New Title
Follow Us
Homily of the Fourth Sunday of Lent, Year B 2024, Fr. Luan
Homily of the Fourth Sunday of Lent, Year B 2024, Fr. Luan
It was very rare to see Jesus express his frustration or anger. But today we can see Jesus was upset when he saw the temple area was filled with secular activities like sellers, buyers, animals, money changers and all kinds of swearing and talking, etc. He chased them all out and said: “stop making my Father’s house a marketplace.” This was not the only time Jesus called the temple his Father’s house. The first time when he was twelve year old, he said to his Mother: “why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?” (Luke 2:49). The John gospel revealed to us a new theology here: the temple is not only his Father’s house, but the temple also represents His Body; “Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up.” John explained: “He was speaking about the temple of his body.” In Jerusalem, Jesus foretold about his passion, death and resurrection.
The title of this gospel is “Jesus clears the temple.” In 1 Corinthians 6:19-20, Saint Paul said: Do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God. Do you think your temple needs to be cleaned? I do. Humans make mistakes and humans are vulnerable to temptations. That is what the sacrament of reconciliation is for. I would like to remind all of you to take time during lent to do examination of your conscience, humbly ask God for forgiveness and change. As I said before: the more we come to confession the more our conscience will be cleaned and the freer we are.
In the first reading, Ten Commandments were from God, not Moses. God’s commandments will never become out of date. The secular world tries to tell us and teach our younger generation that God’s commandments are out of date and not applied for us anymore. Those are the devil's lies, and God is not pleased with that. Lent is the time to put our life in order before it is too late. Lent is the time to purify our soul for the Holy Spirit to dwell in again. Before we make any decision or do anything, we should ask ourselves: does this decision or action please the Holy Spirit or please me? If it offends the Holy Spirit, don’t do it because it destroys the temple of the Holy Spirit within us.
Dear friends in Christ, Jesus cleansing the temple should remind us that we need to clean our soul from sins, bad habits or addictions. The sacrament of reconciliation is a gift of Jesus to the Church. We have to use it during the Lenten season and more often. This sacrament is necessary to keep our temple holy for the Holy Spirit. This sacrament also gives us grace to fight off temptations in our daily life. With God there is always mercy, compassion and just. Jesus is not weary of forgiving our sins even the same sins again and again. It is up to us to commit our life to the gospel.
Blessed are those who follow the laws of the Lord.
Church Address
1035 N. 6th Ave
Stayton OR 97383
Office Address
540 E. Elwood St.
Stayton OR 97383
Mailing Address
1077 N. 6th Ave
Stayton OR 97383
Office Hours
Immaculate Conception Catholic Church - All Rights Reserved - Powered By LPi