Third Sunday in Lent | Bulletin
Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” John 2:19
Seeing the corruption of the Jerusalem temple makes Jesus angry, as angry as he ever gets. In contrast, his response to his death sentence and crucifixion will be sadness, and even a bit of sympathy for his executioners. But the exploitation of the poor by the chief priests and the moneychangers, and their collaboration with the Roman oppressors, causes Jesus to go ballistic. And this episode will lead to his arrest and his death.
When Jesus speaks here of razing the temple and raising it again in three days, he is speaking about the temple of his body. He is telling them, and us, to view his body as sacred space, a space that will be broken but will rise again. The body of Christ will be raised on Easter, and the body of Christ will go on living through those who love God and neighbor, and who follow God’s way of love and justice.
Friends, you are the body of Christ. You are living, breathing, moving, loving sacred spaces, moving through life as transformed and transportable sacred spaces. Blessings for a bleary and dreary world.
Bring your sacred space to worship this Sunday.
K
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