Gospel

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.”

And every day he was teaching in the temple area.

The chief priests, the scribes, and the leaders of the people, meanwhile,

were seeking to put him to death,

but they could find no way to accomplish their purpose

because all the people were hanging on his words.

Reflection

Jesus is pointing out a weakness that all institutions have. The reason the temple was established, so that people could find God and be bathed in his care and his love. And instead those who led that temple turned it into a place where people were used and abused. What a beautiful image of the way in which we need to always be careful and attentive to whether or not an institution is there in service, or whether it is in the service of themselves.

Closing Prayer

Corruption is something that is part of life, and it is something that we must always be conscious of and father, we ask you to bless us with an awareness when we see it, not to condemn it, but to somehow not engage in it. And we ask this in Jesus’ name, Amen.

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