Since the Passover of the Jews was near,
Jesus went up to Jerusalem.
He found in the temple area those who sold oxen, sheep, and doves,
as well as the money-changers seated there.
He made a whip out of cords
and drove them all out of the temple area, with the sheep and oxen,
and spilled the coins of the money-changers
and overturned their tables,
and to those who sold doves he said,
“Take these out of here,
and stop making my Father’s house a marketplace.”
His disciples recalled the words of Scripture,
Zeal for your house will consume me.
At this the Jews answered and said to him,
“What sign can you show us for doing this?”
Jesus answered and said to them,
“Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up.”
The Jews said,
“This temple has been under construction for forty-six years,
and you will raise it up in three days?”
But he was speaking about the temple of his Body.
Therefore, when he was raised from the dead,
his disciples remembered that he had said this,
and they came to believe the Scripture
and the word Jesus had spoken.
John 2:13-22
My dear brothers and sisters, what is the first thing that comes to your mind when you read this gospel reading? for me, our protestant counterparts come into mind when reading this passage. if our Lord walked among us today he would repeat what he had done in the reading, for they have turned the house of God into a business that profits none but themselves. Thinking again, does worshipping our creator have a price of 10% our income? Is preaching the good news a job to put bread on the table? what little faith you have! do you not know God provides for his people? also thinking...Why do we worship? Why do we share the word amongst ourselves? are we like the protestants who go to their buildings of lust to "worship" for the sake of it or are we those who go to church and worship because we want to give thanks to the Lord for creating us,sacrificing himself for our sins and taking care of us so tenderly? My brothers and sisters i implore you if you have this mindset of going to church for the sake of going, go no longer until you can set your minds of going to mass for the sole purpose of celebrating the Eucharist with your whole, undivided heart. for the purpose of going to church is no longer there if you do not go to a place of worship to worship. God bless.
