Within the oldest institutional sect of Christians, in the Catholic tradition, the principal scriptural reading for the Third Sunday of Lent is taken from the gospel attributed to John (Jn. 2.13-25).
It's a story I really enjoy, because it quickly dispels the absurd idea of Jesus as some kind of perfect supernatural being, who was above human emotions. In this narrative, Jesus enters Jerusalem with his disciples for the start of the Passover celebration.
The centre of activity for the Passover would have been the Great Temple, and every Jew would be required to pay their Temple Tax upon entering. Because many Jews would have been travelling from Alexandria, Rome and Persia, they would not be carrying the currency of the Palestinian region -- the shekel. So there were money changers -- the equivalent of today's bankers -- on-hand at the entrance to the Temple.
Now the Temple Tax was half a shekel, or roughly the equivalent of two-days' wages... so it wasn't cheap; but to make matters worse, the money changers would charge unthinkable amounts to convert the currency. There was no need for a bail-out in Jesus' time, because the money changers and tax collectors were largely a band of sanctioned crooks.
Upon witnessing these money changers and vendors taking advantage of those coming to the Temple, Jesus becomes enraged. The story says that he overturns the money changers' tables, throwing them out, "My Father's house should be a house of prayer, but you have made it into a den of thieves!"
If we recall the earlier story of Jesus' baptism in the River Jordan, we find the first words (according to the Gospel of John) Jesus speaks in that text. Two disciples of John the Baptist come up to Jesus and ask him, "Rabbi, where to you dwell?" And Jesus replies, "Come, and you will see."
And so through the rest of the narrative Jesus is showing them "where he dwells" -- not in the physical, geographical sense -- but in the way that most matters. Jesus shows them that he dwells in love. He explains, as his beloved disciple would later elucidate, that the concept the ancients called "god" was actually Love, and that one who dwells in love, dwells in god, and god in them. In other words, the sacred path is the path of love... and love is the Eternal Dwelling Place.
Love sometimes requires us to be raw with our emotions, and that includes taking a stand against injustice. In the mythical stories about Jesus, we have the story of the money changers, but one can easily imagine that if Jesus were here today, he would confront domestic violence, child abuse, hunger, homelessness, homophobia, religious intolerance, wars and the illicit occupation of places such as Iraq, Afghanistan, Palestine, Tibet and Darfur. He would speak out angrily against the abuses of big corporations, against the bail-out of banks and automakers, against fundamentalism, sexism, elder abuse, drug abuse and commercialism. And none of that would make him a "bad guy", because his actions would remain rooted in his dwelling place -- Love.
During Lent, we are challenged to think of the people in our lives whom we may have harmed, hurt or marginalised, and to make amends for those offenses. Beyond the somewhat ridiculous practice of "giving up" something for Lent, like sweets, beer, porn or what have you... none of which have any spiritual merit whatsoever... perhaps we might consider giving up those grudges, those fears, those hostilities that keep us from forgiving ourselves and others. Perhaps we can reach out to someone we might otherwise ignore. Perhaps we can take a stand against injustice, instead of justifying our lack of involvement in such things.
There are crises going on all around us today... in Tibet... in Iraq... in Palestine and Israel... in Darfur... in the United States... in Mexico... in the Eastern Europe... In the Buddhist Jatakamala, we are admonished: "Throw away your pitiful apathy and act boldly in this crisis! A wise person shows energy and resolve; success is in her power, no matter what." (Jatakamala 14.11)
And so our challenge, this Third Week in Lent, regardless of our personal spiritual or religious traditions, is to wake-up! To recognise the crises and social injustices before us... and to take action.
When we commit ourselves to alleviating the suffering of others, our own suffering naturally diminishes, and love flows where it was previously obstructed.
Namasté!-- dharmacharya gurudas sunyatananda
Follow me on Twitter | Visit DharmadudeUnplugged
Copyright ©2008, Dharmacharya Gurudas Sunyatananda (Dr. F. Gianmichael Salvato). All rights reserved. This article may be reproduced, blogged, quoted or distributed, provided the entire blog, including by-lines, contact information and this copyright remain intact. It may NOT be altered in any way, without express written permission.
No comments:
Post a Comment