I think when I was taught R.E. years ago, I would have been able to recite the 10 commandments but now I had to look at the first reading to be reminded what they are. The full reading includes the rule that we shouldn’t have images or religious statues – which Catholics particularly ignore. But it also says that later generations will be punished for the misdeeds of predecessors, and this I think is certainly born out by our history – past carelessness about the environment is seriously damaging us now, and even causing the early deaths of lots of us. But even the shorter reading means you shouldn’t covet what your neighbour has, yet I would love to be as good as some of the people I know. So lets be careful about taking past rules as too applicable when taken literally in our situation today.
Paul, fairly near the beginning of his 1st letter to the Corinthians passes over the wisdom and the miraculous in favour of preaching about our saviour being crucified. But I think we should not so much celebrate this, as regret the circumstances that brought it about. It was the majority of the enthusiastic followers of Jesus who misunderstood him, thinking he would release them from Roman domination and bring them – the chosen people – to be dominant in the world. Jesus’ trouble making in the Temple over the misuse of religion, gave many of His followers the expectation that He would cleanse their religion of its selfish leaders and of the dominance of the hated Roman authorities; it was this attitude that would contribute to Jesus’ arrest and execution – crucifixion!
Whereas the other gospels place the ‘cleansing of the Temple’ (as the incident is called) just prior to Jesus’ last days, John’s gospel has it at the beginning of a three year period of public ministry. When wondering why this seemingly unlikely timing we must realise that John is not writing history but preaching about Jesus’ impact on people wanting to live ‘good Christian lives’ as we might say. In John’s gospel it comes immediately after the story of the marriage feast at Cana and I think John wants to contrast the two events. The wedding at Cana is really a secular party in someone’s house, celebrating the marriage and love of two people, with friends and relatives – with feasting and wine. This contrasts with the celebration of the feast of Passover in the sacred temple with the need to buy offerings as gifts and to change money to donate to the Temple; a celebration controlled and encouraged mostly by the priests, scribes and Pharisees, at which people were expected to attend. At Cana Jesus’ presence and contribution is quite subordinate to the celebration – even His miracle of water into wine is only knowable by the servants. In the Temple scene Jesus’ activity is ‘unavoidable’ and He has a good bit to say. At Cana the servants just quietly do what Jesus suggests but in the Temple the ‘religious leaders’ are indignant at His actions. Let’s try to be like the guests at the wedding celebrating the beautiful things in life – though knowing they are all due to the influence of Jesus!