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3rd SUNDAY IN LENT
Exodus 20:1-17-Ten Commandments
The Ten Commandments form the first lesson and epitomize the Israelite’s duty
toward God and neighbor as having been liberated from slavery in Egypt. The literary form
is apodictic which means that the laws are decreed by God in a "You shall/shall not .
. . " form, and thus are meant to be absolutely incontestable. While we are not sure
how these commands were originally grouped or categorized, the words are unambiguous: have
no other gods, make no idols, don’t misuse God’s name, keep Sabbath, honor
parents, commit no murder, adultery, stealing, falsehood, or coveting.
1 Corinthians 1:18-25-Folly, Stumbling Block . . . and Salvation
This impassioned and almost poetic passage comes on the heels of Paul’s
impassioned statement that his message does not rest on sophistry or artful rhetoric
"lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power" (v. 17). In fact Paul freely
admits that for some who listen to him, the message of the cross is off-putting because it
is offensive and lacks the qualities that other messages and messengers might have. To his
Jewish audience the message becomes a stumbling block and to his Gentile audiences the
message is folly. Yet to those who are being saved by that very message, this humble
gospel, is the very power of God. "For the foolishness of God is wiser than human
wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength.
John 2:13-22-Jesus in the Temple
Between the story of Jesus’ first miracle in chapter 2:1 (turning the water to
wine) and the story of Nicodemus in chapter 3, we find an intriguing episode that forms
this Sunday’s gospel lesson: Jesus ridding the Temple Court of mercenaries. While
this event shows up at a much later place in the Synoptics (which imply a one-year
ministry), here this dramatic story occurs at the outset of Jesus’ ministry. It is
the Passover and Jesus in the temple courts at Jerusalem discovers apparently a mall of
goods and services set up like a bazaar. His anger is well-documented: he makes a whip and
drives them out and overturns their tables. Quite a bit of chaos! Such action brings Jesus
into direct conflict with the religious authorities over the very issue of authority. A
parallel of meaning closes the lesson between the literal and the spiritual-a strain that
will reverberate throughout John’s gospel.
