NOVEMBER 21 THE PRESENTATION OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY
In Jesus' day, the temple of Jerusalem, newly restored by Herod the Great, was big business. Animals and agricultural produce were important elements of various sacrifices. Every Jew was expected to help pay for the upkeep of the temple, so it was a location that had money changers because the tax had to be paid with a particular coinage. The priests and staff were also dependent on portions of the sacrificial offerings for their own food! One can only imagine the mess caused when Jesus went in and started freeing animals and overturning tables! His actions were a kind of "last straw" to the Jewish authorities in Jerusalem. Along with the fact that the people were "hanging on his words," the authorities were concerned about a riot taking place that would bring Roman authority into brutal action. So, they used the Roman authority to get rid of Jesus.
There are many levels to this incident for reflection! There is the question about our own personal temple and how it may be cluttered with things we think are necessary for prayer but really are obstacles to our relationship with God. There is the level of institutional integrity on which the Church becomes a "big business" that demands more and more financial resources from the faithful. There is the broad picture of reform and conversion that Jesus brought to the temple and the resistance of entrenched "power structures" that led to his death. A form of that resistance has been evident ever since the Second Vatican Council!!!
Do we just "clean up the mess" and go back to business as usual? Do we get rid of that disturber of our faith and practices? Or do we take a good long look at why we are "disturbed" and why that disturber has come to challenge us? AMEN