Word to the Wise
Sunday, March 7, 2021 - 3rd Sunday of Lent - B
[Exod 20:1-17 or 20:1-3, 7-8, 12-17; 1 Cor 1:22-25; John 2:13-25]Jews demand signs and Greeks look for wisdom, but we proclaim Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those who are called, Jews and Greeks alike, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength. [1 Corinthians]
St. Paul speaks to the reaction that his preaching elicits from his two principal audiences. The gospels show that Jesus was continually asked for "signs" to the point that it exasperated him. The non-Jewish audiences (Greeks) that came a few years later found such ideas as Jesus' resurrection to be foolishness. In the gospel scripture for today, Jesus causes an uproar by upsetting all the various booths in the temple that catered to the need for animals to sacrifice and currency exchange for the temple tax. The religious authorities see only the physical damage and demand a special sign to prove Jesus' behavior. They fail to see the symbolic meaning of the future loss of the temple and its replacement, in faith, by Jesus himself! The Greeks would have found that idea to be foolishness.
On a Sunday when the RCIA scrutinies may be occuring, parishioners may see men and women making an act of faith in Jesus' actions by joining his Body, the church. They (and we) are among "those called" that St. Paul refers to. The "sign" is the Sign of the Cross and the wisdom is the Word of God and our Tradition. It helps us "cradle Catholics", who can become a bit too comfortable in faith and take it for granted , to see someone make a leap of faith that was made for us at baptism when we were babies! Their witness can have the effect of telling us to tidy up our temple and remember the one who made it possible! AMEN