Today’s scripture: Luke 19:45-48 (NRSV) (The Message) (KJV) What might God be saying to me?
My thoughts (Steve Adams):
Dramatic, eh? Jesus walks in the temple and throws out the sellers! If that’s surprising, then the companion version in Matthew 21:12-14 is downright shocking. He not only drove the sellers out, he turned over their tables and chairs in the process!
So why was Jesus so offended? After all, as he so often did, he could have told them a parable to get them to realize how off-base they were. As Pastor Jeff has taught us, Jesus was upset because these sellers were dominating the area where the “common people” were allowed to gather and worship God.
One way of thinking about this story is to analogize that the temple represents that part of our mind where we adore God, thank God, pray to God, get quiet with God, contemplate God’s wonders, listen, converse, pursue wise decisions, and pour out our hearts to God. It’s sacred. It’s consecrated. The sellers? I see them as dastardly distractions!
Prayer and quiet time was a big deal to Jesus. We generally aren’t very good at doing it in Western civilization. We seem to pale in comparison to the rich meditative traditions of many Eastern countries. After all, praying while you’re driving to work or just before the ballgame has its limits!
Jesus’ purpose was to safeguard the quiet, sacred space which provides the optimum potential for people to connect with the divine, making space for all who wanted to enter in. And what happened once they were again allowed to enter? Healing!
We all know what distractions are, don’t we? I choose to do something that’s not as important (inferior) than the more important (superior) option. What are specific distractions in my life? It takes lots of honesty to realize what they are, and then even more resolve to chose the superior — but, with God’s love, we can do it!
Thought for the day: God, I love You so much! I’m gonna turn over the tables, drive out the distractions, and immerse myself in your precious presence!
We encourage you to include a time of prayer with this reading. If you need a place to get started, consider the suggestions on the How to Pray page.