Jesus went to Jerusalem, knowing he would meet certain death on the cross, as well as victory for our sake. His act of judgment in the temple is meant to be a warning to the people that God takes worship seriously. Jesus was angry, and even violent on this occasion. St Augustine wrote, Jesus did nothing by force but everything by persuasion and admonition,’ but he threw out the sellers and buyers from the temple by flogging them.” Augustine says further that Jesus also cast out demons against their will, so why not money-changers?
The custom Jesus attacks is the selling of various items necessary for sacrifice: animals, doves, wine, oil, and salt. Money changers also collected Roman and Greek coins and exchanged them for the half-shekel temple tax required by the Law (Ex. 30:11-14). The exchange had a built-in surcharge. This suggests that Jesus intended to change the whole temple worship and sacrifices. As he suggested to the Samaritan woman “ The true worshipper will worship God in Spirit and Truth. Eckhart says :The temple is now the human soul. For this reason God wants this temple cleared, that He may dwell there.”
In the first reading we Judas and his brothers had the Temple purified and rededicated.
The rededication of the Temple is the feast of Hanukkah. One Christian writer compared the desecrated Temple to a soul, desecrated by sin. He also compared the rededication of the Temple to the reconciliation of the soul with God. As the rededication of the Temple erased the disgrace incurred at the hands of the Gentiles, so the reconciliation of the soul erased the disgrace incurred at the hands of sin.
God’s act of judgment aims to purify God's people and to discipline them. The Lord chastises us, in order to lead us from the error of our ways to his love, truth and justice.?
Lord, help us to draw near to you with gratitude and joy for your great mercy. May we always worship you and give you praise with our thoughts, words and actions. Amen.
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