The house of God is house of prayer. Turning it into a trading house desecrates the place.

In the same way as he commanded the demons so they could not stay,

so one can hear Jesus’ voice of authority echoing within the temple courtyard.

 

St. Andrew Dung-Lac, priest & Companions, martyrs

 ＊＊＊ 1st Reading ＊＊＊  

1 Maccabees 4:36-37, 52-59*

Then Judas and his brothers said:

"Our enemies are defeated, so let us go up and purify the Holy Place and consecrate it again." And all the army assembled and went up to Mount Zion. (...) On the twenty-fifth day of the month of Chislev, in the year one hundred and forty-eight (164 B.C.) they arose at dawn and offered the sacrifice prescribed by the Law on the new altar of holocausts which they had built. (...)

 

They celebrated the consecration of the altar for eight days, joyfully offering holocausts and celebrating sacrifices of thanksgiving and praise. The front of the temple was adorned with crowns of gold and shields; the gates and the rooms had been restored and fitted with doors. There was no end to the celebration among the people, and so the profanation of the temple by the pagans was forgotten.

 

Finally, Judas, his brothers and the whole assembly of Israel agreed to celebrate the anniversary of the consecration of the altar annually for eight days, from the twenty-fifth of the month of Chislev, in high festivity. 

 

＊＊＊ Gospel ＊＊＊＊      

Luke 19:45-48

Then Jesus entered the temple area and began to drive out the merchants. And he said to them, "God says in the Scriptures, My house shall be a house of prayer, but you have turned it into a den of robbers!" Jesus was teaching every day in the temple. The chief priests and teachers of the law wanted to kill him, and the elders of the Jews as well, but they were unable to do anything, for all the people were listening to him and hanging on his words.

 

1 Chr 29:10bcd, 11abc, 11d-12a, 12bcd

We praise your glorious name, O mighty God.

 

Gospel Reflection ：

"His body was the place where God was to be found." 

The first reading celebrates the purification and re-dedication of the Temple in Jerusalem after it had been desecrated. (Jews today still celebrate this event at Hanukkah.) In the Gospel, Jesus clears that same temple of moneychangers and sellers who were making this holy place look like a market. He reminded them that, while this place deserved respect, his body was the place where God was to be found.

 

Over nearly two millennia, the people of God have worshipped in all sorts of places, from the house churches of the early Church to the basilicas of Rome, from grand cathedrals to simple structures made by the worshippers themselves. No matter how ornate or simple the structure, these spaces were made holy by the sacrifice of praise offered there and the presence of Christ that abides.

 

We are called to reverence the presence of Christ wherever it is found: in our churches, in the Word, in our brothers and sisters.