Author: Deji Okegbile

Rowan Williams, a former Archbishop of Canterbury has rightly pointed us to the dangers in manufacturing religion. In one of his sermons on Lent, Archbishop Williams said, in “Every Lent, we ought to be looking at the various ways in which we get involved in manufacturing the gods that suit us.  Every Lent is a time to get that little bit further beyond the idolatry, that constantly keeps us prisoner and draws us back to the old world.  When Jesus has cleared out the temple, when he has thrown out those people involved in manufacturing religion, there he stands...

Two thousand years ago Jesus “found in the temple those who sold oxen, sheep, and doves” (Jn 2:14). Reading through the lens and context of today, it is possible to defend those responsible for the merchandise in the temple by claiming that money generated by concessions will be used to fund church activities throughout the year. We rationalise it, because “it is for God,” so it must be all right. Lent warns us to stop doing right things in wrong ways (Jn 2:13-16). The truth is that, the more we fall in love with God, the easier it is...

The gospel lectionary reading from John 2:13-22, the Fourth Gospel’s account of Jesus ‘cleansing’ the temple and driving out the traders and money-changers goes beyond ‘a shining paragon of toleration and inclusivity.’ The first cleansing of the temple by Jesus was based on the insult and evil acts of the people and against God. Jesus ‘eaten up’ with righteous anger against such flagrant disrespect for God dealt wholeheartedly against the people (Jn 2:13-17). Many commentators think the cleansing happened only once, but with Jesus’ zeal for His Father’s house, there is good reason to believe Jesus did the cleansing...