Third Sunday of Lent

The Gospel today shows us a side of Jesus we often do not see. Filled with righteous anger at the worldly misuse of God’s Holy Temple, Jesus flips tables and drives the animals out. His zeal is not simply to punish but to purify, to restore the Temple back to the Father’s intended purpose for it, to be a house of prayer. Later in the Gospel, Jesus refers to the Temple of his own body. Through Baptism, we too are made temples of the Holy Spirit. Jesus is just as zealous for the purification of your temple during this Lenten season!

In the first reading from Exodus, we hear God declare that he is jealous for us. God is not selfish in this jealousy, because he knows that we can only find true fulfillment in his love for us, for only he has the words of everlasting life. As we continue on this Lenten journey together, let us reflect on how we can flip our money tables through almsgiving, drive out the animals of our appetites through fasting, and restore the true worship of God in our inner temples through prayer. Take time today to reflect on the ways Jesus desires to cleanse the temple of your heart, so that he may more perfectly make you his “House of Prayer”.

How can you actively cooperate with Jesus during this Lenten season to allow him to cleanse and purify the temple of your heart?

Consider how Jesus referred to his own body as the Temple. How does this impact your understanding of your own body as a temple of the Holy Spirit?