In the first reading, Judas Maccabeus, after defeating the enemies of Israel, finds the Temple of Jerusalem in total ruin. So he orders his men to rebuild the temple and replaces all the sacred vessels, lampstand, altar, and other furnishings. After doing so, they joyfully re-dedicate the temple: “they consecrated it with songs accompanied by zithers, harps and cymbals. All the people fell prostrate and blessed Heaven that had given them happiness and success” (1 Mac 4: 54b – 55)
The Gospel reading is about Jesus cleansing the Temple area, “Then Jesus entered the Temple area and began to drive out the merchants. And he said to them, ‘God says in the Scriptures: My house shall be a house of prayer: but you have turned it into a den of robbers.’ ”
The cleansing of the Temple area occurs late in the ministry of Jesus he Gospel of Luke, after the triumphant entry into Jerusalem. In the Gospel of John the cleansing of the Temple is given early in his public ministry, after the miracle at the wedding feast in Cana. In John’s account, Jesus also predicts his death and resurrection: “‘Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up’. . . . Jesus was referring to the temple of his body. Only when he had risen from the dead did his disciples remember these words.” (Jn 3:19–22a)
Both readings speak of respect for the temple as the house of God and the sign of God’s presence to his people. The temple of Jerusalem also housed the Tablets of the Law, the sign of God’s Covenant with Israel.
We value God’s presence to us in our churches and places of worship. We value God’s presence in us by his grace whereby we become temples of the Holy Spirit.
We especially thank God for his loving presence an memorial in all our churches in the Blessed Sacrament, the wonderful reminder and guarantee of our redemption, “When we eat this Bread and drink this Cup, we proclaim your Death, O Lord, until you come again.”
We thank God for his presence in the least of our brethren, “Whenever you did this to these little ones who are my brothers and sisters, you did it to me.” (Mt 25: 40)