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Commentary on Luke 19:45-48

Luke tells us very briefly of the scene where Jesus, now in Jerusalem, drives the traders from the courts of the Temple. “‘My house is meant for a house of prayer’,” says Jesus quoting from Isaiah (56:7) and Jeremiah (7:11) respectively, “but you have turned it into ‘a den of thieves’.”

The trading took place in the outer court, also known as the Court of the Gentiles, and, as is not unusual in such situations, prices could be grossly inflated. John speaks of a cleansing at the beginning of Jesus’ ministry (2:13-25) but in the other three gospels it takes place at the end. Two possible explanations have been given. Either there were two cleansings or, more likely, John moved the story to the beginning of Jesus’ ministry for theological reasons. He wanted to show Jesus as Messiah right from the beginning whereas in the Synoptics Jesus’ identity as Messiah is only gradually revealed. There are also some differences in the various accounts. John mentions cattle and sheep and has Jesus use a whip made of cords. Matthew and Luke seem to indicate that the event took place on what we call Palm Sunday but for Mark it was on the following day (Mark 11:1-17).

Those coming to the Temple needed to buy animals for the sacrifices and they needed to change their Roman coins into acceptable Jewish currency (shekels) to make their contributions to the Temple. Jesus had no problem about that. What he objected to was that this business was being carried on inside God’s house when it could just as well have been done outside.

We all know how street traders try to get as close to the action as they can. However, there may be hints that priests in the Temple connived at this business and hence would certainly have profited from it. But Jesus (and probably others as well) felt that such business was not appropriate in a place dedicated to the worship of God.

It would be hard for us to imagine hawkers being allowed to set up stalls inside our churches, although the vendors of Sunday papers do get pretty close to the church doors.

Not surprisingly, the chief priests and the scribes - especially those who might have been involved in what must have been a lucrative business - were plotting how to get rid of Jesus who was upstaging their authority and accusing them of hypocrisy, greed and corruption. The chief priests, as members of the ruling Jewish council, the Sanhedrin, wielded great authority. But it was not going to be easy as the ordinary people continued to flock to Jesus and, as Luke tells us, “were hanging on his every word”.

Jesus is an example of the true prophet. He speaks as a messenger of God and is indeed God’s own Son. He stands as a counter-witness to all that is against truth, love and justice and as such inevitably incurs the anger and hostility of those who have power, power based on falsehood, on self-interest, corruption and injustice.

Our Church, in its communities and through individuals, is called on to continue that mission of counter-witness. It will win us the support and admiration of some but also the hostility, the anger and even the violence of others. This is something we should not at all be surprised at nor something we should try to avoid. Our only concern must be always to speak the truth in love.

God will take care of the rest. Because, ultimately, truth, love and justice will prevail.

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Commentary on 1 Macc 4:36-37, 52-59

Today’s reading recalls the institution of one of the most important feasts on the Jewish calendar, the Feast of Dedication. Judas Maccabaeus and his brothers had been waging a guerrilla war against the Syrian occupation of their land. Eventually they defeated and drove out the Gentile forces. Having defeated their enemies, Judas Maccabeus, a son of Mattathias whom we saw in yesterday’s reading, called on his followers to go to Jerusalem to purify and dedicate the Temple which had been desecrated by having the “Abomination of Desolation”, that is, a statue of Baal or Zeus Olympus erected on it.

The New Jerusalem Bible notes:

The Temple was one of the principal objectives of the rebels, as the centre of Jewish religious life, without which the Law could not be observed in its fullness. The Gentiles had sacked and profaned it; now, as soon as the first victories are won, it is purified and re-consecrated. The death of Antiochus Epiphanes, which our author mistakenly places after the expeditions against the Idumaeans and Ammonites (in chap 5), doubtless had something to do with it too. The concept of the holiness of the Temple will be a dominant theme in Second Maccabees. (edited and text references omitted)

In passages immediately preceding the main part of our reading, we are told that Judas and his followers found the Temple in a state of total desolation - there was no one there, the altar desecrated, gates burnt down, vegetation growing freely as it might in the middle of a forest. Judas and his companions were devastated at the sight. He ordered the purification of the site by priests specially chosen for their impeccable credentials and faithfulness to the Law. It was then decided that the original altar should not be repaired but, because of its contamination by pagan rituals, should be pulled down and removed. A new altar was built in its place and other furnishings, like lamps, vessels, altar of incense and the table were installed.

Now we can pick up our reading. “On the 25^th day of the 9^th month, Chislev in the year 148″, that is, the 14^th December 164 BC and the third anniversary of the first sacrifice offered to Zeus, a sacrifice was offered on the new altar. Thus was the new altar dedicated to the sound of all kinds of musical instruments. It was exactly the same day and the same time of the year when it had been originally desecrated by the Syrians. The people prostrated themselves and praised Heaven (this book sedulously avoids using God’s name) for all that had been achieved.

The dedication was celebrated for eight days altogether with holocausts, sacrifices of deliverance and thanksgiving sacrifices. Further adornments were added to the restored building. There was no end of rejoicing because the humiliation brought about by the gentiles had been obliterated.

Judas, with his brothers and the whole assembly, then laid it down that the days of dedication of the altar should be joyfully celebrated at the proper season for eight days every year, beginning on this 25^th day of Chislev.

The feast of Dedication is still celebrated by Jews and known by its Hebrew name, Hanukkah. It is one of the ‘youngest’ feasts in the Jewish calendar. During the feast the Hallel (Psalms 113-118) was sung and leafy branches and palms were carried. Second Maccabees emphasises the similarities with the feast of Tabernacles or Shelters, which itself commemorated the inauguration of the Temple of Solomon.

The lamps lit at Dedication soon gave it its other name, ‘Feast of Lights’. The fact that these lamps, symbolising the Law, were placed not only in the Temple but in private houses assured the survival and popularity of the feast long after the desecration of the Temple in 70 AD. It is given great prominence in Second Maccabees. It is mentioned in John’s gospel, where we read: “It was winter, and the time came for the feast of the Dedication. Jesus was walking in the temple area, in Solomon’s Portico…” (John 10:22-23).

Today’s reading reminds us to remember the dedication of our own parish church and of the care and respect with which it should be maintained. Many communities have spared no expense and spent long years to build a church they felt worthy of being God’s house. We see the magnificent churches, say, of the Gothic or the Baroque period in Europe which took generations to be completed. And in some of these, too, we see magnificent liturgies of celebration on the great feasts of the year.

At the same time, we must never forget that the real Temple, the real dwelling place of God for us is his people. “You are the temple of the Spirit,” says Paul. We must remember always that the building, however magnificent, is for the people and not the other way round. When the building becomes poorly attended, an empty shell, just a work of art or a museum - or even a warehouse, it says something about the people by whom and for whom it was built.