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 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.
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To be a house of prayer for all people
In today’s gospel passage, Jesus drove out the merchants busy with trading in the Temple. Jesus reminded the people that the Temple was meant to be the house of prayer, a place of encounter between God and His people, where the poor and the marginalised are welcomed. But, unfortunately, with all the buying and selling, the Temple became a bandits’ den, a house where selfishness and greed dwell.
Today, our Church, our faith community, our very own lives are meant to be houses of prayer where all people can find and encounter God and His love and mercy. As a Christian community and as individuals, we can lose sight of God and end up serving our self-interest and needs. Let us never become deaf to the cry of Jesus as He reminds us, “The Church, your faith community, your very life must be a house of prayer for all people”.
Question for reflection:
How can I become a house of prayer where people can encounter God?
How can I become a house of prayer where people can encounter God?
Acknowledgment: Reflections are based on “Prayer for Living: The Word of God for Daily Prayer Year B” by Sr. Sandra Seow FMVD.
