The Cleansing of the Temple
On this first opportunity to sit with the stories of Holy Week, we invite you to reflect on gospel writer Matthew’s account of Jesus going into the Jewish temple after he had entered Jerusalem on Palm Sunday. What he did there was not just surprising - it was shocking.
Image credit: FreeBibleImages.org
Sit with this image for a while. Is this the Jesus you imagine or experience?
You may want to go deeper by reading all the Christian Scriptures relating to this story or perhaps enter into the story imaginatively.
Those of us who, in normal times, visit the Chapel of the Holy Spirit regularly can think about Jesus cleansing the temple while we are shut out of our own ‘temple’ - that place in which we would normally gather for Holy Week reflection.
Many of us are missing familiar people, things and gathering places. There will be a time when we can re-enter the Chapel of the Holy Spirit and other places of worship or significance. This meditation may help those who grieve for the closure of their churches, as might this prayer for forgiveness.
In this time of separation from special places, reflect on your relationship with the God within you. Christian scripture tells us we are made in the image of the Divine. We have God’s likeness - the True Self - within:
Maybe we realize subconsciously that if we really recognized our True Self—which is the Divine Indwelling, the Holy Spirit within us—if we really believed that we are temples of God, then we would have to live up to this incredible dignity, freedom, and love.
… to allow [myself] to experience [my] True Self—who [I am] in God and who God is in [me]—and to live a generous and just life from that Infinite Source.
Adapted from Richard Rohr: Essential Teachings on Love.
You may wish to spend time reflecting on what it means to be the Imago Dei - the image of God; the temple of the Holy Spirit.
As you do so, feel free to ask for the grace to invite Jesus to cleanse the ‘temple’ you are, in preparation for travelling through the events of Holy Week with him.
Thank you for your presence. We offer Clear Out, a poem, to close this reflection.