3rd Sunday of Lent, Year B by Rev, Fr Lucas Binnah Junior

1st Reading: Exodus 20:1-17 / Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 19:8.9.10.11 (R.cf. John 6:68c)  2nd Reading: I Corinthians 1:22-25 / Gospel Acclamation: John 3:16 / Gospel: John 2:13-25

Theme: A Purified Heart: A Temple Fit For God!

What is our disposition towards religion, God and fellow human beings? How is our attitude in the place of worship? These are some of the questions which should engage our minds as we listen to the readings of today. In the Gospel, Jesus ‘purifies’ the temple, the portion called the Court of the Gentiles, which was occupied by traders who were selling oxen, sheep and pigeons. They were also operating forex bureau in the wrong place, the Temple (cf. Jn. 2:14). They replaced worship of God in the temple with economic activity. Religion was turned into financial transaction, a business! Poor pilgrims who came to Jerusalem to offer sacrifices to God were exploited. Hence, the whole idea of worship was devoid of reverence. The era of animal sacrifice had come to its definitive end with the coming of the Messiah, and so, Jesus Christ tells them: “Take these things away; you shall not make my father’s house a house of trade” (Jn. 2:16). Rather, “My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations” (cf. Mk.11:17/Mt. 21:13/Lk.19:46).

In our modern world, this practice continues with impunity. Many false prophets and antichrists have infiltrated the church. They are wolves in sheep’s clothing. They see religion as a business transaction. Hence, they use religion to seek and make money (cf. I Tim. 6:5b). If they do the work of God, it is not because they love God but the sordid money they get from it. There are so-called pastors who collect consultation fees before one can see them for counselling and help. Others keep people, mainly women, in their worship centres, ostensibly to exploit them. They demand monies and other items to perform sacrifices for them just like fetish priests do in other dispensations.

Furthermore, many are promoting the use of certain materials because of the money they fetch. They include so-called anointing water, anointing oil, stickers of pastors, candles of different sizes and colours, etc. These look like sacramentals, but Beloved in Christ, they are not, and we should guard against them! When the Church blesses holy water, it is not for sale. When people ask priests or pastors to pray for them, they should not demand money and deceive them with what has come to be known as ‘seed-sowing.’ It is pure exploitation! It is social injustice! Stop the money-making aspect from their ministries, and they will cease to exist! If a church has a good project to execute, then people can ‘sow seed’ by contributing their financial quota in order to advance the work of God. However, to extort monies from them in the name of religion is irreligion. There is no place recorded in the Bible where Jesus demanded money or benefits from those he healed or for whom he prayed. However, to cure ingratitude, God requires us to show heartfelt appreciation for what God does for us by giving thanks (cf. Lk.17:11-19). This is what must characterise true religious worship, even though thanksgiving may also involve generous financial and material donations!

Many things are happening in our churches today which do not please God. People eat in church and litter its surroundings. In some places, church worship hasturned into offensive-dancing, noisemaking and zero-decorum gathering which glorifies not God but the devil. Recently on national television, a pastor asked his congregation to place their mobile phones on the sanctuary in order for him to pray for ‘divine mobile money’ into their phones. And how many people raced to do this? Your guess is as good as mine! Little wonder when a famous Ghanaian pastor called such Christians, “Foolish Born-Again Christians.” They may be vulnerable, helpless and ignorant and these ravenous wolves capitalize on their weaknesses. The craze for miracles, sensationalism and religious and philosophical syncretism is on the rise. But religion must focus on God and the wellbeing of humanity. Our gaze as Christians is on Christ, the one who suffered, was crucified, died, buried, resurrected and ascended into heaven to intercede for us. This is the Good News which the Jews did not want to hear. For them, it is impossible for someone who ended life upon the cross to claim to be the Messiah; such a person is rather cursed (cf. Deut. 21:23). This is a stumbling block to Jews, an insult to Yahweh, and so, they sought miracles! The Greeks on the other hand, considered the Gospel of Jesus Christ nonsensical, an absurdity, a piece of foolishness! How could God, who in the mind of the Greek is incapable of feeling, suffer pain on the cross? How can God become human? In this regard, the Jews and Greeks lived their entire lives seeking miracles and human wisdom respectively, as some of us do today too. It is from this backdrop that St. Paul in the second reading, refocuses our attention on the cross and Christ – the crucified Messiah who is both the power and wisdom of God (cf. I Cor. 1:22-24). He is the stone rejected by the builders which has become the cornerstone (cf. Ps.118:22, Mt. 21:42). Jesus is our true object of worship.

Dearest in Christ, let us remember that Christ tells the Samaritan woman: “Believe me, woman, the hour is coming when you shall worship the Father, neither on this mountain (Mount Gerizim) nor in Jerusalem … But the hour is coming and indeed is already here, when the true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for that is the kind of worship the Father wants. God is spirit and those who worship God must worship in spirit and truth” (Jn. 4:21, 23, 24). To do this, we must love God and our neighbour. That is why the first reading gives us the Ten Commandments (The Decalogue). It is made up not so much of dos and don’ts, but instruction on how to live in the presence of a loving and faithful God. It is the way which leads to God, and it is the Christian’s charter which enables us to practise true religion. In summary, it highlights the two inseparable relationships in which we ought to be engaged actively, namely, the vertical and horizontal dimensions of life. The vertical refers to our bond with God while the horizontal concerns our associations with our fellow human beings. The thread that links all these commandments is love – a commandment of love – and the proof of our love for God and others is obedience (cf. Jn. 14:15). The Responsorial Psalm could not have explained and echoed it better: “The law of the Lord is perfect; it revives the soul. The decrees of the Lord are steadfast; they give wisdom to the simple” (Ps. 19:8). Like Simon Peter, we should believe and cherish the commandments and thus pray fervently: “Lord, you have the words of eternal life” (Jn. 6:68).

We may think that God’s commandments are too cumbersome, an instrument which curtails human freedom, a neck-breaking burden and an albatross which makes us perpetual adolescents. Not at all! Rather, they are the pathways to eternal life. With them, we can purify ourselves, and become holy and temples of the Spirit (cf. I Cor. 6:12-20). We should be the sanctuary of God’s presence and treat sacred things sacredly. We should worship God not because of what we can get from him but because we love him! Let us also help others, even our enemies, to come out of their problems through love and not through exploitation and hatred! Lent is an opportunity to do this. Happy Sunday and may God richly bless us! Remember: #A-Purified-Heart: A-Temple-Fit-For-God!#

By Rev. Fr. Lucas Binnah Junior, C.S.Sp.

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