Luke 19:46
"It is written, my house shall be a house of prayer, but you have made it a den of thieves."
Today we find Jesus in the final days of his ministry entering the temple and finding moneychangers and traders. Jesus quotes the old testament passages from Jeremiah and Isaiah to drive his point home. Jesus is the new teaching, but those in the temple (Sadducees, Pharisees Priests and Scribes) don't want to a follow Jesus. "Who do they think this Jesus is?" they probably ask. They know enough that he such a threat that they scheme to kill him. But they can't because the people, "hang on his every word."
Two thoughts come to mind on this reading. First, when we go to church, we need to let all of our thoughts go and focus on Jesus and our prayers of thanksgiving and petition. It's easy to have the mind wander about work, school, after-church activities, etc. But we are there to focus on worship. Jesus lets the moneychangers know that "this is a house of prayer." It's not a place for gossip and visiting. You should do that outside of the church in the parish hall. Second, we should be so hungry for Jesus's mercy that we should hang on every word that comes out of the Gospel. Our time on this earth is brief, but eternity is everlasting. We need to spend every moment giving God praise, and treating each other as if they are Jesus himself. Make a change in your worship experience and prayer time today. Focus on what's really important.
