THIRD SUNDAY OF LENT

READINGS AT MASS

Exodus 20:1-17

Psalm 19

1 Cor. 1:22-25

John 2:13-25

Theme: A TIME TO CRACK THE WHIP

Dear friends in Christ, N'wokafu YESU KRISTO...

On this Third Sunday of Lent, we read the text about the cleansing of the Temple as presented by John the Evangelist. Unlike the other evangelists, John placed this episode at the beginning of Jesus' public ministry. For Matthew, Mark, and Luke, this was the last straw that broke the Camel's back but for John, it was a necessary first step to pave the way.

Looking at the text carefully, there appeared to be a state of affairs that 'prevented' Jesus from entering the Temple; the activities of the traders. These deprived the Temple of its holy and serene atmosphere. This unacceptable condition in which the Temple environment was found was repulsive to Jesus Christ and He immediately set out to do something about it. Quite surprisingly, He took a rather violent and dramatic approach; the whip. He made a whip out of cords and drove the traders out with their merchandise. Thus, restoring the temple environment to its original purity.

Beloved, Lent is an opportune time to clean and restore our lives to their original purity. From the action of Jesus Christ in today's Gospel, we realize that the fight against sin and sinful conditions is sometimes not a smooth and comfortable one. This is a hard truth we must come to accept during this season. The process of restoration sometimes demands a radical approach. Sin and sinful conditions are not always something you just reject with word of mouth. Sometimes it is a dangerously comfortable state of life that needs to be whipped out with cords.

We are sometimes guilty of being too gentle with our sinful states of life. We try to gently sweet-talk them out of our lives. Unfortunately, the noisy, corrupt, and chaotic state of these situations, like that of the Temple environment in today's Gospel, continues to render our gentle approach ineffective. For an effective restorative season, a whip must be made against some conditions and lifestyles.

Like Jesus, we also have to make the effort to clean the Temple environment of our souls for Jesus Christ to have access to and feel comfortable within our hearts. We must identify and clean the conditions that are unpleasant and repulsive to our walk with Jesus and the grace of God within us.

PRAYER

Father, you have taught us to overcome our sins with prayer, fasting, and charity. Grant me the grace to fight the deep-rooted sins in me with these pillars. Amen.

May God bless you.

-Rev. Fr. Kenneth Debre

Sunday, March 3, 2024.

Holy Rosary Parish, Hohoe