Awaken Series: Reflection on the 3rd Sunday of Lent
By Craig Rheaume
Contributing writer
Like millions of kids growing up in the 90s, I convinced my parents that the Columbia House “buy twelve CDs for a penny” deal was not a scam and that they should let me give it a try. The only rule they had was that I couldn’t order any CDs with the little black and white box in the bottom corner that read, “Parental Advisory Explicit Content.” I obeyed, but what my parents may not have understood was that this little logo was a bit of a status symbol – kind of “street cred” for a thirteen-year-old suburban boy. So instead of ordering, I borrowed one of these forbidden albums once from a friend. I kept it hidden in my room and would listen to it at night with headphones. Shortly after smuggling in the contraband my father found it, and noticing the explicit label on the case, he pushed play on my stereo. Let’s just say that those parental warnings cover a wide range of explicit content, and this one was at the much higher end of the spectrum. My father confronted me in righteous anger letting me know in very clear terms that this “garbage” was not allowed in his house ever again. Of course, any good parent would side with my dad on this one, and as a father of a thirteen-year-old boy myself, I am just as vigilant of a gatekeeper as he was.
Craig Rheaume
In the Gospel reading for the third Sunday of Lent this year, we see Jesus doing this very thing. Upon finding the temple filled with money changers and businessmen, he literally makes a whip and starts turning over tables. This is Jesus, who at one point described himself as gentle and meek, cleaning house! I hear, in his voice, echoes of my father and my own voice with my kids; “Not in my house!” In this context, it is clear that Jesus isn’t losing his cool, and his anger is in no way sinful. Instead, his actions are justified and righteous in the presence of his Father’s house being defiled. Seeing this side of him, maybe for the first time, his disciples couldn’t help but recall the scripture, “zeal for your house will consume me.”
In his first letter to the Corinthians, St. Paul tells us that we are the Temple of the Holy Spirit. Our families, our bodies, our minds, our souls – all of these are the Father’s House – they are the new Temples. Stop for a moment and ask yourself – who am I in this Gospel story, a money changer or the one making the whip?
I encourage you in these remaining days of Lent to evaluate your own temple. Where do you need to toss a few tables? Invite Jesus in; he can certainly help you spot the moneychangers. And after this examination, the cleansing of this temple takes place in a less dramatic, but no less effective, way by simply taking the time to go to confession. May the Holy Spirit Awaken in Us zeal for our Father’s House and may you truly experience the cleansing power of Christ’s forgiveness and mercy this Lent.
Craig Rheaume is a parishioner of Immaculate Conception Parish in Fayetteville and is a 4th year candidate in the permanent deacon formation program anticipating ordination this May.
