Keenen D. Brinson, MDiv – Coordinator of Youth Ministries, Gethsemane Campus, St. Luke’s United Methodist Church

Matthew 21:12-17 (NLT)

12 Jesus entered the Temple and began to drive out all the people buying and selling animals for sacrifice. He knocked over the tables of the money changers and the chairs of those selling doves. 13 He said to them, “The Scriptures declare, ‘My Temple will be called a house of prayer,’ but you have turned it into a den of thieves!”

14 The blind and the lame came to him in the Temple, and he healed them. 15 The leading priests and the teachers of religious law saw these wonderful miracles and heard even the children in the Temple shouting, “Praise God for the Son of David.

But the leaders were indignant. 16 They asked Jesus, “Do you hear what these children are saying?”

“Yes,” Jesus replied. “Haven’t you ever read the Scriptures? For they say, ‘You have taught children and infants to give you praise.’”  17 Then he returned to Bethany, where he stayed overnight.

Reflection:

Many times in life we familiarize ourselves with people, places, or things that we love. The love that is developed through consistency should never be taken for granted. Because they’re around you the most, or just because most of your day is spent in your office does not mean that person or that place becomes less valued. It actually means the total opposite. If we can depend on it, we should always respect it.

I believe what we find in these scriptures are people who have become a little too accustomed to the place that they love and ultimately lose respect for the Temple’s purpose. In reprimanding the leadership for misusing the Temple, Jesus simultaneously reminds them of the reason for the Temple’s very existence. Matthew’s gospel doesn’t elaborate too much on Jesus’ anger. Instead, it shows how Jesus immediately gets to work restoring the essence of the Temple as a “House of Prayer.” He then heals the blind and the lame. Now that’s how you show them better than you can tell them. After the work, comes genuine praise from the innocent children around.

When we find ourselves becoming too familiar with the things, places, and people that we love it’s always best to follow the steps of Jesus. Reinforce the importance of why we love and immediately get to work to show others the sovereignty and power of God.  

Prayer: 

Dear God,

Thank you for sending your son to our world as the great example. He demonstrates all that you would have us do, which is love, respect, and correct. Thank you for showing me that love should always be respected, and I’m grateful for your correction when it’s needed. Today, I pray that you fill my heart with respect for not only your Temple but for all things, people, and places that I have become familiarized with. I love you because you’ve proven that I can depend on you. Show me that what’s dependable should always be respected and loved, not overlooked. 

 

In Jesus’ name I pray, amen.