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Photo by author, National Bible Sunday, 26 January 2020.
Praise and glory to you, Lord Jesus that through this pandemic, you continue to bless us, teaching us valuable lessons we have taken for granted for so long. For the past eight months, we have been doing many quarantine measures to cleanse us and keep us COVID free and healthy, reminding us of the truth of that “cleanliness is next to Godliness”.
Today’s gospel reminds us so well of this need to cleanse ourselves first before we can cleanse people and institutions.
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.
Luke 19:45-48
People were “hanging on your words”, Lord Jesus, because they could feel power and authority in them for you are the Word who became flesh and dwelt among us.
Purify us, Jesus, like you so that our words may be filled with you.
Let your words not remain sweet only on our lips as experienced by St. John when he ate the small scroll given by the angel to him; let your words disturb us, turn our stomach sour (Rev.10:10) to cleanse us first inside, emptying us of our pride so you can fill us with your Holy Spirit to proclaim your good news of salvation.
May we desire more of being disturbed by your words than being pleased with its beauty that is superficial and can be misleading.
Most of all, may we keep in mind that it is you, dear Jesus, who must increase, who must be known not us in sharing and proclaiming your words. Amen.
