My Father's House

 Third Sunday in Lent Year B - 7th March 2021

Gospel John 2: 13–25

Just before the Jewish Passover Jesus went up to Jerusalem, and in the Temple he found people selling cattle and sheep and pigeons, and the money changers sitting at their counters there. Making a whip out of some cord, he drove them all out of the Temple, cattle and sheep as well, scattered the money changers’ coins, knocked their tables over and said to the pigeon-sellers, ‘Take all this out of here and stop turning my Father’s house into a market.’ Then his disciples remembered the words of scripture: Zeal for your house will devour me. The Jews intervened and said, ‘What sign can you show us to justify what you have done?’ Jesus answered, ‘Destroy this sanctuary, and in three days I will raise it up’. The Jews replied, ‘It has taken forty -six years to build this sanctuary: are you going to raise it up in three days?’ But he was speaking of the sanctuary that was his body, and when Jesus rose from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this, and they believed the scripture and the words he had said. 

During his stay in Jerusalem for the Passover many believed in his name when they saw the signs that he gave, but Jesus knew them all and did not trust himself to them; he never needed evidence about anyone; he could tell what a person had in them.

Reflection from St Beuno's Outreach

As I settle into my place of prayer, I ask God to bless me ... to give me the grace to slow down and be attentive. I pray not to be distracted by any of my own cares or ‘idols’, whether external or internal.

I read this familiar passage a couple of times. As the scene unfolds, I try to notice afresh Jesus’s reactions, actions and words.

Perhaps I see his courage ... his authenticity ... his self-assurance?

Does this reassure me, unsettle me, attract me ...?

I notice what stirs in me, and share it with my Lord.

I may allow my imagination to wander freely with Jesus and his disciples as they stay in Jerusalem. I spend time with them ... seeing Jesus share the ‘signs’ and the Good News with the disciples and the crowds.

Just as Jesus knows those around him, he also knows all about me and what I hold in my heart. Do I find this comfortable ... or challenging?

How do I feel about Jesus watching me with mercy and compassion, as I fall and rise many times as his disciple?

I turn to my Lord, and in loving trust ask for the grace to know that I, too, am a temple of the Holy Sprit. Our Father...