Catholic Exegesis: The Cleansing of the Temple 13 When it was almost time for the Jewish Passover, Jesus went up to Jerusalem. 14 In the temple courts he found people selling cattle, sheep and doves, and others sitting at tables exchanging money. 15 So he made a whip out of cords, and drove all from the temple courts, both sheep and cattle; he scattered the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables. 16 To those who sold doves he said, “Get these out of here! Stop turning my Father’s house into a market!” John 2:13-16


My Questions:  


Is this passage a "call to action" for Catholics?
Should Catholics be on alert for those who may hijack and corrupt the Church for unsavory purposes?
And should Catholics feel compelled or obligated to eradicate such individuals from the Church?
One of the comments:

"This is too long. Please try to make it more concise."

Is this passage a "call to action" for Catholics?

Not especially, we are sinners and Jesus was not.

Should Catholics be on alert for those who may hijack and corrupt the Church for unsavory purposes?

Yes, see Acts IV.

And should Catholics feel compelled or obligated to eradicate such individuals from the Church?

Yes, within reason.  See Matthew 18.

Why?  Well...

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While this an open question, my advice would be to follow a passage latter on in John 8:7 that is more clearly directed toward us (as sinners):


  ... “Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a
  stone at her.”


As sinners in a fallen world, we must be exceedingly careful when interacting with others for the purposes of pointing out their sin.

From Matthew 7:3, also a quote from Jesus:


  Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?


Remember, Jesus was living a perfect life, which we, most likely, are all failing to do (Matthew 19:21):


  ...If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to
  the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.


While everyone is in a different position, I find it fairly unlikely that any of us are without sin.

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Now, let's not use that as an excuse to be complacent.  There is something we can do, and that is show love (John 15:12):


  My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.


Unfortunately I have to get back to work now, but I'll try to flesh this out a bit later.  The point is, there is a call to action for all people (Catholics included), but it is first and foremost to love.

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Before I got to flesh out my answer I got some further questions I'd like to address in the main body.  I'll use the Church to refer to the specific Church and the church to refer to any or all churches that are right with God.


  Should Catholics be on alert for those who may hijack and corrupt the Church for unsavory purposes?


The great thing about this question is that it applies to more than just Catholics and more than just the Church.  However, as direct descendant of the earlier church and almost unarguably the most theologically sound denomination, Catholics certainly serve as a powerful example.

The answer is, of course, yes!  

However, this is somewhat difficult to get at directly, as I believe the most compelling arguments in favor of vigilance within the church are derived from the broader moral context of our faith.  However, there are a few Biblical examples, the foremost being Ananias and Sapphira (Acts IV):

During the Acts of the Apostles, many believers liquidated assets to fund the ministry.  The early church, of course, rejoiced in this sacrifice of worldly possession.  However, one couple sold a field but kept some of the money for themselves.  

Now this sounds like a fairly straight forward instance of corruption and unsavory purposes to me.  First, this couple claimed to do what they were doing for the church, then they claimed some of what should have been the church's funds for themselves.  Definately not okay.  However, the important part of the story for this discussion isn't that what they did wasn't okay, but rather what happened afterwards.

As soon as the couple brought the partial sum of money to the Apostles, Peter accused them of deceit before God and church, and while the consequences (sudden death) certainly came from God, Peter's vigilance plays a key role in the story.

From this tale, I interpret, such as I am able, that the burden of vigilance is upon everyone (including Catholics) to watch for corruption everywhere (including the Church).  But also, I learn that imposition of consequences, such as they are, are within the sole purvey of God's role within the church, and not of any other sinners.


  Vengence is [the Lord's]...


as per Deuteronomy 32:35, Romans 12:19, and Hebrews 10:30.  Three times, that might be important.


  And should Catholics feel compelled or obligated to eradicate such individuals from the Church?


This is perhaps a more difficult question, because my own, as well as many other's, natural instinct is to cast anyone from the church that may not reach some arbitrary degree of morality.  I do not, however, believe that this is a Biblical position.  After all:


  ... all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God


Romans 3:23 (emphasis added)


  There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the one who is able to save and
  destroy. But you--who are you to judge your neighbor?


James 4:12


  For Christ's love compels us, because we are convinced that one died
  for all, and therefore all died.


2 Corinthians 5:14

All of this is a lot of Biblical text to say we aren't perfect, God is, only God gets to decide who's perfect and who isn't, salvation is for all people, and if it somehow isn't for someone, that is God's decision and not ours.  We probably are all familiar with this concept.  

So why would we not apply this to the church?

There certainly are crimes that can be held as grounds for removal from the church, such as apostasy, as in 2 John, where individuals renouncing the resurrection are excluded from the homes of believers.

However, in any case involving disputes within the church, there is an established procedure to follow (Matthew 18:15-17):


  If your brother or sister sins, go and point out their fault, just
  between the two of you. If they listen to you, you have won them over.
  But if they will not listen, take one or two others along, so that
  ‘every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three
  witnesses.‘ If they still refuse to listen, tell it to the church; and
  if they refuse to listen even to the church, treat them as you would a
  pagan or a tax collector.


And just so we're all clear on how we treat tax collectors (from the story of Zacchaeus in Luke 19):


  Jesus said to [the tax collector], “Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham.


Now, of course, Zacchaeus did take actions toward his salvation, but let us just rememer that:


  ...the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.


So...

In cases of clear and unrepentant apostasy in the opinion of the entire church, there is a Biblical mandate for expulsion on the condition that repentance may immediately be met with a welcoming return.  In all other cases, follow the established procedure for addressing sin but prioritize above all else love (1 Corinthians 13:13).


  And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of
  these is love.