HOMILY ON THIRD SUNDAY OF LENT YEAR B, 7TH MARCH, 2021

 HOMILY ON THIRD SUNDAY OF LENT YEAR B, 7TH MARCH, 2021

Readings: Ex.20:1-17; Ps. 19; 1Cor 1:22-25; John 2:13-25

Fr. Emmanuel Emenike  Onyia

YOU HAVEN’T BROKEN ANY OF THE COMMANDMENTS OF GOD, BUT HAVE YOU KEPT THEM?

Today the third Sunday in the Holy Season of Lent we are all called to reflect on how we have been keeping the commandments of God as we prepare ourselves for the celebration of Easter when we shall encounter the risen Lord. Thus, in our first reading today, we heard how the Lord God revealed his Law and commandments to his people through Moses. This commandments are giving in order to establish good relationships and a covenant between God and the people and also among the people themselves. 

Here, the Lord gave us the Ten Commandments, which we are familiar with, beginning with the first three most important commandment of all, that is, to love the Lord and honour him with all of our heart, our might, strength, and with all of our whole being, glorifying his Holy Name, while honouring and keeping the day he set aside for us to worship him, which we now observe every Sundays as Holy Day for the Lord as we often gathered for the celebration of the Holy Mass as we are doing today.

Following these three commandments, are the other seven Commandments which focused on our relationship with one another, beginning with the commandment to honour our father and mother, so that we may have a long life in the land that the Lord our God has given to us. Then, he commanded us not to kill. Not to commit adultery. Not to steal. Not to bear false witness against our neighbour. not to covet our neighbour’s goods. And not to covet our neighbour’s wife, or properties. These no doubt, tell us that we cannot truly love God unless we also love our neighbors, neither can we truly love our neighbours unless we genuinely have the love of God in our hearts.

Dear friends, the question that comes to mind today is, are we really keeping and living according to these commandments of God. We may say no, some will say yes because they believe that they have not broken any of the commandments. This no doubt is good and great, but if we have not broken any of the commandments, have we kept them? You may ask what do I mean by keeping them? The answer is simple if you have not broken the commandments, have you been keeping and living by it? Have we sincerely honoured the Lord our God with all our hearts and not use his Holy Name in vain? Have we really kept the Sabbath day Holy? Have we truly and sincerely honoured and loved our parents? We may not have killed anyone, but have we sought to preserve and defend life? We may not have committed adultery, fornication, masturbation, homosexuality and lesbianism, but have we seduced other in committing them or prevent others for engaging in them. 

We may not have stolen from people, but have we prevented other from stealing by sharing our goods with the poor and saving them the temptation of stealing as a way of correcting them? We may not have bore false witness against our neighbours, but have spoken the truth and defend the good name of others in order to save them from falsehood? Yes, we may not have coveted our neighbour’s goods, but have defended and protected our neighbour’s goods? We may not have coveted our neighbour’s wife or properties, but have we defended and protected them? We may say how does these concern me? But that is the essence of the commandments, that is, to love and see to the well being of others. To protect and defend the right of others. To guide and correct others when they are doing the wrong things. 

This is exactly what Jesus did in our Gospel passage today, when the Lord Jesus came to the Temple of Jerusalem, seeing the wrong things they were doing, decided to clear all the corrupt merchants and money changers who were doing their business in the courtyard of the Temple. Here Jesus had not broken the commandment of keeping the temple holy, but he will not let others to keep break this commandment. They have to be corrected. Hence, he was furious that all of those merchants and money changers were openly doing their business and cheating the people of their hard-earned money right at the very place where God himself dwells. 

Thus, he drove them away saying stop turning my Father’s house into a market for it is a house of prayer and not a den of rubbers. And when he was interrogated he said “destroy this sanctuary, and in three days I will raise it up”. The sanctuary Jesus is referring here, is the sanctuary which is his body the Holy Church, which he has planned to restore at his resurrection. This salvific work of Jesus is what St Paul is referencing in our second reading when he said: “here are we preaching a crucified Christ; to the Jews an obstacle that they cannot get over, to the pagans madness, but to those who have been called, whether they are Jews or Greeks, a Christ who is the power and the wisdom of God.

Therefore, is not enough to say we have not broken any of the commandments, we need to ask ourselves whether we  are practicing and living by them? For Jesus did not break any of the commandments, rather he lived by them and teaches us to do the same. He has given us the guidance and the path for us to follow through his actions. Hence, we are called today to imitate him.

LET US PRAY: Lord God, as we listen to your words today, give us the grace and strength to journey with you this Lenten season, so as to remain faithful and be genuinely committed to living and keep the Commandments you have bestowed on us. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Happy Sunday to you all.