John 2:13-25
The scripture passage informs us that the incident in today’s Gospel occurs near the Passover festival. It is the festival when all of Israel will visit the Holy Temple at Jerusalem. The people recollect the very first Passover when the blood of the lamb saved Israel’s first born and the hand of God that rescued Israel from the bondage of slavery in Egypt.
Therefore, in today’s Gospel passage we should not focus on Jesus being angry but focus on its deeper message. All of us are in bondage to sin in some way or the other. This enslavement to sin has made us spiritually complacent. We have become comfortable in our sinful lives. Similarly, Israel had become complacent towards God. They offered ritual sacrifices of cattle, oxen, doves in exchange for forgiveness of sins according to the law. It is this tradition of purchasing God’s forgiveness without any repentance or real conversion, the absolute casual attitude towards the sacred that isn’t right.
Just as the Temple of Jerusalem had to be cleansed by Jesus. It is only Jesus who can cleanse our hearts defiled by sin. It will require a dramatic action of Christ’s cleansing blood to break our sinful bondages. We will not be able to break free from these bondages without the help of Jesus.
So let us look inward and give permission to Jesus to cleanse our hearts to make it his temple.
