Sermon for Third Sunday of Lent – 4th April 2021: John 2, 13-22

Nelly Paraskevopoulou – St Paul’s Athens

 

May God be on my lips and in all our hearts

 

The story from the Gospel of John about Jesus clearing the Temple is one of my favorite moments in the Bible, describing the life of Jesus Christ. The image we are given about Jesus is very different from other events.  Jesus is angry. He is very angry and rightfully so. Many people feel they can identify with this very human expression of emotion and this might make them feel closer to the Son of God but also Son of Man. It is easier to identify with this emotional Jesus, than with Jesus performing miracles, Jesus teaching and even more Jesus on the cross. By identifying with the person of Jesus Christ, maybe the rest of His life can become easier to understand and hopefully follow, as much as our limited human condition permits.

But why is Jesus so angry? Jesus is angry because the temple of Jerusalem, His Father’s house, is being misused. Instead of being a house of prayer it had become a market place.  The priests had found a way to make money from their fellow Jews, by selling animals to be sacrificed.

As readers of the Bible have noted, events in the New Testament often have their counterparts in the Old Testament. In Psalm 2 the Son’s wrath is warned against, predicting in a sense the event of Jesus’s divine wrath.

In Psalm 2:12 we read

Do homage to the Son, that He not become angry, and you perish in the way,

For His wrath may soon be kindled.

How blessed are all who take refuge in Him!

In Psalm 69 it is written

for zeal for your house consumes me,
and the insults of those who insult you fall on me.

The first part of this phrase is mentioned in the description of Jesus clearing the temple. Jesus feels this ‘zeal’ for His Father’s house. He must make sure it is used in the correct way and is angry with those who are not following His Father’s laws.

Jesus could have chosen to approach the corruption in the Temple courtyard in a different way. He could have turned the other cheek, He could have forgiven the merchants, He could even have tried to convince them that they were doing wrong. But He chose to face them with his anger. Let’s try to understand why.

In Luke 16:13 Jesus said No servant can serve two masters. “Either he will hate the one and love the other or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and Mammon.”

The issue came down to this for Jesus: would God be worshipped in the Temple or would money be worshipped in the Temple?Jesus could have chosen to approach the corruption in the Temple courtyard in a different way. He could have turned the other cheek, He could have forgiven the merchants, He could even have tried to convince them that they were doing wrong. But He chose to face them with his anger. Let’s try to understand why.

In Luke 16:13 Jesus said No servant can serve two masters. “Either he will hate the one and love the other or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and Mammon.”

The issue came down to this for Jesus: would God be worshipped in the Temple or would money be worshipped in the Temple?

To try and understand Jesus’ reaction we must be aware of  the historical context. The temple of Jerusalem was a sacred place, where people met to worship God, to pray, to make sacrifices and to listen to the teachings of the rabbis. This is the third Temple that was built by King Herod and was destroyed in 70AD by the Romans. Passover was the most important religious festival of the Jewish religion. This is the background in which these events take place.

Jesus knew that the moment had arrived to show His authority. This event is an important step in the tapestry of his life. It is also an occasion to put things in their place in His Father’s house. And most important of all is His allusion to His impending death and resurrection, when he says “Destroy this Temple (meaning his own body) and I will raise it again in three days.”

He realised that this confrontation was going to end with His death, because he knew God’s purpose for his life. And he chose this moment to tell this to disciples, who however understood the meaning of His words only after his death.

 

In a painting by Bernardino Mei, an Italian artist of the 17th century, which depicts the scene of Jesus clearing the temple, his anger is shown in all its magnificence.  We can see His hand in movement, holding the whip of cords, and the expression on His face is one of anger but also of power. He is fire and passion.  He knows his anger is justly directed. He knows he is following his Father’s will.

 

How can this story relate to our lives today? God created us in his image, He lives in our hearts and souls. We exist only because of his infinite goodness. So each thought and action in our lives must be free of anything which goes against His will and His laws.  Our inner ‘temple’ should always be dedicated to worshipping God, to loving and honouring His name, because that is the reason for which He created us. Our inner life also has its temple and palaces, its secret places which only God knows. It is in these secret places, in the silence of our heart, that God speaks to us. But if we want to really hear His voice, this space must be empty of any other thoughts or concerns.

In this story from the Gospel of John we are invited to ‘clear our temple’ of all influences which are not in harmony with the divine will. So that God can dwell in us. Today may we invite Jesus into a pure heart.

 

Amen