MAKE love ESPLODERE (JOHN 2:13-25)
With the determination of a child learning to walk, Jesus attempts in today’s Gospel to set a new course, reversing the old one. It means refusing to turn God’s sacred dwelling into a marketplace and, instead, allowing the Divine One to emerge and fertilize even the marketplace. This reversal is not welcomed by the priests, who prefer to be the final destination of the journey the people are making; nor by the faithful, who prefer to relegate their relationship with God to a specific, protected place; nor by the general public, because setting aside well-defined spaces and times for worship is a source of tranquility.
But love, like faith, can never be peaceful. Driving the Divine out of a church can be dangerous. Overwhelming. Because God demands everything. The sacrifice of an animal is not enough. The sign of his divine presence requires the sacrifice of one’s whole life. But, as always, signs are hard to understand in the present. Understanding comes later, in the light of the whole Gospel, after the prophetic signs have found a home in the prophet’s flesh. Prophecy comes at a only when 30 pieces of silver win the allegiance of Judas; only when the Temple remains simply a shadow at the back of a Messiah expelled from history. Only then will those signs be remembered.
