The Dedication of the Lateran Basilica (Feast)
Stop making my Father’s house a marketplace. (John 2:16)
What comes to mind when you hear the word “home”? Perhaps you think of rest, security, or comfort, or maybe the freedom to be yourself. So imagine if you came home one day and found it had been turned into a movie theater or a car wash or a bank. Imagine if strangers were coming and going, not to find rest, but to conduct business. It wouldn’t feel like home at all!
This may help us understand what Jesus felt when he confronted the merchants in the Temple. He wasn’t condemning them for doing their job. People needed to buy animals for sacrifice and to change money. He just didn’t want them doing it in the Temple. This was his Father’s house, and it was his home too.
We, too, are God’s temples, and our hearts have been made to find their deepest happiness in him alone (1 Corinthians 3:16). You could say that our hearts have been made to be at home with God. When we let other concerns or occupations crowd out the Lord, we lose the security and freedom that come from being with him. But when we put God first, we find the peace we long for. We are ruled by the Holy Spirit instead of by temptations, our emotions, or whatever life is throwing at us.
Of course, being God’s temple doesn’t mean that we can’t find joy in the natural world. Think of the joy of your wedding day or the birth of a child, or think of the satisfaction you feel in a job well done. Those are gifts and blessings, given by a loving Father, and he delights in seeing us receive them happily.
It’s a good thing we have the Holy Spirit to help us establish the right priorities! When we need some “housecleaning,” we can be sure that the Spirit won’t use a whip, as Jesus did with the money changers. Instead, he will speak gently to our consciences—insistently, if necessary, but always gently.
So preserve your time with the Lord in prayer. Treasure it, and be vigilant in guarding it. It’s in prayer, most of all, that we can keep our “temple” clean and prevent it from getting overrun.
“Father, thank you for making me your temple. Help me to put you first so that I can find my home in you.”
Daily Marriage Tip for November 9, 2016:
Use a bulletin board or chalkboard to make a prayer intention space somewhere in your home. Set aside time each day to pray for each of the intentions.