Homily: Third Sunday of Lent (B)
John 2:13-25
3 March 2024
Fr. Ricky Cañet Montañez
In the entire Bible, Jesus is only recorded as having completely lost his temper one time. We are definitely not used to hearing about Jesus acting gruffly. The Jesus we come to know in the Gospels is one who is always welcoming, gentle and compassionate towards sinners. As a healer, He ministered to the sick with special attention and care. He fed the hungry crowd upon feeling pity for them who were like sheep without a shepherd. He satisfied their hunger for food and He also fed them spiritually. As a teacher, Jesus rarely lost His patience with His disciples even when they disappointed Him or failed to understand what He was teaching them. Even with His adversaries, Jesus responded calmly especially during their attempts to entrap Him. At the end of His life, as He suffered tremendously on the cross, He still desired forgiveness for all those who wanted Him dead.
Can you imagine Jesus cracking a whip and overturning tables and ordering them to “Take these out of here and stop making my Father’s house a marketplace.” (John 2:16) Now nobody does this calmly and gently right? They are giving us a clear picture of someone who lost His temper. None of His disciples was recorded as trying to restrain Him or hold Him down to minimise the damage. (Di ba dapat hindi sinasalubong ang taong sobrang init ng ulo?) Anger is not evil per se. It is a human emotion and is understandable when there is a logical reason for it. However, more often than not, when we observe people throwing a fit of anger, it upsets us and we immediately brand the person as crazy, OA (over-reacting) or war-freak. Sometimes we don’t bother to understand why people behave in such a way especially when they are angry.
Jesus was furious with those conducting business outside the Temple. According to a few commentaries I have read, part of the Temple was really a marketplace. “The transactions were legitimate, they were conducted in the appropriate temple area, and they were essential supports of the temple service.” This is where they changed money and bought animals for sacrifice. The problem was, the money changers were cheaters and the vendors were overpricing their goods. The worst part was that since no one complained, the evil doing became common and accepted. Isn’t this the case also in our lives? Corruption in government or illegally operating institutions cannot be brought to light and apprehended when no one speaks up. It is the same with the way we conduct ourselves. Sometimes, we need others to call our attention, point out our bad behaviour or sometimes even scold us to really drive home the point.
Do we stop to think about our accountabilities? Why do we think ourselves blameless all the time? Nobody readily admits to being in the wrong or at least no one wants to be held responsible for one’s poor choices. I remember my novice master in Chile saying out of frustration every time something was broken in our community house and no one ever admitted they were at fault, “It was Mama Mary again who did it and she should take the blame.” Everyone just wants to save one’s face all the time. There are always ready excuses offered just to get away with one’s mistakes. How can we ever prosper as persons, (or as a nation) when we do not have the humility to own up to our shortcomings? Sometimes, when things go wrong for us because of our negligence, we even blame God for the consequences. If it floods because we clogged our drains with trash, we blame God for the damage it wreaked on our property. If we are careless with our bodies and we get sick, we blame God for not protecting us or healing us immediately. We never stop to think about the role we have played in these matters
This Lenten season, let us reflect on our life and recall how we have angered or saddened people or continue to generate negativity from people around us. Let us ask ourselves how have we wronged others? Perhaps let us recall what they have been trying to tell us and instead of being defensive, learn to accept our mistake, ask for forgiveness and really try to change for the better. Lent is also the perfect time for all of us to receive the sacrament of reconciliation and ask the Lord for mercy for all the times we have deliberately rejected Him by our actions and chosen to turn away from Him. Let us pray that we will receive the gift of humility and discernment to enable us to have a meaningful and fruitful observance of Lent.
Sarah Gonzales for NPR
Sunday Gospel Reflections 