -yeae B

◊  BY: Fr. Mike Lagrimas : click here to read the paper → Third Sunday in Lent – Year B

♥   Father Valan Arockiaswamy

Third Sunday in Lent – Year B

# For this festival, there were about 300,000 to 400,000 pilgrims. Jesus visited the Temple of Jerusalem, where the courtyard was filled with cattle and tables of money-changers, who changed the standard Greek and Roman money into Jewish and Tyrian money, being the only two currencies accepted inside the Temple, allowing the purchase of sacrificial animals. The New Testament tells of an action of Jesus chasing away the merchants and money-changers who operated within the Temple precincts of Jerusalem. Jesus and his disciples had arrived in Jerusalem for the Passover.

xJesus accused the merchants of turning the Temple into a den of thieves. In the Gospel according to John, Jesus referred to the Temple as the house of my Father and thus presented himself as the Son of God. In the Abrahamic religions, the faithful refer to God the Father. The Gospel according to John presents the only case in which Jesus used physical force against men. The account appears towards the end of the synoptic gospels (Mark 11, 15-19, Matthew 21, 12-17 and Luke 19, 45-48) and towards the beginning of the Gospel according to John (John 2, 13-16). Some authors thought that these would be two separate incidents, since the Gospel according to John also includes several accounts of the Jewish Passover.

Don’t make my Father’s house a house of trafficking

Destroy this sanctuary, and in three days I will raise it up again.

As the Passover of the Jews approached, Jesus went up to Jerusalem. He found the merchants of oxen, sheep and doves, and the money-changers in the Temple. He made a whip with cords, and drove them all out of the Temple with their sheep and oxen, and threw the changers’ money on the ground, overturned their counters, and said to the doves’ traders, « Take these things away from here. Do not make my Father’s house a house of traffic ». His disciples remembered the words of Scripture: « The love of your house will be my torment.

The Jews asked him, « What sign can you give us to justify what you are doing here? Jesus answered them, « Destroy this Temple, and in three days I will raise it up ». The Jews replied, « It took forty-six years to build this Temple, and you will raise it up in three days ». But the Temple of which he spoke was his body. So when he rose from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this; they believed the prophecies of Scripture and the word that Jesus had spoken.

While he was in Jerusalem for the feast of the Passover, many believed in him at the sight of the signs he performed. But Jesus did not trust them, because he knew them all and did not need any testimony about man: he knew what is in man by himself.

Lord Jesus, I offer you my hands to do your work, I offer you my feet to follow your path, I offer you my eyes to see as you do, I offer you my tongue to speak your words, I offer you my intelligence so that you may think in me. I offer you my spirit for you to pray in me. Above all, I offer you my heart so that in me you love the Father and all men. I offer you all that I am so that you may grow in me, may you be Christ, who lives, works and prays in me. Lord Jesus, come and make me a dwelling worthy of your presence.

Author +FATHER MARIE LANDRY C+MPS

Jesus drives the merchants out of the Temple

Today, when Easter is already near, an unusual event has taken place in the temple. Jesus threw out the flock of merchants, overturned the tables of the money-changers and said to the doves’ sellers : « Take this away from here. Do not make my Father’s house a house of traffic » (Jn 2, 16). And while the calves were running on the esplanade, the disciples discovered a facet of Jesus’ soul: zeal for his Father’s house, zeal for the temple of God.

The temple of God converted into a market: what an enormity! It must have started small. A young shepherd going up to sell a lamb, a little old woman who wanted to earn some money by selling pigeons, and the business grew little by little. So much so that the author of the Song of Songs exclaimed : « Chase away the foxes, the little foxes that are destroying the vines » (Song of Songs 2:15). But who was paying attention to him? The esplanade of the temple was like a market on a fair day.

-I too am a temple of God. If I don’t pay attention to the little foxes, pride, laziness, gluttony, jealousy, avarice, all these clothes of selfishness, creep in and spoil everything. That is why the Lord warns us : « What I say to you, I say to all: Watch! » (Mk 13, 37). Let us keep watch, so that carelessness does not invade our conscience ! « The inability to acknowledge one’s fault is the most dangerous form of spiritual blindness imaginable, because it renders people incapable of improving » (Benedict XVI).

Keep watch ? I try to do it every night. Have I offended anyone? Are my intentions right ? Am I willing to do God’s will always and in all things ? Have I admitted an inclination that displeases the Lord? But in those hours I am tired and sleep overcomes me. Jesus, you who know me thoroughly, you know very well what is in the heart of every man, make me know my faults, give me strength and a little of your zeal to cast out of the temple everything that takes me away from you.

Lord Jesus, here I stand before you just as I am. I want to receive you more fully in me each day so that you can come and make your home here. Come and transform my heart into a dwelling worthy of your presence. Come and cast out from my soul all the traffic and commerce of my sin. You offered your life for me to save me. Thank you for having loved me so much ! Help me to respond more faithfully to your love. Come and heal what is weak and wounded in me during this time of Lent. In the course of our day, let us practice one of the three works of Lent: fasting, prayer or almsgiving, so that we may let ourselves be shaped by the Lord’s grace.

Complementary

◊ Deacon Michel Houyoux : click here to read the article → Third Sunday of Lent in Year B

♥   3rd Sunday of Lent | March 7, 2021 | Our Lady of Grace

Troisième dimanche du Carême – Année B

# Pour cette fête, ils étaient environ de 300 000 à 400 000 pèlerins. Jésus visita le Temple de Jérusalem, où la cour était remplie de bétail et de tables de changeurs, qui changeait l’argent standard grec et romain en argent juif et tyrien, étant les deux seules monnaies acceptées à l’intérieur du Temple, permettant l’achat d’animaux sacrificiels. Le nouveau Testament, raconte une action de Jésus chassant les marchands et les changeurs qui opérèrent dans l’enceinte du Temple de Jérusalem. Jésus et ses disciples étant arrivés à Jérusalem pour la Pâque.

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xJésus accusa les marchands de transformer le Temple en un repaire de voleurs. Dans l’Évangile selon Jean, Jésus se référa au Temple sous le nom de la maison de mon Père et ainsi se présenta comme le Fils de Dieu. Dans les religions abrahamiques, les fidèles se réfèrent à Dieu le Père. L’Évangile selon Jean présente le seul cas où Jésus utilisa la force physique contre des hommes. Le récit apparaît vers la fin des évangiles synoptiques (Marc 11, 15-19, Matthieu 21, 12-17 et Luc 19, 45-48) et vers le début de l’Évangile selon Jean (Jn 2, 13-16). Certains auteurs pensèrent qu’il s’agirait de deux incidents distincts, étant donné que l’Évangile selon Jean comprend également plusieurs récits de la Pâque juive.

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Ne faites pas de la maison de mon Père une maison de traficx

Détruisez ce sanctuaire, et en trois jours je le relèveraix

Comme la Pâque des Juifs approchait, Jésus monta à Jérusalem. Il trouva installés dans le Temple les marchands de bœufs, de brebis et de colombes, et les changeurs. Il fit un fouet avec des cordes, et les chassa tous du Temple ainsi que leurs brebis et leurs bœufs; il jeta par terre la monnaie des changeurs, renversa leurs comptoirs, et dit aux marchands de colombes: «Enlevez cela d’ici. Ne faites pas de la maison de mon Père une maison de trafic». Ses disciples se rappelèrent cette parole de l’Écriture: L’amour de ta maison fera mon tourment.

xLes Juifs l’interpellèrent: «Quel signe peux-tu nous donner pour justifier ce que tu fais là?». Jésus leur répondit: «Détruisez ce Temple, et en trois jours je le relèverai». Les Juifs lui répliquèrent: «Il a fallu quarante-six ans pour bâtir ce Temple, et toi, en trois jours tu le relèverais!». Mais le Temple dont il parlait, c’était son corps. Aussi, quand il ressuscita d’entre les morts, ses disciples se rappelèrent qu’il avait dit cela; ils crurent aux prophéties de l’Écriture et à la parole que Jésus avait dite.

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Pendant qu’il était à Jérusalem pour la fête de la Pâque, beaucoup crurent en lui, à la vue des signes qu’il accomplissait. Mais Jésus n’avait pas confiance en eux, parce qu’il les connaissait tous et n’avait besoin d’aucun témoignage sur l’homme: il connaissait par lui-même ce qu’il y a dans l’homme.

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Seigneur Jésus, Je t’offre mes mains pour faire ton travail, Je t’offre mes pieds pour suivre ton chemin, Je t’offre mes yeux pour voir comme toi, Je t’offre ma langue pour dire tes paroles, Je t’offre mon intelligence pour que tu penses en moi. Je t’offre mon esprit pour que tu pries en moi. Surtout je t’offre mon cœur pour qu’en moi tu aimes le Père et tous les hommes. Je t’offre tout ce que je suis pour que tu grandisses en moi, Que ce soit toi le Christ, qui vives, travailles et pries en moi. Seigneur Jésus, viens faire de moi une demeure digne de ta présence !

Auteur +PÈRE MARIE LANDRY C+MPS

Jésus chasse les marchands du Temple

Aujourd’hui alors que la Pâque est déjà proche, un fait insolite est survenu dans le temple. Jésus a jeté dehors le troupeau des marchands, il a renversé les tables des changeurs et a dit aux vendeurs de colombes: «Enlevez cela d’ici. Ne faites pas de la maison de mon Père une maison de trafic» (Jn 2, 16). Et pendant que les veaux courraient sur l’esplanade, les disciples ont découvert une facette de l’âme de Jésus: le zèle pour la maison de son Père, le zèle pour le temple de Dieu.

Le temple de Dieu converti en marché: quelle énormité! Cela avait dû commencer petitement. Un jeune berger qui montait vendre un agneau, une petite vieille qui voulait gagner quelques sous en vendant des pigeons…, et l’affaire grossit petit-à-petit. Au point que l’auteur du Cantique des cantiques s’exclamait: «Chassez les renards, les petits renards qui dévastent les vignes» (Cant 2,15). Mais qui lui prêtait attention? L’esplanade du temple était comme un marché un jour de foire.

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—Moi aussi je suis temple de Dieu. Si je ne fais pas attention aux petits renards, l’orgueil, la paresse, la gourmandise, la jalousie, l’avarice, tous ces vêtements de l’égoïsme, se glissent à l’intérieur et abîment tout. Voilà pourquoi le Seigneur nous avertit: «Ce que je vous dis, je le dis à tous: Veillez !» (Mc 13, 37). Veillons, pour que le laisser-aller n’envahisse pas notre conscience! «L’incapacité de reconnaître sa faute est la forme la plus dangereuse de cécité spirituelle que l’on puisse imaginer, car elle rend les personnes incapables de s’améliorer» (Benoit XVI).

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  Veiller ? J’essaie de le faire chaque soir. Ai-je offensé quelqu’un? Mes intentions sont-elles droites? Suis-je disposé à accomplir toujours et en tout la volonté de Dieu ? Ai-je admis une inclination qui déplaît au Seigneur? Mais, à ces heures-là, je suis fatigué et le sommeil me vainc. Jésus, toi qui me connais à fond, tu sais très bien ce qu’il y a dans le cœur de chaque homme, fais-moi connaître mes fautes, donne-moi la force et un peu de ton zèle pour rejeter du temple tout ce qui m’écarte de toi.

Seigneur Jésus, me voici devant toi tel que je suis. Je veux te recevoir chaque jour plus pleinement en moi afin que tu puisses venir y faire ta demeure. Viens transformer mon cœur en une demeure digne de ta présence. Viens chasser de mon âme tout le trafic et le commerce de mon péché. Tu as offert ta vie pour moi pour me sauver. Merci de m’avoir tant aimé ! Aide-moi à répondre plus fidèlement à ton amour. Viens guérir ce qu’il y a de faible et de blessé en moi durant ce temps de Carême. Au cours de notre journée, mettons en pratique une des trois œuvres du Carême : le jeûne, la prière ou l’aumône afin de nous laisser façonner par la grâce du Seigneur.

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Contact  Père Marie Landry Bivina

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◊ Diacre Michel Houyoux : cliquez ici pour lire l’article → Troisième dimanche du Carême de l’année Bx

♥  LA PEUR dans ta vie : Le véritable ennemi de l’Église ! -