Feast of the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica in Rome
Mark was the first to write a narrative of “the cleansing of the Temple.” He places the incident after the “triumphal entry” of Jesus into Jerusalem. Matthew & Luke follow suit.
Scholars contend that these events put a target on Jesus’ back.
Jerusalem is a tinderbox on important Jewish feasts like Passover and Jesus had just struck a match in the Temple incident.
It was the responsibility of the Jewish high priest, in this case Caiaphas, to alert the Roman authorities if there was a troublemaker making noise.
Sadducees like Caiaphas walked on eggshells, knowing what Rome was capable of if there was a riot. And procurator Pontius Pilate, with a reputation of absolute ruthlessness, would “take no prisoners.” Pilate disdained the Jews on a level far beyond hate. Tiberius would eventually remove him as procurator of Judea because of his many atrocities against the Jews.
We have come to call the incident in the temple its “cleansing.” Scholars contend that it is as historical an event as anything in the Gospels. But is “cleansing” really what Jesus wanted to do?
Some suggest that he was symbolically eliminating the Temple and replacing it with the Kingdom of God. The Jesus movement was all about God’s reign. “The Kingdom of God is within you.” Why need a Temple then?
Today we hear John’s version of the Temple incident and he places it not in Holy Week but rather at the very start of the Lord’s ministry.
A generation prior to John’s Gospel, Paul wrote to the People of God at Corinth: “You are God’s building.” And our foundation is Jesus Christ. Apt words for Catholics these days in our time of closings and mergers of parishes, churches, and schools. And even Dioceses.
Feelings are facts. Grief and loss are real. Heartbreak, too. The destruction of the magnificent wonder-of-the-world Jerusalem Temple by Titus and his legions in 70 CE had the weight of a thousand nuclear explosions. Still the faithful Jewish people continued on. And so will we once the dust is settled.
For Christ is our foundation and we are the temple.
-Timothy J. Cronin