Third Sunday of Lent
First Reading (Ex 20: 1-17). The Ten Commandments are a map of life for us as children of God.
Second Reading (1 Cor. 1: 22-25). The preaching of Paul on a crucified Christ made no sense to some, to others it was a sign of wisdom and power of God.
Gospel (Jn 2: 13-25). To those who turned God’s house to a market place, Jesus reminded them their system of worship which honours materials than God.
Homily
Jesus in today’s Gospel reminds us to go back to basics if we want to remain faithful to our creator, God. We all know that roots are basics to trees. If cut from the roots, trees dry and collapse. Foundations are also basics to houses. We humans have basic human rights if not lived and protected, life become unbearable. Basic conditions of life: right to food, water, shelter, health and education…
A religion also takes its eternal motivation from its basic principles. Christianity has its basic principles. Today, on this third Sunday of lent, the readings call us back to three important basic principles of Christian life.
The first is Relationship: Christianity is not just a religion. It is a relationship. Christ in his preaching did not emphasized more on the law but rather on the relationship of person to God. We would be fooling ourselves if we think that the evil of our time can be cured by laws and legislations. Only the goodness in us can achieve that. But for us to be good, we need to be in relationship with God, for God alone is good. If we Catholics come to church because it is an obligation, then we are still slaves of the law. A Catholic who loves God will come to mass anyway, law or no law. It is our loving relationship with God that matters not the law.
The second principle is Reliance: to whom to we rely on in times of joy and sadness of our lives? Reliance on God is more basic to our lives than reliance on material things or on human beings. Many people rely on their money for everything but today, the picture of Jesus chasing out money changers from the temple reminds us that we cannot be so preoccupied with money. We tend to reverence money more than human beings hence we dehumanize one another for the sake of money.
The third principle is Renewal: the best religion is found in the human heart not in the knees. The change of heart is a true renewal than any prayers one can say and remains the same. Dear brothers and sisters, a person who can’t change his own heart cannot change anything. It is impossible to carpet the whole village, that’s why we are requested to wear slippers to protect ourselves. Hence, during this lent, let us aim at the renewal of our hearts.
