From the Gospel of Saint Luke our Lord instructs: “My house is the house of prayer, but you have made it a den of thieves.”
This house of prayer to which He speaks is that of the Temple in Jerusalem. The most important aspect of the Temple is the fact that it is the home of the Holy of Holies which is the very presence of God. In order to move towards worship of God one would have to pass through merchants who were often found to be dishonest in nature. Their dishonesty even exploited and mistreated the poor. These merchants failed to encounter God and failed to lead others towards worship of God.
From the Book of Leviticus we are told concerning the poor: “But if he cannot afford a lamb, then he shall bring, as his guilt offering to the Lord for the sin which he has committed, two turtle doves or two young pigeons, one for a sin offering and the other for a burnt offering.” The merchants were stealing from these people by charging unlawful interest and overcharging the poor for these birds.
We must again remember the words of the Prophet Isaiah which were alluded to by Christ in our Gospel: “These I will bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer; their burnt offerings and their sacrifices will be accepted on my altar; for my house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples.” We can see that those with a contrite heart are called by God to encounter His infinite mercy and thus there is not a barrier that we can put in the way of making this a reality.
The Temple was a house of prayer for all those who would approach it. So too the Church is a house of prayer for those who wish to approach it. So often we fail to make this a house of prayer as we instead get caught up in the banter of our everyday life. When we enter into the church we approach the Holy of Holies where God is present with us. Everything that we do within this hallowed place should remind us of this reality and thus we are called towards reverence.
It is reverence which centers our heart upon God in order that we may be transformed in His presence. Reverence speaks to the hearts of those who enter into this place for it is something which is counter cultural. The Church is a house of prayer in which all are invited to enter, but what we do in this place can get in the way of others being led to God.
Therefore, let us always be reminded of the one whom we approach in this place. Let us always be reminded that this is a place of prayer and to be reminded to lead others no matter their difficulty into this hallowed place in order that they too may come to encounter God and be transformed in His presence.
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