Jesus encountered a actual market place there and His reactions were strange: with a whip, He drove them all out (Jn 2: 15). There could be many reasons for Jesus’ reaction, but we will look at three of them:
- The temple, the sanctuary of God and a place of worship, was turned into a market place: the sense of the sacred was lost: He said, “Do not make my Father's house a marketplace" (Jn2:16).
- The Jerusalem temple was the pride of the Jews and it had five courts: court of the gentiles, court of women, court of men, court of priests and the holy of holies. The whole business was carried out in the court of the gentiles, thus depriving them of their place of worship. Jesus couldn’t tolerate this discrimination.
- The temple became a place of greed, corruption, deceit and cheating. The religious rituals became an occasion for abuse and scandal through injustice and oppression especially towards the poor and the voiceless.
These realities are not very different in the world today. In this period of global disorder, of tremendous suffering, uncertainty, and disruption to lives, reality is being unveiled, says Richard Rohr.[1] Amidst the chaos and despair, systems of evil, injustice and abuses are evident in our society, within the church and in the families. In today’s market place greed, profit and immorality are at the core with a strong desire to accumulate at the expense of others, neglecting the weak, poor, voiceless and the ones in the peripheries.
Jesus is the New Temple, ‘Shekhinah’ whose presence is near even in the midst of turmoil. At the death of Jesus, the veil of the temple was torn from top to bottom (Mt 27:51) indicating that there is no more separation of God and His people. The separation caused by sin is removed by the death of Jesus and in Him a new divine presence is open, direct access to God, thus He said, “Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up” (Jn 2:19), “he was speaking about the temple of his body” (Jn 2:21).
Gospel touches and reveals the most essential aspect of our life: enter into a sacred relationship with Jesus, the New Temple, to rediscover the ‘sense of the sacred’ in our body, in our mission, in our relationships, in our communities and in our families.[2] Our zeal for the house of God is exposed in our relationship with Jesus and it should consume both our interior and exterior.
Let me ask myself:
- How can I recognize the ‘Shekhinah’ amidst the chaos as that of a market place within me?
- How can I nourish sacredness in me, rediscovering Jesus during this Lent and vibrate this holy energy to bring the mercy and tenderness of God close to the people who suffer terribly today?
[1] Cf. Richard Rohr, https://cac.org/2021-daily-meditations/
[2]Cf. Pope Francis, Homily at Casa Santa Martha, February 11, 2014.