Gospel: John 2: 13-25
15 March 2009
Cycle B
Jesus went up to Jerusalem….
To go up to Jerusalem … that was the duty of every Jew on great festivals. It was the dream of exiles or of Jews dispersed around the world… To-day it is the desire of every fervent believer, Jew, Christian or Muslim….
But to go up to Jerusalem is above all else a spiritual journey. Jerusalem is thee city chosen by God to reside there. “The name of the city will be: The lord is there! (Ez. 48:35). The ascent to Jerusalem is therefore the representation and the goal of our life. We are on our way to Jerusalem, following You, Jesus, journeying towards God.
Your entire existence has been an ascent to Jerusalem. Forty days after Your birth, Mary and Joseph take You to Jerusalem to present You to the Lord…(Lk. 2:22). At twelve years of age, You go up there for the Feast of Passover and You stay behind in the temple, in Your Father’s House (Lk. 2:43-49). It is from there that You will return to him: Now we are going up to Jerusalem; the Son of man will be put to death …., and on the third day he will rise again. (Mk. 10:33-34). From the earthly Jerusalem, You enter the new Jerusalem; the abode of God with mankind.
He found merchants installed in the Temple ….
The Temple of Jerusalem has become a market place! God is relegated to a corner! You cannot tolerate this, lord. But isn’t this all too often how it is with our hearts? The true abode of God is our heart: We are the temple of the living God (2Cor. 6:16). In chasing the sellers out of the Temple, You tell us of Your desire to free us from all that may be an obstacle to Your love.
Come unburden us, Lord! Come open our hearts ever more to God, to His light, His love. Draw us after You, Jesus, in our ascent to Jerusalem!
