Jesus entered the temple area and proceeded to drive out those who were selling things, saying to them, “It is written, My house shall be a house of prayer, but you have made it a den of thieves” (Lk 19:45-46).
Luke’s account of Jesus casting out the money changers is the most succinct of all four Gospels. I have reduced it yet further to the two verses above. Luke uses the Greek term for “drive or cast out” – ekballō, eight other times.Each time he used it, Luke was making reference to exorcising demons and unclean spirits. The profanation of the body through possession of evil is equivalentl to the desecration of the Temple precincts.
Jesus himself would justify his actions by saying: “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up” (Jn 2:19). Jesus shows the dignity of our humanity, in that as the Son of God he entered our humanity. He entered into the chaos of our lives, our faults, and foibles, or sin, while remaining sinless himself, and showed that even though we have turned away from God, we are not destroyed. He reminds us that what God has created is good and that includes us. Though we constantly turn away, he infinitely reaches out to us in love, and calls us home.
One of the wonderful features of holidays, is that families that are apart seek to come together. They return home. Some are not able to and reconnect by phone, email, or the other avenues of social media available to us now. But we also need to realize or maybe even experience this ourselves, that there are also those family members that are estranged, or who no longer have family. There are those suffering today that are homeless, displaced, refugees and immigrants, or living in fear of deportation. May we pray for them and be avenues of reconciliation where we can.
No matter who or where we are, Jesus is present. He became one with us to restore our communion with God and one another. He provides the living water that quenches the thirst of our deepest longings. That which will not be satisfied by even the greatest of deals available today on Black Friday.
Our temple today is not the Malls, even though the masses may be flocking there. Jesus, our temple, our new covenant, the dwelling place of God as was the temple in Jerusalem before its destruction, is alive and present to each of us in every condition, situation, and place we find ourselves. And through his resurrection and ascension he has made us temples of the indwelling of God the Holy Spirit. Through our baptism, we are incorporated into his mystical Body. All we need to do is say yes to his invitation.
May we call on Jesus to identify within us, our temple, those attachments, conditions of hardness of heart, and selfish desires that keep us apart from our communion with him and his Father. May he cast out, as he did in the temple precincts, all from our being that would defile us and keep us bound in sin. May the Holy Spirit reign in our hearts that we may embody and bear his love to all we meet today. If you are braving the masses of those going to the stores today, or if you are already there, I invite you to be a bearer of Christ’s light. Be patient, kind, and loving with those you are rubbing elbows with. You are braver than I. I will be digging in to correct my student’s essays and taking some quiet time to enjoy praying and looking out at our Maple Tree!
2 thoughts on “Jesus Cast Out From Us All that would Defile Us.”
I have never drawn the comparison between the profanation of the Temple and the profanation of ourselves. The image of Jesus “cleaning house” and “sweeping out” what defiles us is excellent. I plan to use the last paragraph with minor modifications as a prayer to give to prisoners, giving credit to Deacon Serge. I hope someday Deacon Serge expands the meditation to include the notion of Jesus “sweeping out” our societal evil that has led us to defile our environment, hoard our assets, use more than our share of natural resources, proliferate weapons of all types, elevate profit over people, and the list goes on and on.
Mary, all good points to expand upon! Those societal evils begin within our hearts, and as you mention, the list unfortunately goes on and on! I have addressed some of those you mentioned as well as others in past reflections. Though it cannot be mentioned enough. May we have eyes to see, and ears to hear the cry of the poor in our midst, and let us pray that Jesus cleanse our temple as we seek to invite others to do the same, person to person, so that each of us can bring Christ to others, as you are doing by meeting with the prisoners you share your time with. In this way, may we be lights in the darkness of the social evils that plague our world.
Spiritual Stepping Stones
I have never drawn the comparison between the profanation of the Temple and the profanation of ourselves. The image of Jesus “cleaning house” and “sweeping out” what defiles us is excellent. I plan to use the last paragraph with minor modifications as a prayer to give to prisoners, giving credit to Deacon Serge. I hope someday Deacon Serge expands the meditation to include the notion of Jesus “sweeping out” our societal evil that has led us to defile our environment, hoard our assets, use more than our share of natural resources, proliferate weapons of all types, elevate profit over people, and the list goes on and on.
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Mary, all good points to expand upon! Those societal evils begin within our hearts, and as you mention, the list unfortunately goes on and on! I have addressed some of those you mentioned as well as others in past reflections. Though it cannot be mentioned enough. May we have eyes to see, and ears to hear the cry of the poor in our midst, and let us pray that Jesus cleanse our temple as we seek to invite others to do the same, person to person, so that each of us can bring Christ to others, as you are doing by meeting with the prisoners you share your time with. In this way, may we be lights in the darkness of the social evils that plague our world.
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