He told those who were selling the doves, ‘Take these things out of here! Stop making my Father’s house a marketplace!’
His disciples remembered that it was written, ‘Zeal for your house will consume me.'”
John 2:16-17
Read original version in Spanish
By Franz Berajano, SJ
In this third week of Lent, in our journey towards Easter, the readings of the liturgy of the Church invite us to reflect on where we have placed the focus of our faith, that is, the place that God the Father occupies in our faith life and in our daily life.
Jesus wants to participate in the feast of the Jewish Passover and for that reason he is in Jerusalem and goes to the temple. The spectacle he sees there does not please him and he reacts with anger towards the merchants who were selling doves and other animals for the offerings in the temple: “Take these away from here! Stop making my Father’s house a marketplace” is Jesus’ cutting phrase. Today, as yesterday, the temple, instead of being a place of worship and of encounter with God, has become a place where people go to ask for favours in exchange for offerings and sacrifices. It has become an exchange of favours expressed in empty worship devoid of meaning and true faith.
And the disciples remember what was written “Zeal for your house will consume me,” referring to Psalm 69:9. In Jesus, we have seen another way of worshiping God in places and circumstances.
As for the place where we worship God, it is no longer just inside a Church, without taking away its meaning and importance to the people of faith; the place of worship is where there is an authentic celebration of freedom, justice and encounter with God the Father and Mother. The worship that pleases God is not of sacrifices or holocausts, but of acts of solidarity and justice with the poor, with the marginalized. A true encounter with God should lead us to discover in our lives the face of God in our brothers, sisters and our common home.
In Indigenous communities when the community gathers for the celebration of thanksgiving and petition to the Father-Mother God, it is a moment of community encounter, to be in harmony with oneself, with others and with creation. When there is no harmony, it is not possible to heal injustices and therefore many wrongs cannot be made right. Without harmony it is not possible to celebrate in freedom so that the Spirit of God to manifest itself. May our Father-Mother God allow us to meet in harmony and solidarity with those in need.
LISTEN
Zambian worship song
Awake, O Sleeper
REFLECT
Who is making this world – our common home – a market place today?
Please feel free to share your thoughts in the comments section below.
PRAY
Let us remember in our prayers Kasisi Agricultural Training Centre (KATC), a Jesuit-run farmer training institute in Zambia, where hundreds of small-scale farmers are reaping the benefits of organic farming, and resisting the power of agribusiness which makes them dependent on seeds and fertilizers . The knowledge that farmers gain helps improve their livelihood and lifts their families out of poverty, promote food security, and health and nutrition. Organic farming methods also helps them adapt to and address climate change. KATC now has a two-year Diploma Program in Agroecology in collaboration with the University of Zambia (UNZA), which helps expand its reach. The remote study program is primarily designed for people that are already working in the agricultural field.
