Word to the Wise
Friday, November 21, 2008 - Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary
[Revelation 10:8-11 and Luke 19:45-48]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."
There's no question that Jesus' behavior in the temple was the equivalent of throwing down the gauntlet to the religious authorities in Jerusalem. He virtually accuses them of corrupting the worship of God. In short he attacks the whole system - not as evil in itself, but as corrupted by the incumbents! Since the temple was the main attraction for Jerusalem, the accusation really struck to the heart of Judaism. Echoes of Jeremiah's famous prophecy, "Put not your trust in these words: This is the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord!" In the scripture from the book of Revelation today, there is a similarly dramatic image of literally eating the word of God which may taste sweet but which will trouble the stomach because of the awareness of what that word will cause when it is proclaimed! Prophets will always be dramatic and troubling individuals! Many of them pay with their lives for the trouble they cause to existing corrupt authorities. The Jerusalem authorities had a kind of live-and-let-live relationship with the Roman occupiers. They wanted no disturbance in that from the likes of Jesus! Ironically they would bet on the wrong horse later on and the Romans would come and smash them flat! Does Jesus disturb us? Have we "tamed" him as a prophet? Or does he come into OUR temple and start throwing things around and demanding that we clean up our act? Is it easier to pay attention? Or is it easier to get rid of him? AMEN
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