In the post resurrection period, the
witnesses of Risen Jesus found it difficult to proclaim the crucified messiah.
The Jews expectation of militant messiah, who would deliver them from the hands
of roman empire was very prominent. The apostles and all the witnesses were
captured by the Resurrection of Jesus but they could not get proper words to
describe this event. They wanted to reveal this wonder and unheard act of God
to others but they could not because of the inexplicability of the crucifixion.
For the Jews crucifixion is a stumbling block (1 Cor1:23). They could not
reconcile with the fact that the messiah suffered and died on the cross. They
needed signs to recognize Jesus, the crucified one as the messiah. In todays’
gospel too Jn2:13-25 the Jewish authorities ask for a sign. The proclamation of
the crucified Jesus as God to the gentiles was also very difficult because of
the prevailing greek philosophical thought that demanded perfection and
immutability in God’s nature. They perceived Jesus as a foolish God, who could
not help himself and died sadenly. Their wisdom and reasoning demanded logical
understanding to comprehend this unexplainable act of crucifixion. That’s why
St. Paul tells that though this crucifixion seems to be foolishness of God to
the gentiles, still the foolishness of God is greater that man’s wisdom (1
Cor1:25).
In the gospel Jesus is angry with
the people who have desecrated the holiness of the God’s temple with their
business market. The temple is the place where people come to encounter God. It
is the meeting place of divine and human. Jesus presents Himself as the new
temple where the new worship begins. As Christians, we are called to be temple
of the Holy Spirit where Jesus resides. Thus, we have the obligation to guard
the holiness of the temple of our body. In the first reading Ex 20:1-17, God
asks people to keep the ten commandments which will make them holy and keep
them in a right path. Those commandments are simple guidelines to order our
life and discipline oneself. Amidst them the most important commandment is to
have the sense of God and keep the Sabbath holy.
In this techno-cratic and business
oriented world, people long for holiday to relax and get refreshed. But our
ancient wisdom tells that setting apart a day for God will make a person
reflective of ones’ activity and lifestyle. The relaxation holidays will remove
our stress but will they make us to evaluate our actions? In today’s culture, we need relaxation at every
weekend to remove stress. Which is
better; to remove the stress completely or relax every weekend to get prepared
to face new stresses? Probably, we are loosing the practicality in dealing with
the life situation. A day spent in Lord’s presence will make us aware of our
status in life. In reading the word of God we discover the place we stand in
life. God has given us basic commandments to follow which will make us stress
free. The constant renewal and reminding of the commandments is needed as we
are prone to distraction in many ways. This renewal will take place only when
we set apart a day for the Lord. Let us keep the Sabbath, the day of the Lord
holy by affirming the presence of God and evaluating one’s life from the sight
of God. Let us clean our temple with Jesus’s commandment of love, mercy and
compassion. Let our temple be holy.
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