November 9,2006: Feast of the Dedication of St. John Lateran in Rome

Scripture: Ezekiel 47:1-2,8-9. Psalm 46:2-3,5-6, 8-9. I Corinthians 3:9c-11,16,17. John 2:13-22

This feast celebrates one of the four greatest basilicas in Rome, namely that of St. John Lateran. (St. Peter's, St. Paul outside the walls, and Saint Mary Major are the other three basilicas). It is the oldest of the sacred places of worship for the Roman Catholic Church and was the Church where the Popes celebrated Mass as well as resided in the nearby building. Today, of course, St. Peter's is the basilica and dwelling of the Roman Pontiffs. I had the privilege of residing just fifteen minutes away from St. John's while I had a sabbatical in 1990. I concelbrated with Marianists several times in this beautiful church that was dedicated originally to St. John the Baptist. On top of the entrance to the basilica there are twelve colossal statues of the apostles and, of course, John the Apostle is there among them.

I was led to think about the Gospel passage which was similar to one from Luke that we had just a few days ago. The passage deals with the cleansing of the Templeof the money changers and shows us Jesus living out Jeremiah's words, "The zeal of the Lord has consumed me." I will add an important note on this sent to me by a learned Jewish friend of mine which will help us understand the selling that was done within the Temple presincts. My question today was why did St. John place this scene so early in his Gospel while it undoubtedly happened during the last week of Jesus life on earth. Since the Passover is mentioned, this would have been Jesus' last Passover. In the other Gospels we have but one Passover mentioned and this is while Jesus is nearing his final days. John has at least three Passovers in which Jesus is mentioned.

The Passover theme led me to reflect on the Paschal Mysteries of Christ, his Passion, Death, and Resurrection. John is very interested in presenting these mysteries to his readers and listeners. He often refers to the "hour" of Jesus as the symbolic word for the Paschal Mysteries. Probably, he decides to introduce us to the Paschal Mysteries in the light of his whole Gospel, and, therefore, we have the cleansing of the Temple and his reference to his own body as a temple of God. This event is narrated by John after the first sign he performed at the Wedding Feast of Cana. We have then both the beginning of his signs and then the great sign of the Passover theme introduced in today's selection. Through his death he conquers all evil, sin and death itself,by rising on the third day. "Destroy this temple (his body) and I will raise it up on the third day." The listeners thought only of the Temple in Jerusalem; he again was speaking on another level than they were. In the Fourth Gospel, Jesus is always master of the situation and has no self-doubts about who he is. This gave many of Jesus' followers difficulties with him and still does today, for the divinity of Jesus is clearly affirmed in John and is essential to Christian belief about who he is.

We are all temples of God made in God's image and likeness (Genesis 1:26). We are to cherish sacred places like synagogues, mosques, and churches or chapels. One of these great sacred places is being celebrated today in the Catholic liturgy, St. John Lateran.

Here is the explanation my friend gave to me about changing money in the Temple area. The scene I am referring to is present in all four Gospels but John is the only one that has it appearing so early in his account (John 2:13-17; Mark 11:15-17; Matthew 21:12-13; Luke 19:45-46).

"Many years ago I had a Jewish History scholar (can't remember who) explain the politics of the Temple money changer incident in the New Testament. During that period (early 1st century) Jewish pilgrims from outside Judea would visit Jerusalem and the Temple, as was required by the Torah. Some pilgrims would bring the required sacrifices with them from whatever country they came from. Others would bring money with them to purchase the appropriate sacrificial animals when they arrived at their local destination in Jerusalem. The process would go like this: A Jewish family from Egypt would arrive in Jerusalem and would need to have their currency changed so that they could buy a sacrifice for the Temple. Judea was under Roman military siege. Consequently, Roman soldiers could go anywhere an take (a.k.a. steal) anything, at any time, from the inhabitants of Jerusalem.

People who performed the important service of money changing were high on the targated list of being robbed of their financial posssessions by Roman soldiers. We have written historical records sthat describe the Judeans behavior whenever Roman Soldiers made an attempt to alter something in the Temple, like put up a statue. The Judeans had attacked the soldiers with a resultant loss of many lives on both sides. Therefore, the Roman leaders ordered their soldiers to avoid the Temple premises. This situation caused the money changers to feel secure in carrying out their financial service on the Temple grounds. They were not considered a den of thieves by the locals, but a deliverer of an important financial service to the pilgrims. It was unfortunate that these transactions had to take place in this holy environment.

Jesus must have known this, so why did he try to rid the Temple of their presence and service to the pilgrims? Some scholars believe that Jesus was upset that most of the Jews were not performing the sacrifices themselves, as is proscribed in the Torah. These Jews were paying for a Kohain (Priest) to act as their surrogate when it came to the actual slaughter of the animal." Shalom and best wishes, Jerry.