33rd Week in Ordinary Time : Friday 22nd November 2019

In the Gospel account on the Cleansing of the Temple, it is meant to re-iterate that the temple is for prayer and worship. Therefore the abuse of the temple for business and profiteering is certainly a serious crime.

Jesus showed that the temple is the place where the teaching of God’s law and commandments is to take place  (Lk. 20: 1- 21:38). In this text, Jesus’ entry into the temple was foretold by Prophet Malachi: “The Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple.” (Mal. 3:1)

We see the reaction of the Jerusalem leaders (chief priests, scribes and leaders) who finally succeeded in having Jesus put to death. Here we also see the contrast between the attitude of the leader and that of the people who hung on to Jesus’ words with faith.

What about us today in our places of worship — church buildings and chapels where the faithful gather to offer prayers and worship? How do we show reverence in the Church where we gather for the Eucharistic celebrations and other prayer services? How often we forget that we are on sacred ground!

In the first reading we see how the Israelites dedicated the altar where they offered holocausts, communion sacrifices and thanksgiving. It was a joyful time for the community when they celebrated the festival of the Dedication of the Altar. Hence we are reminded to treat our places of worship with reverence and care.

“Lord, teach us to give reverence to the places of worship regardless what  places of worship we are in, especially in our multi-religious country, Malaysia/Singapore.”