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GOSPEL

From the Gospel according to John 2:13-22

When it was almost time for the Jewish Passover, Jesus went up to Jerusalem.
In the temple courts he found people selling cattle, sheep and doves, and others sitting at tables exchanging money.
So he made a whip out of cords, and drove all from the temple courts, both sheep and cattle; he scattered the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables.
To those who sold doves he said, “Get these out of here! Stop turning my Father’s house into a market!”
His disciples remembered that it is written: “Zeal for your house will consume me.”[a]

The Jews then responded to him, “What signcan you show us to prove your authority to do all this?”

Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days.”

They replied, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and you are going to raise it in three days?” But the temple he had spoken of was his body. After he was raised from the dead, his disciples recalled what he had said.Then they believed the scripture and the words that Jesus had spoken.

Message of the Lord.

Temple’s dignity

The Gospel of the Lord underscores the sacredness of the temple, with Jesus showing deep dedication to His Father’s temple and referring to his own body as a new temple. He foretells a future where God’s worship will transcend physical locations and become a matter of spirit and truth. In this new era, our bodies are the temples, as the Spirit resides within us, and God is at the core of our souls. This prompts us to reflect on how we should diligently care for and treat our own bodies, as well as how we should regard and interact with our spouse’s body.

In the context of married life:

Anna: I struggle to grasp the severity of the Lord’s actions when He expelled the money changers from the temple.
Peter: The temple was a holy place, and those individuals were in the area meant for purification. The Lord needed to convey that this was not the proper path for purification.
Anna: Now our bodies are the temple. How does He expect us to treat them?
Peter: Certainly, with the utmost purity. He takes the sanctity of God’s temple very seriously, and our bodies now hold this same dignity.
Anna: Undoubtedly, considering His response, we must appreciate the significance He places on maintaining purity in our sexuality.

Mother,

May we consistently treat one another with the dignity that God has granted us. If we falter, let us accept correction with humility. Praise be to God.