March 4, 2018

The Third Sunday in Lent

The Lectionary Readings for the Third Sunday in Lent are:

First Reading: Exodus 20:1-17, Psalm 19:1-4
Second Reading: I Corinthians 1:18-25
Gospel: John 2:13-22

The liturgical color for the day is: Purple

John and Mark both tell the story of the turmoil in the temple.  There are slight variations in the story, but the real difference between the two is the placement in their gospels.  It impacts the way they tell their particular stories.  For Mark this story of the “incident” in the temple is told as part of the Holy Week narrative.  It is a Monday scene.

John, however, tells the story at the beginning of his narrative.  The story sets the tone for what Jesus does and the priorities of his ministry.  For John this is such an important story that it becomes the interpretive lens for what God was and continues to do in Jesus-the Word-Made-Flesh.

In the view of John’s Gospel, we come to see this Jesus for who he is.  He is the very one who literally turns the tables upside down, interrupts the way things have come to be, and radically transforms the direction of all.  Note that in John, they do not try and stop Jesus, but rather question his authority for his actions.  This question of authority is answered in the heart of the reader of the gospel even as the proclamation is made: “Destroy this Temple and in three days I will raise it up.”