 |
Friday, November 18, 2005 Meditation Luke 19:45-48 Selling animals for sacrifice and exchanging foreign currency were necessary services that the Temple personnel provided for the pilgrims who came to Jerusalem. In fact, several such marketplaces were conveniently located near the Temple. But under the high priest Caiaphas, the Temple’s outermost courtyard itself had also been turned into a trading place. Such an encroachment upon this sacred building must not have sat well with some. Merchants haggling. Sheep bleating. Doves flapping. Money changers clinking their coins. Imagine how difficult it must have been for the God-fearing Gentiles who were permitted in this court but no further to worship! So Jesus evicted the traders because he wanted to preserve the Temple as a place of prayer for everyone. He must also have been disturbed by those merchants who charged inflated exchange rates or sold animals for exorbitant prices. Such practices, Jesus declared, made the Temple “into a den of robbers” (Luke 19:46). Like the Temple priests and administrators of Jesus’ day, we who are members of the church face many pitfalls. Self-interest seeks to rule our hearts and our actions. “Conservative” and “liberal” Catholics are tempted to criticize one another harshly. Parish councils can be characterized by disagreements and personality clashes more than a desire to build up the church. Lack of prayer seeks to rob us of the joy and peace that should always be a hallmark of believers in Christ. Given all of this, how can we still proclaim our belief in “one, holy, catholic, and apostolic church”? Because the church is both a human and a divine institution. As such, its holiness is “real,” but also “imperfect” (Vatican II, Lumen Gentium, 48). Precisely because the church is “at once holy and always in need of purification,” it must always follow “the way of penance and renewal” (8). Each of us can help bring about the ongoing renewal of the church through our prayer, and by trying to walk in love all the time. Together, let’s join in this renewal, “so that the sign of Christ may shine more brightly over the face of the earth” (Lumen Gentium, 15). “Jesus, cleanse our hearts of all that distorts your image in us. Help us to reflect your holiness and goodness to everyone who looks upon your church.” 1 Maccabees 4:36-37,52-59; (Psalm) 1 Chronicles 29:10-12 |
|