Third Sunday of Lent (Year B) March 3 (Exodus 20:1-17; Psalm 19; 1 Corinthians 1:18, 22-25; John 2:13-25)

Many people do not know quite what to do with the Decalogue, aka the Ten Commandments. Some want to toss it out the window as irrelevant and outdated. Others will salute it and insist on its importance. Conservative “family values” politicians sometimes use it as a club to beat society, but when cornered, they are often unable to explain — or sometimes even to name — all 10 of the commandments. 

We can leave aside the first commandment for a moment. This is the only explicitly religious commandment, and although important, it can sometimes overshadow the intent of the others. They are the basic building blocks of a just and humane society. Human beings are respected and not overworked or treated as chattel. Murder, theft, adultery, dishonesty and lying are forbidden because they destroy individual relationships and the social bond itself. 

Society disintegrates under these conditions, as we see in our own day. Behind so much of these negative practices is greed, in the form of coveting. To covet something is to desire what another has, often merely because they have it. The coveter wishes that they had the object of the desire and that the other person did not — definitely a zero-sum game. And just for the record — despite the wording of the commandment, another’s wife should not be considered property. But just the same, the desire to break up a marriage bond usually has catastrophic consequences. If these commandments are observed, the result will be a reasonably humane society with a minimum of strife and violence. 

These commandments were not unique, for they are reflected in many of the law codes of the ancient near east. The real difference lies in the first commandment: God is to be worshipped, reverenced and obeyed beyond anything else. 

God remains the binding force in society both as a reason for being and the source of spiritual energy and power. Again, this is waning in modern society, much to our detriment. As the old commercial used to say, “Accept no substitutes!” but humanity has, in many and big ways. 

We should not marvel that the world is a mess — the foundation has been undermined and is collapsing. We cannot force society to observe these principles. But each of us can make a commitment to mirror them in our daily lives and to encourage others to do so.

Everyone has their own expectations of religion regardless of whether they are Christian, Jewish, Muslim or followers of a different path. People want signs or proof of a higher power that guides and protects them. In a sort of caricature, Paul claims that Jews demand signs to authenticate a message, while the Greeks desire wisdom. But God has provided another answer: Jesus. And He offends so many because of the challenges of His vision and His transcendent values. The Gospel — the true Gospel — seldom appeals to the worldly-wise, for they often are guided by other values and principles.

Jesus was not pleased, and He expressed His dismay and anger in a very forceful way. We are not used to the image of Jesus wielding a whip and kicking over tables. No gentle and meek Jesus here! The questionable mixture of piety and profit is nothing new. The Church has been involved in its share of financial scandals and has made many unholy compromises in the past. Places of pilgrimage are often places of lucrative gain. 

The Lord’s work is not finished. But this story has a special purpose in John. In typical Johannine fashion, words often have a far deeper meaning than the literal one would suggest. In the confusion over his claim that if the temple were destroyed, he would raise it up in three days, the narrator reveals that Jesus was speaking of the temple of His body. This is the new place of worship and encountering God — in Christ’s body and in the community that is the expression of His body. The sanctity and spiritual integrity of this temple must always be safeguarded. It was after the Resurrection that the disciples remembered the Lord’s words and actions. 

This is how the Gospels were written — remembrance in light of the risen Christ. As we reflect on our own lives in light of Christ’s Spirit, we add a personal addendum to that tradition.