Fourth Sunday of Lent (B)

 

March 14, 2021                                                              

Readings:

First Reading: 2 Chronicle 36: 14-16, 19-23

Psalm 137 “Let my tongue be silenced, if I ever forget you!”

Second Reading: Ephesians 2: 4-10 

Gospel reading according to John 3: 14-21

+

Homily:  The Love of God

In this Gospel, John mentioned the name Nicodemus.  Who was Nicodemus?  Why did he want to meet Jesus in the night?  Nicodemus was a Pharisee.  “In many ways the Pharisees were the best people in the whole country; they were what was called brotherhood.  They entered into this brotherhood by taking a pledge that they would spend all their lives observing every detail of the scribal law” (cf. William Barclay, The Daily Study Bible, “The Gospel of John,” (1985), Vol. 1, Ch. 1-7, p. 120).   It was the scribes who worked out of these regulations from the Law of Moses (the First Five Books of the Old Testament); it was the Pharisees who dedicated their lives to keeping them.  “Obviously, however misguided a man might be, he must be desperately in earnest if he proposed to undertake obedience to every one of the thousands of rules.  That is precisely what the Pharisees did.  The name Pharisee means the Separated One; and the Pharisees were those who had separated themselves from all ordinary life in order to keep every detail of the law of the scribes” (ibid., p. 122). As a Pharisee, Nicodemus was a leader of the Jews, and he was a member of the Sanhedrin (a court of seventy members and was the supreme court of the Jews). 

Nicodemus overcame his prejudices enough to come to Jesus.  He wanted to see and talk to Jesus in the evening.  As a good and respected Pharisee, it was not good for Nicodemus to see him by other Pharisees talking to a dispossessed and wandering prophet, whom they disregarded and called “false prophet.”  So, when the night came and Jesus was still in Jerusalem for the Passover feast, he met him.  “It was by night that Nicodemus came to Jesus, for the rabbis declared that the best time to study law was at night undisturbed.  It may well be that Nicodemus came to Jesus by night because he wanted an absolutely private and completely undisturbed time with Jesus” (ibid., p. 124). This might be a sign of caution, too. In the beginning of this gospel, first Nicodemus called Jesus as rabbi (or teacher), he also recognized that Jesus came from God due to the signs he performed, “Rabbi, we know that You are a teacher come from God; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him” (3: 1). Nicodemus discussed yet did not understand the meaning of Baptism of water and the Spirit, although it was well known throughout the Near East. Maybe he was joking with Jesus and made him laughed when he responded, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?” Then Jesus conferred to Nicodemus about the new birth (born again), “. . . unless one is born of water and the Spirit” (3: 5).  Again, Jesus explained to Nicodemus of the lifting up of the Son of God as Moses was lifted up the bronze serpent in the desert and those who believed in him.  “Jesus said to Nicodemus, ‘Just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life’.” (John 3: 14-15).  As we still recall, on the one hand, when the Israelites were still in the desert after their Exodus from Egypt, they became impatient, grumbling of hunger and thirst, demanding to return to Egypt, did abominable things against the eyes of God, and sinful act of worshipping idol (calf made of gold).  God sent his serpents and let them bite the Israelites until those who rebelled against God died.  Then, when the remaining Israelites realized their sins, they begged Moses to deliver them from the bite of the snakes.  And God commanded Moses to mold a bronze serpent and those who would look at it will be saved (Numbers 21: 9).  On the other hand, if we recall how Jesus was crucified, hung on the tree of life, saved us from our sinfulness.  All of this is because of his love for us.

This is how God loved us, by sending his Only Begotten Son into the world.  “’For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life’.” (John 3: 16).  God the Father started loving us, and Jesus is the extension of God’s love to all creatures.  Because God is love, He wanted to share this love to us through Jesus’s example.  If we love Jesus, we also love God who sent him to the world.  God is acting not for his own sake, but for ours, not to satisfy his desire for power, not to bring a universe to heel, but to satisfy his love.  If we believe that Jesus came from God, we will not perish but may have eternal life.  What is this eternal life that Jesus promised?  This was the second time Jesus mentioned eternal life (Jn. 3: 15 and 16).  “The main idea behind eternal life is not simply that of duration [or length of time].  Eternal life is of certain quality of life, to enter into eternal life is to enter into possession of that kind of life which is the life of God.  Clearly a man can enter into this close fellowship with God only when he renders to him that love, that reverence, that devotion, that obedience which truly bring him into fellowship with him” (ibid., pp. 128-129). 

This love of God brings salvation to those who believe in his Son whom He sent, and punishment to those who do not believe in Jesus, the Son of God.  “’For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him’.” (John 3: 17).  Awhile ago, John told us that God loved us those in the world and a little later he was talking about the condemnation of the world and those in the world.  “’Whoever believes in him will not be condemned, but whoever does not believe has already been condemned, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God’.” (John 3: 18).  Anyone who believes in the Son of God will be saved, but anyone who does not believe in Jesus will be condemned.  The guarantee of our salvation is faith in Jesus Christ.  He is the light that God the Father sends to this dark world.  And the one who lives in darkness does not want to be exposed to the light for what he is doing is wicked.  Jesus told Nicodemus the verdict or judgment, “’And this is the verdict, that the light came into the world, but people preferred darkness to light, because their works were evil.  For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come toward the light, so that his works might not exposed’.” (John 3: 19-20).  While he is exposed to the light, and all his deeds are righteous, he lives in the light of our Lord Jesus Christ.  “’But whoever lives the truth comes to the light, so that his works may be clearly seen as done in God’.” (John 3: 21).  He enjoys the light of Jesus Christ and the love of the Father.  How about us, are we living in the dark of the night or in the light brought to us by Jesus the Christ?  Are we like Nicodemus who is searching the light in the night?

Third Sunday of Lent (B)

 

March 7, 2021                                     

Readings:

First Reading: Exodus 20: 1-17

Psalm 19 “Lord, you have the words of everlasting life.”

Second Reading: 1 Corinthians 1: 22-25

Gospel reading according to John 2: 13-25

 +

Homily:

Jesus was rarely going to the Temple in Jerusalem for it was not yet time for his passion, crucifixion, death, and resurrection were in time, unless there were large and important fiestas, festivals, and celebrations in Jerusalem especially in the Temple. “Since the Passover of the Jews was near, Jesus went up to Jerusalem” (John 2: 13).  It happened that the Passover celebration was near, so Jesus decided to go up to Jerusalem to join and be one with his Jewish people in this important celebration in the life of the Jewish community.  For us, what is this Passover that Jesus cannot miss?  “Passover, also called Pesach, is a major Jewish holiday that occurs in the spring on the 15th day of the Hebrew month of Nisan. One of the biblically ordained Three Pilgrimage Festivals, Passover is traditionally celebrated in the Land of Israel for seven days and for eight days among many Jews in the Diaspora, based on the concept of “yom tov sheni shel galuyot” (the second festival day in the Diaspora, and is an important concept in halakha (Jewish law). The concept refers to the observance of an extra day of Jewish holidays outside of the Land of Israel)” (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Passover).

When, for the first time, for many years he did not visit the temple in Jerusalem, the last time we can recall he visited and saw the Temple in Jerusalem was when his parents (Mary and Joseph) brought him there when he was twelve years old; only now in his public ministry that he returned and enters the temple area, and what was he found there, an abomination and scandal in his eyes.  “He found in the temple area those who sold oxen, sheep, and doves, as well as the money changers seated there” (John 2: 14).  When he saw the temple area, he became mad and dismayed; his anger prevailed that he could not restrained by what they made to his Father's House.  They turned the House of God and of prayer into a marketplace.  Jews sold oxen, sheep, and doves to be the sacrificial animals to be offered by the people in the altar, as well as the money changers seated there to change dirty or Roman money to the temple to be used in buying those animals for they did not accept Roman money but only they accepted the temple money for they are holy.  These particular Jews were employees of the wealthy citizens of Jerusalem especially the Pharisees, the Sadducees, the scribes, the priests and the Levites, in short, the elders and leaders of the Sanhedrin. (The Sanhedrin (Hebrew and Jewish Palestinian Aramaic: סַנְהֶדְרִין; Greek: Συνέδριον, synedrion, "sitting together," hence "assembly" or "council") were assemblies of either twenty-three or seventy-one elders (known as "rabbis" after the destruction of the Second Temple), who were appointed to sit as a tribunal in every city in the ancient Land of Israel) (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sanhedrin).  Jesus almost lost his own temper to control himself of what he saw; they turned the Temple of God into a marketplace or den of thieves, for instead of doing prayers, sacrifices and offerings of mind, body, soul, and spirit to the One God of the Universe, which are expected from the priests and scribes, Pharisees and Sadducees, elders and leaders of the Sanhedrin, but instead they enriched themselves in the Temple  of Jerusalem, for they owned almost all business in the temple thus they allowed selling and buying the sacrimonious animals to buy in the temple, exchange money from unclean or Roman currency in the temple's money used with high exchange rate that nearly nothing was left to the poor’s pocket. The whole Sanhedrin permitted the deception between those selling animals at high prices and changing the temple's money to earn more income at the expense of the poor, whom Jesus was angry.  And this is a big sin on the part of the elders and leaders of the Temple.  How about us, do we recognize and respect the Church as the House of God, a place for prayer and worship, a temple holy in the eyes of the Son of God?

Because he was angry and obnoxious, and he could not tolerate what he discovered and witnessed, he decided to drive away those selling oxen and sheep by making a whip made of cords.  “He made a whip out of cords and drove them all out of the temple area, with the sheep and oxen, and spilled the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables, and to those who sold doves he said, ‘Take these out of here, and stop making my Father’s house a marketplace’.” (John 2: 15-16).  Jesus whipped and drove out in the temple area those who were selling animals and doves, and overturned the tables of money changers; for the sellers of the animals and doves, and the money changers were conniving to each other so they too became influential in the temple area.  But these should not be inside the temple area, maybe outside the temple they can do their businesses but not inside the temple area, because it is holy, the House of God, where people who are tired in life can find rest with the Lord God and pray, and find consolation and not like a marketplace where people cannot find God in a noisy, messy, full of dung of animals and birds, and a den of thieves. 

The rage of Jesus recalled the disciples of the saying in the Scripture.  “His disciples recalled the words of the Scripture, ‘Zeal for your house will consume me’.” (John 2: 17).  Jesus loved the God in the temple and the temple as well for it is the abode of God, holy and blessed, where he can communicate to his God and Father in public.  He poured out all his energy to protect and not to desecrate the holiness of the temple.

The Jews or the elders and leaders of the Temple, when they heard what Jesus did, came out of their dens of comforts and confronted him.  They asked him for a sign in doing those things inside the temple area.  “At this the Jews answered and said to him, ‘What sign can you show for doing this?’  Jesus answered and said to them, ‘Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up.’  The Jews said, ‘This temple has been under construction for forty-six years, and you will raise it up in three days?’” (John 2: 18-20).  Jesus faced the Jews squarely and directly.  The sign he gave was a new Temple, by destroying the old temple and he will raise a new temple in three days, a new body and spirit of Christ Jesus without deceit, clean and pure, totally dedicated to God’s worship, a real place where people who are problematic, tired in life, will find comfort and consolation, as compare to the old Temple which became the den of thieves, deceit, pride, sin and backsliding to the will of God.  The Jews informed Jesus that this temple was constructed for forty-six years.  They were very proud about it using their wicked money in building it, and in the end, they were the ones benefited (sila rin ang nakinabang sa huli).

When Jesus informed the Jews that in only three days, he will raise the Temple up.  “But he was speaking about the temple of his body” (John 2: 21).  He was referring to the three days of his passion, death and resurrection of his body, the Temple of God.  Jesus is the new Temple, the abode of God.  He also represents the new Jerusalem where he will gather all peoples (of different races, tongues, nationalities, colors, ideologies, beliefs, etc.) into one, united and universal whole.  “Therefore, when he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this, and they came to believe the Scripture and the word Jesus had spoken” (John 2: 22).  While the disciples, in the post-resurrection of Jesus, remembered what he said to the Jews when he cleansed from the filth of the temple into the marketplace and believed in the Scripture.   

Jesus and his disciples remained in Jerusalem and in the Temple for seven days until the end of the Passover festival.  While there, he was teaching and preaching in the temple area of the love of God and respect for the temple as a sign of their repentance and pagbabalik-loob sa Diyos. 

Other Jews after seeing what he did in the temple area, and heard his preaching and teaching of the love of God, began to believe in him, especially the signs he performed.  But Jesus did not allow them to influence him by their hypocrisy.  “While he was in Jerusalem for the feast of Passover, many began to believe in his name when they saw the signs he was doing.  But Jesus would not trust himself to them because he knew them all, and did not need anyone to testify about human nature. He himself understood it well” (John 2: 23-25).  Jesus did not want the praise of men and women (Jews), even recognizing him who he was, where he came from and who were his parents – his human nature.  What he wanted is to recognize God the Father in himself.  He understood it well.