20231124 FULFILLING THE PURPOSE OF WHAT WE ARE CALLED TO BE
24 November 2023, Friday, 33rd Week in Ordinary Time
First reading |
1 Maccabees 4:36-37,52-59 © |
Judas and his brothers purify the sanctuary and dedicate it
Judas and his brothers said, ‘Now that our enemies have been defeated, let us go up to purify the sanctuary and dedicate it.’ So they marshalled the whole army, and went up to Mount Zion.
On the twenty-fifth of the ninth month, Chislev, in the year one hundred and forty-eight, they rose at dawn and offered a lawful sacrifice on the new altar of holocausts which they had made. The altar was dedicated, to the sound of zithers, harps and cymbals, at the same time of year and on the same day on which the pagans had originally profaned it. The whole people fell prostrate in adoration, praising to the skies him who had made them so successful. For eight days they celebrated the dedication of the altar, joyfully offering holocausts, communion sacrifices and thanksgivings. They ornamented the front of the Temple with crowns and bosses of gold, repaired the gates and the storerooms and fitted them with doors. There was no end to the rejoicing among the people, and the reproach of the pagans was lifted from them. Judas, with his brothers and the whole assembly of Israel, made it a law that the days of the dedication of the altar should be celebrated yearly at the proper season, for eight days beginning on the twenty-fifth of the month Chislev, with rejoicing and gladness.
Responsorial Psalm |
1 Chronicles 29:10-12 © |
We praise your glorious name, O Lord.
Blessed are you, O Lord,
the God of Israel our father,
for ever, for ages unending.
We praise your glorious name, O Lord.
Yours, Lord, are greatness and power,
and splendour and triumph and glory.
All is yours, in heaven and on earth.
We praise your glorious name, O Lord.
Yours, O Lord, is the kingdom,
you are supreme over all.
Both honour and riches come from you.
We praise your glorious name, O Lord.
You are the ruler of all,
from your hand come strength and power,
from your hand come greatness and might.
We praise your glorious name, O Lord.
Gospel Acclamation | cf.2Tim1:10 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
Our Saviour Jesus Christ abolished death
and he has proclaimed life through the Good News.
Alleluia!
Or: | Jn10:27 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
The sheep that belong to me listen to my voice,
says the Lord,
I know them and they follow me.
Alleluia!
Gospel | Luke 19:45-48 © |
You have turned God's house into a robbers' den
Jesus went into the Temple and began driving out those who were selling. ‘According to scripture,’ he said ‘my house will be a house of prayer. But you have turned it into a robbers’ den.’
He taught in the Temple every day. The chief priests and the scribes, with the support of the leading citizens, tried to do away with him, but they did not see how they could carry this out because the people as a whole hung on his words.
FULFILLING THE PURPOSE OF WHAT WE ARE CALLED TO BE
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [1 MC 4:36-37, 52-59; LK 19:45-48]
The first reading from the book of Maccabees celebrates the re-dedication of the Temple which was desecrated by the Antiochians Kings. After defeating them and driving them out of Jerusalem, their first significant act was to purify and restore the Temple. It was done with great pomp, ceremony and rejoicing. This day is still commemorated in Judaism as Hanukkah or “dedication.” It is celebrated as the festival of lights around the same time when Christians celebrate Christmas. One should not be surprised that perhaps Christmas, which is the celebration of Christ coming to bring light to a world in darkness, might have taken some symbols from this festival.
But having the physical Temple is one thing. It is more important to preserve the interior of the Temple. Although the Jews were able to worship in the Temple during the time of Jesus and was given some autonomy by the Romans, there was much corruption by the Temple priests. They enriched themselves through their monopoly of the Temple, the sacrifices, selling of the animals for the offerings, currency exchange from Roman coins to the Temple money. Exorbitant fees were charged. The poor were manipulated. There was a lack of sincerity in worship. It is within this context that “Jesus went into the Temple and began driving out those who were selling. ‘According to scripture.’ he said ‘my house will be a house of prayer. But you have turned it into a robbers’ den.'”
How did Jesus cleanse the Temple? In St Mark’s gospel, the emphasis was on the “overturning the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sell pigeons and he would not allow anyone to carry anything through the temple.” (Mk 11:17-17) By this action, Jesus was regarded as the fulfilment of the prophecy of Zechariah, “And there shall no longer be a trader in the house of the Lord of hosts on that day.” (Zech 14:21) But in the case of Luke, Jesus only drove out the sellers.
What truly cleansed the Temple was not so much the physical cleansing that Jesus did, but rather His prophetic cleansing. St Luke wrote, “He taught in the Temple every day. The chief priests and the scribes, with the support of the leading citizens, tried to do away with him, but they did not see how they could carry this out because the people as a whole hung on his words.” It was His prophetic teaching that cleansed the Temple. Jesus, as the prophet, rightly preached and taught in the Temple. In truth, selling the animals for worship and exchanging money were not wrong. They were considered essential services for the people to offer a pure worship. But the problem was that they were using such privileges to make money from the people and robbing them as well by their exorbitant charges. So the prophetic teaching of our Lord was to bring the people to mind, the need for honesty and integrity.
Indeed, the authorities were not so much reacting to the action of Him driving out the sellers but to His teaching since they were searching for something to use against Him. It was because of His prophetic teaching and His popularity with the people that the authorities sought to get rid of Him as He was a threat to the institution and their priestly status.
Indeed, Jesus fulfilled the prophecy of Malachi as well by being the messenger of the Lord in purifying His Temple. “Behold, I send my messenger to prepare the way before me, and the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple; the messenger of the covenant in whom you delight, behold, he is coming, says the Lord of hosts. But who can endure the day of his coming, and who can stand when he appears? For he is like a refiner’s fire and like fullers’ soap; he will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and he will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, till they present right offerings to the Lord. Then the offering of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasing to the Lord as in the days of old and as in former years.” (Mal 3:1-4)
But what was the ultimate goal of this cleansing if not for the people to offer a pure worship to God? “For from the rising of the sun to its setting my name is great among the nations, and in every place incense is offered to my name, and a pure offering; for my name is great among the nations, says the Lord of hosts.” (Mal 1:11) Jesus came to purify the House of Israel and the Temple worship so that they could truly offer a pure offering of praise to God. God does not want our offering tainted by sin, injustice, cheating and selfishness. The Lord says, “You bring what has been taken by violence or is lame or sick, and this you bring as your offering! Shall I accept that from your hand? Cursed be the cheat who has a male in his flock, and vows it, and yet sacrifices to the Lord what is blemished; for I am a great King, says the Lord of hosts, and my name is feared among the nations.” (Mal 1:13f)
The prophetic teaching of Christ is summed up in the Sermon on the Mount, the Beatitudes and His way of life, of unconditional service, compassion for the poor and for sinners, forgiveness of sins, healing of those who were sick, deliverance of those under the bondage of the Evil One. In humility and generosity, we are called to serve our brothers and sisters, to give hope to those who are forlorn, those without hope in their pain and misery, those under oppression, these are the people we are called to uplift. Only when we give our lives for these people, can we offer true worship to God. Pure worship means that we seek to live out the teaching of Christ in our lives by drawing strength from God through worship, an intimate prayer life and expressed our love for Him by our love for our fellowmen. This is what Christ meant when He said to the Samaritan Woman, “Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for such the Father seeks to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.” (Jn 4:21-24)
Today we too must live prophetic lives as well. As the People of God, it is certainly necessary to maintain our church so that we will have a dignified place reserved for worship. God must be given the utmost honour even whilst we observe simplicity. But the truth is that when we love God, there is nothing too much for Him. We want to give of our best. Indeed, what is in our heart, we express externally whether in buildings, in the solemnity of the religious celebrations, and in our worship, songs and praise. We too must rejoice with the Maccabean when they felt so happy to reclaim back the Temple for worship. Many of us unfortunately take our churches for granted. We do not realize that the church is what it is today because of the many generous contributions of our parishioners to maintain and finance the different church activities and programs.
To be prophetic, the Church must of course be involved in the life of our community. Part of this prophetic work is to announce the truth, to lead by example an exemplary life of a Christian, and to offer our lives in humble service, being responsible in our workplace. We must witness to the world how we build strong families and marriages. We must reach out to the poor and the suffering, the marginalized and the vulnerable. Rendering our service to the larger community, such as NGOs, and being involved in the work of inter-religious dialogue including building inter-racial circles, is part of this prophetic work.
But underlying these programs and activities, we must be guided by clear teachings of the Church, empowered by our spiritual relationship with the Lord. Like the people, we must therefore hang on His words so that we can defend ourselves from those who are hostile to the gospel. This was the case of the Jewish leaders who wanted to do away with Him as “they did not see how they could carry this out because the people as a whole hung on his words.” We must be fed by the Word of God, through ongoing formation in different ways when the opportunities arise. We must be ready to be formed after the heart of Christ so that as missionary disciples, we can truly be people who are prophetic in the world. Indeed, we need first to cleanse and purify ourselves from within so that we can then cleanse and purify the world with the Word of God.
Written by His Eminence, Cardinal William SC Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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