Zeal for What?
Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ,
On this Third Sunday of Lent the Church reflects on the Old Testament reading from Exodus concerning the Ten Commandments and on the Gospel account of the Lord’s so called “cleansing” of the temple by overturning the tables of the moneychangers. There is a line in the Gospel that quotes from Psalm 69, “Zeal for your house will consume me.” Jesus’ zeal for His Father’s house stirred up righteous indignation in Jesus. He was upset that His Father’s house, the place of Jewish worship and the place where the Jews believed the presence of God dwelt was being so carelessly profaned.
What does it mean to have “zeal” for the things of God, for things that are “holy”? The word “zeal” means enthusiastic devotion or passionate ardor. It means that someone is “all in” for a certain cause.
What do you have genuine zeal for? What causes you to be “all in”? These are good questions to ask ourselves during this season of Lent. So many people say they are passionate for specific causes. Sometimes it might be sports teams, political parties or social justice issues. But do we have zeal for God and the things of God? Do we have zeal, enthusiastic devotion or passionate ardor for the things that are holy?
The nature of Christian faith is that it is all encompassing. It is an underlying foundation, an animating factor and something that is meant to inform and influence everything we believe, say, and do. Our faith is not one thing among many. It should be THE thing for those who call themselves Christians. Zeal for the Gospel, zeal for the Lord and zeal for the Church that Jesus established to teach in His name should consume us too.
The Gospel begs the question, Do I have zeal? If so, for what?
Sincerely yours in Christ Jesus, the Way, the Truth and the Life,
