Fr. Michael Williams

For the Jewish people the Temple in Jerusalem was the most important place on earth; it was the place where ‘Israel’s God had promised to live in the midst of His people’. The Temple dominated the Jerusalem skyline, maybe like this Cathedral dominates our skyline. Several times throughout the year, Jews would travel from all parts of Israel, and further afield, to go and worship God in the holy temple in Jerusalem. Jesus Himself visited the Temple to praise the Father: “Jesus venerated the Temple by going up to it for the Jewish feasts of pilgrimage, and with a jealous love He loved the dwelling of God among men” (CCC593). The Temple was the focal point for Jewish worship.

But like any religious institution it could fall away from it’s main focus. In today’s gospel we hear what Jesus did on one of His visits to the Temple. Jesus views the Temple authorities as corrupt who are simply using it as a means of making money: “Take all of this out of here and stop turning my Father’s house into a market”, He says. The Temple had been constructed as a place of prayer and worship, but some people had begun to put the pursuit of money before God. Putting money before God breaks the first commandment: “You shall have no gods but me”. In S Matthew’s gospel Jesus will state, “You cannot serve God and wealth” (Matt 6:24). And St Paul states in his first letter to Timothy, “The love of money is the root of all evils, and there are some who, pursuing it, have wandered away from the faith and so given their souls any number of fatal wounds” (1 Tim 6:10).

Our Lord’s driving out of the corrupt influences in the Temple reveals that He seeks to restore what has become decayed. “Jesus the Anointed One of God, always begins by reforming abuses and purifying from sin” (Origen). Jesus seeks to restore to its original purpose the Temple as a place of prayer and worship of God.

The Jewish Temple was destroyed by the Romans in AD 70. Jesus indicates to the Jewish leaders in today’s gospel that He is the New Temple. A temple that will be torn down on Good Friday, but will be spectacularly restored on Easter Sunday, with the Resurrection of Christ’s Body to incorruptibility: “Destroy this sanctuary and in three days I will raise it up…He was speaking of the sanctuary that was His body”.

As baptised Christians we become temples of God with Christ. We are part of God’s new Temple, with Jesus as the cornerstone. St Paul tells us that “God’s temple is holy and you are that temple” (1 Corinthians 3:9). But the temple, which is our body, like the original temple needs purifying and renewing. Jesus seeks to renews us this Lent.

A good way to renew ourselves is to examine our lives in the light of God’s Commandments. The Commandments were not only given to Moses on Mount Sinai, they are also written on our hearts. Deep down within our conscience we discover a law which we must obey. It is God’s voice calling us to love and do what is good and to avoid evil: do this, shun that. For we have in our hearts a law inscribed by God. Our dignity lies in observing this law’ (G&S 16).

Living according to these commandments will ensure that we are a holy temple for God, breaking these commandments means we have become polluted, just like the original Temple, had become polluted through greed.

Jesus seeks to remove from us anything which pollutes us; that is He seeks to remove sin from our lives. He most effectively does this through the Sacrament of Reconciliation. In that much neglected Sacrament Christ removes the corruption of sin from our hearts.

Let us pray that we will utilise this Sacrament during Lent, and allow the Lord to drive sin out of our hearts, and so become a worthy Dwelling Place for God.