20th NOVEMBER. FRIDAY OF WEEK 33

1st Reading: 1Maccabees4:36-37, 52-59

Then Judas and his brothers said, " See, our enemies are crushed; let us go up to cleanse the sanctuary and dedicate it." So all the army assembled and went up to Mount Zion.

Early in the morning on the twenty-fifth month, which is the month of Chislev, in the one hundred forty-eight year, they rose and offered sacrifice, as the law directs, on the new altar of burnt offering that they had built. At the very season and on the very day that the Gentiles had profaned it, it was dedicated with songs and harps and lutes and cymbals. all the people fell on their faces and worshiped and blessed Heaven, who had prospered them. So they celebrated the dedication of the altar for eight days, and joyfully offered burnt offerings; they offered a sacrifice of well -being and thanksgiving offering. 

They decorated the front of the temple with golden crowns and small shields; they restored the gates and chambers for the priests, and fitted them with doors. There was very great joy among the people, and the disgrace brought by the gentiles was removed.

Then Judas and his brothers and all the assembly of Israel determined that every year at that season the days of dedication of the altar should be observed with joy and gladness for eight days, beginning  with the twenty-fifth day of the month of Chislev.

Gospel: Luke 19:45-48

Then he entered the temple and began to drive out those who were selling things there; and he said, " It is written, ' My house shall be a house of prayer'; but you have made it a den of robbers."

Every day he was teaching in the temple. The chief priests, the scribes, and the leaders of the people kept looking for a way to kill him; but they did not find anything they could do, for all the people were spellbound by what they heard.

REFLECTIONS AND MEDITATIONS ON THE READINGS

Purifying our own temple

Today's text recall the reconsecration of God's temple. In Maccabees this happens in Jerusalem, after its desecration by Antiochus Epiphanes; and in the gospel, Jesus cleanses the sanctuary after its profanation by traders in the temple courts.

To purify the temple means to let God be supreme  in our lives. That means our business and financial dealings as well as our politics must be moderated by God's law of justice and compassion. We should bring every aspect of our daily lives- family and neighborhood, work and recreation- into the temple, so that these can be purified, sanctified and placed under God's protection. At first, this program seems sweet and easy. But Jesus' requirements may be as stern as in today's story. As we renew our attachment to him, God can say of us, " My house is the house of prayer." Every part of life, home and family, work and play, can contribute to the depth and sincerity of our prayer, with God enthroned everywhere in our being.

Institutions need renewal

From the gospel reading we hear Jesus' displeasure at what is happening in the Temple in Jerusalem. Instead of serving its original purpose as a house of prayer for everyone, it had come to serve the interests of a few. Every human institution needs ongoing reform and renewal, and that includes religious institutions like the church.  The Lord is always imprompting us to reform and to renew our institutions so that they serve God's purposes more fully, rather than our own purposes. No human institution, no matter how revered, is perfect; it will always be in need of renewal, because it will always shaped by people who are tainted by sin. What is important is to acknowledge this in an ongoing way and to be open to the Lord's call to repentance and renewal.  This was not the case with those responsible  for the Jewish temple in Jerusalem. After Jesus' actions in the temple, the gospel says that the chief priests and the scribes tried to do away with Jesus. To resist ongoing renewal is to resist our Lord's call for transformation of heart. Our journey towards God, both as individuals and as communities, will always involve repentance, a willing to keep on turning more fully towards what God wants for our lives.