The readings today focus on the progression of law from Moses to Christ. The first reading begins with the Ten Commandments. It is important to put these commandments into context to understand them. The people Moses led out of slavery had been raised under Egyptian rule, where there were many gods. Egyptian law was completely different. The Hebrews suffered a tremendous culture shock leaving Egypt, which is one of the reasons they had such a hard time obeying the commandments. To them, the familiar gods of Egypt were home; the God of Moses was alien to them.

In Exodus, it often sounds as if God is being harsh, unless you take into account how primitive the Hebrew people were at the time. The reason they wandered in the wilderness for so long may have been because their very thought patterns had to be completely altered before they would be ready to inherit the promised land. They needed to learn to depend completely upon God and to change lifetime habits. Thanks to the difficulty of the task, none of those who had been adults during their flight from Egypt reached the promised land. Their children, forty years later, were able to enter.

We have all encountered unruly children who badly need discipline. Most children who are not disciplined are completely miserable, because they have no structure. Children need structure in order to feel safe and secure. Even adults have problems often when there is no clear framework of rules. The laws God gave the Hebrews in Exodus, Deuteronomy and Leviticus seem stern, by today's thinking, but they gave a framework for the lives of the Hebrews. In fact, these laws were much more fair by today's standards by comparison with other legal systems in Moses' day.

Other laws given in Leviticus and Deuteronomy include rights for slaves, women, and even animals. Some laws even preserve the ecology. For instance, the idea of dividing one's field into quarters and letting one quarter of it lie fallow each year, so it can replenish itself. Basically, this was considered a "Sabbath" for the land. This is good agriculture. Our U.S.D.A. has what is known as a soil bank, thanks to the lessons we learned during the dust bowl. It has now been scientifically proven that letting farmland periodically lie fallow is an essential soil conservation practice.

The idea of a day of rest was an innovation in the day of Moses. In many poorer countries, even today, people consider it a luxury to take any day off work. Back in Moses' day, the Hebrew slaves did not have weekends to relax. It is clear why the Sabbath was necessary. If you take one day and use it only to rest, pray, study the Torah, and finally to enjoy your spouse and your family, then it will be easier to face the rest of the week. Today, in observant Jewish homes, the Sabbath is greeted as the Sabbath Queen, and the Havdalah service, the service which ends Sabbath, has a bittersweet quality to it, because rest is over, and now it is time to get back to work.

When confronted by verses about God being jealous and punishing generations for the parents' sins, I remind myself that the Hebrew people were primitive, and this is part of their progression toward civilization. Rather than thinking of diseases as being punishment from God, it might be better to think of them as being consequences for their actions. God has warned the Hebrew people not to do certain things. For instance, if they are promiscuous, they might contract syphilis, which would plague generations. Note that God says He will reward a thousand generations, but punish only three or four. Notice, also, that God does not say He will not forgive, nor does He say that He will wipe out the whole family for the transgressions of the elders.

In the Gospel of Matthew, when Jesus was asked which commandment was the greatest, Jesus quoted Deuteronomy, saying "'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.'" This commandment is not one of the ten listed here. He continued, saying, "This is the greatest and first commandment," then he listed the second commandment, from Leviticus, also not one of the ten commandments. "'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' On these two commandments," He said, "hang all the law and the prophets." He moved beyond the Ten Commandments to the core reason for them. If you love God and your neighbor, there are a host of things you will not do to keep from offending God, hurting your neighbor, or yourself.

The psalm today rejoices in the laws of God, and that they are just laws. I especially love the verse where the laws are said to be "sweeter far than honey, than honey in the comb."

You may not know, but in Hebrew schools (in Yiddish, shuls) throughout the world, it has been a custom for centuries to teach children to read the Hebrew alphabet and to study Torah by giving them honey while studying. This practice is to create an association of sweetness with God's laws.

The last verse, verse 14, is the little prayer I always say before beginning the Homily. I've always loved it.

In today's reading, Paul complains that he wants to be good, but he fails miserably whenever he tries. Paul attributes this problem of being unable to behave himself to having a physical body. In modern parlance, one might say he is complaining that he, like all of us, is hard-wired to have a conflict between his baser urgings, and his spiritual self.

He says, "Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I that do it, but the sin that dwells within me." This reminds me of the old Flip Wilson Show, where Flip Wilson's character, Geraldine, said, "The devil MADE me do it!"

If I am reading Paul right, it seems to me he was explaining a bit about the human condition. We all struggle with actions that make us ashamed at one time or another. We snap at people when we are tired; we become angry when people cut in front of us while driving; we grumble when asked to do things we know we should do and hate doing; and we are lazy when we know we could be accomplishing things that are important. While it is true that we are fallible, we also know that God knows this. God made us this way, and loves us anyway. Our human nature is part of God's perfect plan.

I wish this reading had gone on to Chapter eight, because, as usual, some important points are left out if you don't continue. I won't read them here, since they are long. In Chapter eight, Paul adds, "There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death." He continues the thought he started in Chapter seven and brings it to a positive conclusion. Chapter eight ends with one of my favorite quotes from Paul: "For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord."

The third reading today, taken from the Gospel of John, is usually referred to as "The Cleansing of the Temple." Jesus takes rope, ties knots in it, and uses it to whip animals and money-changers out of the temple. In John, the translation reads, "Stop making my Father's house a marketplace!" It is interesting to note that the other three Gospels say "a den of thieves" instead. John's was the last Gospel written, and Mark's was the first, as far as we know. In Mark's Gospel, there is an added comment that Jesus did not even let people take anything into the Temple itself. I have read this many times, and this is the first time I noticed that distinction.

The money-changers in front of the Temple were there to exchange Roman, or foreign money, for temple money. Only temple money could be used to purchase animals for ritual sacrifice. No money stamped with the head of Caesar, or any other official could enter the Temple proper, which was only meant for Jews.

Jesus' anger had nothing to do with tithing. Mosaic law stated that each person was to tithe. By the laws of Moses, it was forbidden to cheat fellow Jews. There were also laws about giving fair weight for things, not bilking the poor, the widow, or the orphan. These money-changers were making money from the exchange of Roman coins for temple coins, and then the different merchants were making money from selling their various livestock for sacrifice. All males by law were supposed to come to the temple in Jerusalem three times per year, no matter what their income. They were not allowed by the laws of that time to bring their own livestock for the tithe, but were forced to pay exorbitant prices for temple livestock, since they could not enter without paying. They were being cheated by the exchange rate, and then while purchasing the animals they were required to have for the temple sacrifice. The money-changers and merchants, under the Sadducees and with the authority of Herod, had a cartel that was very lucrative, at the expense of fellow-Jews who had traveled long distances.

These tables and animals were probably in the Gentile court, which was the farthest outside the temple. The next court up from that was called the Sacred Enclosure, which was forbidden to anyone who was gentile, upon pain of death.

In the other three Gospels, Jesus rides from Bethany into Jerusalem, takes a look around at the Temple, then returns. He chases out the money-changers on the second day, after observing their actions. The act of creating a whip from rope and knotting it shows His deliberation. This whole incident was not a sudden fit of temper on His part. Jesus was slow to anger.

When asked by what sign He does this, Jesus says "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up." Jesus is, of course, referring to his coming death and resurrection. The people listening to this know that the Temple had been under construction for forty-six years. In Jesus' day it was still incomplete. Herod the Great had begun construction of the temple in 20 B. C., and Herod Agrippa finally finished it in 64 A. D. Ironically enough, the sacking of Jerusalem was in 70 A. D., and its destruction, were only six years after its completion. Just as Jesus had predicted, the temple was destroyed. The only thing left standing today is what is known as the "Wailing Wall."

We, as Christians, believe that Jesus fulfilled his prophecy of dying and restoring the temple of His body in three days. Jesus showed us that the spirit behind the law is much more important than the letter of the law. Following Him, we strive against our faulty nature toward the perfection of God's law. We are called to follow Jesus, and in doing so, we take on His yoke, which is light. In following his footsteps, we observe the season of Lent, not in gloom and dullness of heart, but in quiet contemplation of God's mercy and love, as we learn to delight in God's laws and walk in His ways.

Amen