3rd Sunday of Lent Year B. By Tobe Eze

3rd Sunday of Lent Year B.

FIRST READING

Exodus 20:1—17

SECOND READING
1 Corinthians 1:22—25

GOSPEL
John 2:13—25

THEME: LAWS ARE MEANT TO BE OBEYED BY ALL.

One day, Rosy went to a grocery shop to buy bread. When she saw that the shopkeeper was busy with the other customers, she stole some toffees from a jar.  When she got back home, her mother asked her that where did she get the toffees? Rosy told her mother the truth. Her mother said, "It's really very bad to steal. The shopkeeper might not be looking at you but the God is always looking at you all the time. So, one should never steal." Rosy understood the words of her mother and went back to the shop to return the toffees to the shopkeeper. The shopkeeper felt happy on seeing her honesty and gave her some toffees as a reward.

The first reading shows us the ten commandments of God which must be obeyed by all. These laws are divided into two, the first three are directly for God and the other seven are for God through our fellow human being. Vertical and horizontal love of God. Continue Reading...................

We try to show that God is foolish or made mistake in giving us those laws or commandments, but St. Paul in the second reading is making us to know that we are the foolish ones not God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength. 

Jesus in the Gospel is trying to show us the importance of maintaining God's commandments. He chased out those defiling the house of God. There were, using the house of God to make market which does not supposed to be.

We disobey the first law by worshiping all sort of people and idols. We follow people we do not know their source of powers and we take them as our God. 1 John 4:1 says that, we should test every spirit before we believe in them. Do not take ndi amuma both the real and fake prophets as our God again. Even the real ones, we should not take them as such, even their powers come from God. Some who have prayer ministries, they know sincerely that they do not hear or see any vision and they continue to deceive people using the name of God in vain. Sunday is to be kept holy but we do all sort of evils on Sunday. We go to work at will, market at will, open shops or stores at will, organize all sort of meetings on Sundays people sell all sort of things even in the church premises and many other things. Some commit adultery and fornication highest on Sundays. After working during the week, we use Sunday to do all sort of evil. We work from Monday to Sunday, we cannot even offer God who gives us life only that Sunday. Jesus reacted to this particular commandment because of its importance. Jesus and God when they were talking of temple or Sabbath day, they also mean our bodies. St. Paul affirmed it in (1 Corinthians 6:19) when he said that our body is the temple of the Holy Spirit. Any form of sin we commit, affects our body and our spirit which are the abodes of God. Jesus himself, when he talked about the temple in today’s Gospel, he was referring to his own body. We are Christians, we should live like Christ and chase out every evil in us as just did. The other remaining commandments which are for our fellow human beings, we know how we disobey them. The most disobeyed among all of them are the sixth, the third, the second and the seventh commandments.

All these are meant for us to obey and no one is exempted. No matter your position, you are bound to obey them. I was discussing with a friend one day. His girl called him and told him that she was ready. He told me that we will talk on phone that his girl said that he should come and pick her up, that she is coming to his house. I told him, be careful so that nothing will happen and he retorted, that is the main reason for the visit. He told me, “Brother, I am not in the seminary”. I became confused. Does it mean that the sixth commandment is only meant for priests and seminarians?

All the commandments are meant for all of us to obey. None of the commandments is edited for any group or any individual. If you have gone astray, you can still make amend like the prodigal son. As in the story above, God will reward you for coming back to him. THANKS AND HAPPY SUNDAY.