St George's Cathedral, Cape Town

A sermon preached by the Very Reverend Rowan Smith in the Cathedral Church of St George the Martyr on the 3rd Sunday in Lent, 15 March 2009

“ But he was speaking of the temple of his body.” John 2 v 21

We said at the beginning of Lent that the gospel of St Mark would provide us with the context of our Gospel readings this year and so it was for the first two Sundays in Lent – now we are confronted with a passage from St John and also an event which the three Synoptics place closer to Our Lord's last days.

We have also said that St Mark indicates that from the beginning, when Jesus came proclaiming the reign of God, he faced opposition and it came largely from the religious leaders. Their authority was being challenged as well as their understanding and interpretation of the scriptures which spoke of the Messiah. Earlier in the chapter which precedes our Gospel account today Jesus had turned the water into wine at Cana, the first of his signs, says St John and he

“ revealed his glory, and his disciples believed in him…” 2 v 11

God comes to transform our lives and to make a new beginning, while also demonstrating the over-abundance of God's generosity. Over the years the temple had become the focus of Jewish worship and the place of encounter with God. To it all faithful Jews went up at festival time, either for thanksgiving of for atonement. Here the people of God came to rededicate themselves and here they came to renew the ties of covenant with God and each other. As the pilgrims approached Jerusalem so their hearts burst out of joy and they sang those psalms in our Psalter from 120 onwards and in particular:

“I was, glad when they said to me, let us go to the house of the Lord…” 122 v 1

But when Jesus now approaches , he is confronted by the misuse of the temple precincts where Roman coins were being exchanged for shekels as those bearing the image of the emperor were considered to be profane; and no doubt preying on poorer groups, offering for sale, animals for sacrifice which had not been tainted by the long journey. The vision of David had been lost, no longer did the temple stand for glory of God. This God who had spoken to Moses on Mt Sinai and whose very presence caused the mountain to shake. This God who spoke to Moses and said:

“I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the Land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery; you shall have no other gods before me.” Exodus 20 v 2

So God speaks to us also in our day. What had been set aside as a place to embody the holiness of God, a sign of God's presence amongst his people was being abused. Then having cleansed the temple Jesus makes his claim:

“stop making my Father's house a house for markets.” v166

But St John always wants us to delve deeper, to seek the deeper meaning, as he does with the Samaritan woman at Jacob's well. There will come a time Jesus says when the worship of God is not focused on a particular building but that we ourselves are to be temples of the Holy Spirit, signs of God's presence in this world. Jesus makes reference to all this changing through his death and resurrection. The people did not understand because:

“he was speaking of the temple of his body.”

For this reason then we do speak out against all forms of abuse and all that denigrates our humanity and that of the vulnerable and marginalized.

Our Lenten pilgrimage is an invitation to enter more deeply into the mystery of God's love and to set aside time in prayer to move beyond the superficial encounter with Our Lord. It is to allow the zeal of God's house to consume us – to hunger and thirst for Christ in our lives. It is to look at each day not only as gift from God but also our lives as a gift to our world. Taking time to see how God is active in our ordinary every-day living and to accept this Lent as a gracious opportunity to experience:

“Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.” 1 Corinthians 1 v 24b

Then we will not be ashamed to confess Christ crucified in us and in our world especially as we prepare for our general election because we will learn daily, while stumbling along in this pilgrimage that “… God's weakness is stronger than human strength.”

This is our call, our vocation to be as Christ as we live in the power of the Holy Spirit and daily through grace we pray:

“ Jesus confirm my heart's desire,
to work and speak and think for thee
still let me gaurd the holy fire
and still stir up the gift in me.” (AMR 329)

Back to Sermons page

Mission and Vision | Services | Music | Ministries| History | Glass | Tour | Staff
Cathedral Friends | Publications | Links | Site Map | Home