THIRD SUNDAY OF LENT

It was Sunday morning and Mary picked up the local newspaper. The Early Edition reported a tirade in the Temple in Jerusalem on the Sabbath. An unidentified man rushed in, shouting at the sellers and money-changers, turning over tables and chasing out the animals with a whip he had made out of cords.

No, thought Mary, couldn’t be.

The Morning Edition of the paper reported that some officials challenged the unidentified man, questioning why he had done this. They told police that he had given some crazy answer about destroying the Temple and rebuilding it in three days.

No, thought Mary, couldn’t be.

When the Evening Edition arrived, Mary read about the ongoing police investigation. Authorities reported that they were tracking some strong leads and hoped soon to arrest the man charged with the Temple tirade. The police had interviewed friends and supporters, who believed in him and suggested that he was convinced that local leaders were out to kill him. But he promised that if he were killed he would rise from the dead in three days.

I thought so, Mary whispered to herself.

The Middlers read the same newspapers Mary had read. And we asked them to put themselves in Mary’s place. How did they think Mary felt? What would she say to neighbors about her son’s behavior? Why did he do what he did? Why did he say what he said? Ask them how they answered those questions. Ask them about Jesus in the beginning of John’s gospel, who doesn’t get angry, but passionate, about the evil that confronts him and tries to overcome him. How he links that evil to its cosmic display in his Passion. And how Jesus with the same power and authority as in his Temple tirade defeats evil and in his Resurrection fulfills the promise made on the Temple steps.

For the Elementaries, we finished confessions on Tuesday and had no class on Wednesday (early dismissal). On Thursday, it was a beautiful day—almost 70 degrees. So, we prayed Psalm 136 together, which praises God for making the heavens and earth and for his love, which lasts forever. Then, we went out to play in the sunshine—just for a little—and back for classes.

Love,
Deacon Charlie