Lk 19:45-48 The Cleansing of the Temple

The Temple played an important part in the life of Israel fundamentally because the Temple was considered God’s own house, His dwelling place on earth in the midst of his people. The Jews  believed that God lives in heaven, but he hears the prayers that are addressed to him in the Temple. They looked upon the Temple as a sort of good luck charm that would protect them against hostile forces, whether or not they lived so as to deserve protection (Jer 7:1-15; 26:1-15; see Exod 8-10).

The Temple played an important part in the life of the Israel secondarily as place of worship and sacrifice or assembly. Although there were many shrines throughout the land, particularly during the period of judges, the Temple is said to be the center of legitimate worship; indeed as the only place of worship in Israel; and it is true that eventually it was recognized as such.

Like the prophets before him Jesus expressed the deepest respect for the temple of Jerusalem. It was in the Temple that Joseph and Mary presented him forty days after his birth (Lk 2:22-39). At the age of twelve he decided to remain in the Temple to remind his parents that he must be about his Father’s business (Cf. Lk:46-49). He went there each year during his hidden life at least for Passover (Cf. Lk 2:41). His public ministry was patterned by his pilgrimages to Jerusalem for the great Jewish feasts (Cf. Jn 2:13-14; 5:1; 14; 7:1, 10, 14; 8:2; 10:22-23) (CCC 583).

Jesus went up to the Temple as the privileged place of encounter with God. For him, the Temple was the dwelling of his Father, a house of prayer. In today’s Gospel narrative, he was angered that its outer court had become a place of commerce (Cf. Mt 21:13). So, he drove merchants out of it and commanded them: “You shall not make the my Father’s house a house of trade (Luke 19:46).

Christ gave reason for his dislodging the temple-merchants (Lk 19:46). The temple is a house of prayer, set apart for communion with God: the buyers and sellers made it a den of thieves by the fraudulent bargains they made there, which were hurting the poor and the pilgrims who can least afford them, for it would be a distraction to those who came there to pray.

What are some of the possible moral applications that we can take from this narrative?

First, the Temple is God’s house, His dwelling place in the midst of His people here on earth. Hence, it is sacred that demands due care and reverence. Profanation or desecration through sexual immoralities, murder, divination and occult, idolatry, immodest attire and gestures and blasphemous words must be avoided at all times, at all costs and by all means.

Second, the Temple is a place of worship and sacrifice. Make this as your motivation and purpose in going to the Church and keep them clear. Hence, never go to Church to steal, to slander, to boast your riches, power and beautiful body, to do business, to give intrigue and scandal, to observe passively as spectators and strangers and to sleep.

Third, the Temple is a place set apart, dedicated and consecrated for the glorification of God and sanctification of humankind. Hence, other uses or functions like making the Church or chapel a place of eating; seminar or conference hall, rest house, study hall, concert hall and stage for the program or any ceremony must be avoided, if not, prohibited.

Fourth, the Church is the fulfillment of the Temple. Hence, we must have a passionate love for the Church. In the new covenant of Jesus, the Temple is fulfilled in the Church. The Church is so important in God’s plan that Jesus calls the Church His body (e.g. Eph 1:22-23) and His bride (see Eph 5:25ff). Jesus has given the Church the keys of God’s kingdom (Mt 16:19). Jesus loves the Church so much that He died for her (Eph 5:25). “Christians of the first centuries said, ‘The world was created for the sake of the Church’ ” (Catechism, 760). “The Church is the goal of all things” (Catechism, 760).

Pray that you will love the Church as much as Jesus wants you to love her. Ask Him to cleanse your temple of all sins (see Lk 19:46ff), especially pride and selfishness, so that you will love His Temple, the Church, as He does. Dedicate and consecrate once again yourself to the Lord (see 1 Mc 4:54ff). Because you are a member of His body, your constant dedication and consecration will build up the Church. Live and die for Jesus and for His Church.

Lk 21:20-28 The Great Tribulation

When Jesus tells us about the end of the Jewish nation, He tells us not to worry. And when He tells us about the end of the world, He tells us that we are to stand erect and raise our heads because our redemption is at hand. Why this is so? It because of the following reasons:

The first is due to our faithfulness to God until the end. In the end, there is only one glory that lasts forever. All human honors will pass. All human glories will pass. The laurels will all wither. The only glory that lasts forever is our fidelity to Christ.

In Beyond Hunger, Beals, Mark Hatfield tells of touring Calcutta with Mother Teresa and visiting the so-called “House of Dying,” where sick children are cared for in their last days and the dispensary, where the poor line up by the hundreds to receive medical attention. Watching Mother Teresa minister to these people, feeding and nursing those left by others to die, Hatfield was overwhelmed by the sheer magnitude of the suffering she and her co-workers face daily. “How can you bear the load without being crushed by it?” he asked. Mother Teresa replied, “My dear Senator, I am not called to be successful, I am called to be faithful.” Are we faithful to what the Lord has called us to do?

Second, it is because we are grateful to Him. Do you still remember the ten lepers who asked Jesus to be healed? Only one of them came back to Jesus and gave thanks. The other nine might have been guilty of ingratitude and gross neglect of their Savior. Concretely, we are more than eighty eight million Filipinos and as one nation, these eighty eight million Filipinos will thank God for the gifts they have received in their lives. But looking at the Gospel statistics, only 1/10 will have truly thanked God.

What is gratitude? It is a deep and intense feeling of owing God for everything we have. But gratitude is more than feeling grateful, it is being grateful which connotes action as a response to God who gives us the gift. Just look at the gift we have received like our own life, have we ever dared think of what nonexistence would be that we might simply not have existed? This simple thought should inspire us to consider deeply and decide firmly what we can do for God and God’s cause in our short life.

And the third is that we are always hopeful. The Son of Man coming in glory and power was an image of hope for the early Christians and us. The Lord has promised us that He would return and reward our fidelity and love; would rise from the dead and He is faithful to His promise; will do it in our lives when we die to ourselves. He promised that we would undergo persecution and rejection for His name, and these have touched every Christian who has lived the faith authentically. But He also promised He would come again and bring the reward, peace and victory for which we yearn. How do we live our hope in our all-powerful King who is to come?

From an unknown source that a number of years ago researchers performed an experiment to see the effect hope has on those undergoing hardship. Two sets of laboratory rats were placed in separate tubs of water. The researchers left one set in the water and found that within an hour they had all drowned. The other rats were periodically lifted out of the water and then returned. When that happened, the second set of rats swam for over 24 hours. Why? Not because they were given a rest, but because they suddenly had hope!

Those animals somehow hoped that if they could stay afloat just a little longer, someone would reach down and rescue them. If hope holds such power for unthinking rodents, how much greater should is effect be on our lives.

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Luke 21:24 they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all nations

Ezra Taft Benson

“I think one of the saddest chapters in history is the account of the dispersion and suffering of Judah.

“I have before me a quotation of Will Durant in his book, The Story of Civilization, in which he states that ‘no people in history fought so tenaciously for liberty as the Jews, nor any other people against such odds.’ He says further, ‘No other people has ever known so long an exile, or so hard a fate.’

“Then referring to the siege of Jerusalem under Titus, lasting for 134 days, during which 1,110,000 Jews perished and 97,000 were taken captive; he states that the Romans destroyed 987 towns in Palestine and slew 580,000 men, and still larger number, we are told, perished through starvation, disease, and fire.

“Nearly all Judea was laid waste. So many Jews were sold as slaves that their price fell to that of a horse. Thousands hid in underground channels rather than be captured. Surrounded by Romans they died one by one of hunger while the living ate the bodies of the dead.

“Scarcely eight thousand Jews were left in all Palestine. And even their banishment and scattering didn’t end their persecution. Efforts were made to drive them from various countries. Some nations made an effort to banish them completely. They were accused of causing the ‘Black Death’ that spread through Europe in 1348, and many Jews were crucified therefore.

“I have said nothing regarding the Crusades and the dastardly deeds perpetrated in the name of Christianity upon the remaining Jews in Palestine. Yes, the prophecies regarding the dispersion and the suffering of Judah have been fulfilled. But the gathering and re-establishment of the Jews is also clearly predicted.” (So Shall Ye Reap, compiled by Reed A. Benson [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1960], 66-67.)

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