First Reading - 1 Maccabees 4:36-59
Gospel - Luke 19:45-48
In the first reading, we heard that Judas, the son of Mattathias, took over leadership after Mattathias. It's under his able leadership Antiochus and his troops had to retreat. When Antiochus and his officials could not overcome Judas and his team, they had to leave Jerusalem and the temple which was turned into pagan worship place. Judas, seeing the defilement of the temple, decided to consecrate the temple according to the Law. The celebration of the dedication of the temple was to be commemorated regularly thereafter. The dedication of the temple was a reminder for them of their victory.
Today’s Gospel gives us the dramatic account of Jesus’ cleansing of the Temple in Jerusalem. He drove out its merchants and moneychangers with moral indignation at the unjust commercialization of God’s House of Prayer and the exploitation of the poor pilgrims in the name of religion. The merchants charged exorbitant prices for the animals to be sacrificed, and the moneychangers charged unjust commissions for the required exchange of pagan coins for Temple coins. The Temple Jesus cleansed was the Temple in Jerusalem, originally built by Solomon in 966 BC, rebuilt by Zerubbabel in 515 BC after the Babylonians had destroyed it, and in Jesus’ day was still being renovated, a work begun by King Herod the Great in 20 BC. The abuses which infuriated Jesus were: 1) the conversion of a place of prayer into a noisy marketplace, and 2), the unjust business practices of animal merchants and moneychangers, encouraged by the Temple authorities. Hence, Jesus made a whip of cords and drove away the animals, the dealers and the moneychangers, quoting the prophets, Isaiah and Jeremiah, “Stop making my Father’s house a marketplace."
Dear friends, dedication of the temple in the first reading and the cleansing of the temple in the gospel remind us that the temple has been and has a prominent place in the lives of people. This is connected to the sentiments of people as we see in the first reading where Judas felt sorry after seeing the defilement of the temple. The following significant events also remind us that the temple has prominence because of the presence of God in it. Consequently, the events of dedication and cleansing invite us to pay at most reverence to the sanctity of the place or the churches. This means to maintain the holiness of place by avoiding every kind of injustice, scandal, or money making business in the name of the religion or religious activities.
The events of dedication and cleansing of the temple also remind us of what St. Paul tells us: 'Our body is the temple of God.' If our body is the temple of God, hence any defilement of our body for any reason is not tolerated by God. Every filth and defilement against our body (heart, mind and soul) is to be cleansed so that it will always remain a worthy dwelling place for God. We are given the Sacrament of reconciliation as a way to cleanse ourselves from spiritual defilement. Let's avail ourselves of this great opportunity given by Christ to us.
May God enable us to keep our hearts and minds pure.
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