We are temples of God

At this time, right in the middle of Lent, we read about Our Lord's 'cleansing' of the temple and the uproar it caused among the sellers, buyers, and even priests. The sale of sacrificial animals, like oxen, sheep and doves, and the setting up of tables of exchange within the sacred enclosure of the temple, brought with it not only unbecoming noise and confusion but also greed and avarice in which not only the salesmen and money dealers had a share but also the temple authorities themselves, not excluding the priests.

All three synoptic evangelists give us a detailed account of this episode, which means that it surely carried an important message not only for the disciples themselves, but also for the Christian community all the way down to our times.

Some of us may be shocked when reading about Our Lord's rage in seeing how the sacred place was being turned into a market. All through the Gospel accounts Jesus is presented as meek and humble, and completely master of his own feelings, even in difficult situations and when dealing with such sworn enemies as the Scribes and Pharisees. But now?

Perhaps we too could learn a lesson on our attitude as far as our own temples, our churches, are concerned, and about our own behaviour in them. Our Lord's strong words in today's Gospel could perhaps be taken as addressed to us as well: "Do not turn my Father's house into a place of barter!"

Our churches, we believe, are often not only majestic buildings and supreme works of art, but truly the "House of God". Jesus Christ himself is there, hidden in the tabernacle under the species of bread, and during Mass he renews his sacrifice on the cross for our sakes. That is indeed a "mystery of faith", as the priest proclaims at Mass right after the consecration.

It is well to ask ourselves today: "How is my behaviour in church? Do I really believe in Christ's real presence there? Or do I sometimes consider it just a meeting place with my friends or neighbours?" In this day and age, characterised by widespread tourism, some of the major churches, including those in our own country, do indeed run the danger of being turned into museums.

Besides paying a fee to their own guide, foreign tourists are sometimes required to pay an entrance fee for visiting the church, something which in other countries is rarely the case. And then, despite all the guide's efforts to enforce silence and proper behaviour, the result, as we often see, is anything but that.

Besides the church as a stupendous building, there is another sanctuary being entrusted to our care and which we should be careful to keep clean and proper. That sanctuary is very near to us individually. In fact it is right there within us.

Writing to the Corinthians, the Apostle Paul says: "You are the temple of God." And elsewhere he writes: "Your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit! ...You are temples of the living God!" If only we stopped to think prayerfully for a while about such statements! Our lives would no doubt become more pleasing to God and a more authentic source of true joy and inner happiness.

This conviction, if I am not mistaken, about divinity existing not only above us, but within us, is not to be found in any other world religion. For honest non-Christians, their god may perhaps be believed to be near, but not within. For us Christians, it is up to ourselves to let this truth of faith that God is alive in each one of us, not only be a source of deep joy and happiness, but become a spur urging us to be convincing witnesses of God, who is present and active in our own lives, in the Church which is the temple of the living God, and in the world at large.