#HolyWeek2021 – Holy Monday: Jesus Overturns the Tables
Welcome to the Clincarthill Parish Church Holy Week Reflections. My name is Ruth. Today is Holy Monday, and we reflect on the theme of “Jesus Overturns the Tables in the Temple”. We read about this in the Gospel according to Matthew, chapter 21:
12Jesus entered the temple courts and drove out all who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money-changers and the benches of those selling doves. 13‘It is written,’ he said to them, ‘“My house will be called a house of prayer,” but you are making it “a den of robbers.”’
14The blind and the lame came to him at the temple, and he healed them. 15But when the chief priests and the teachers of the law saw the wonderful things he did and the children shouting in the temple courts, ‘Hosanna to the Son of David,’ they were indignant.
16‘Do you hear what these children are saying?’ they asked him.
‘Yes,’ replied Jesus, ‘have you never read, ‘“From the lips of children and infants you, Lord, have called forth your praise”?’
17And he left them and went out of the city to Bethany, where he spent the night. AMEN.
Elsewhere in the Bible, it is written that “people are concerned with the outward appearance, but God is concerned about the heart”. That is, in a sense, Jesus’ concern here too. He sees the Temple, the place where God is supposed to be worshiped, turned into any other marketplace. The shallow god of commerce has replaced the deep, spiritual worship of the one true God.
This reading challenges us to think: what do I worship? Am I concerned about things like money, status, and power? Or is worshipping the one true God my main motivation? The trouble with worshipping earthly things is that they rarely satisfy us: money can be spent, status can decrease, power can be lost. When we worship God, we discover one who is eternally loving, who is ever-present and will never let us down. Ultimately, worshipping God is far more fulfilling than worshipping worldly things.
Take a moment and reflect on this question: Do I worship God above everything else?
If you are taking part in building a Holy Week display, today’s symbol is coins. Add some coins to your display, remembering that Jesus is not interested in in helping us make our millions, but rather helping us to know our Heavenly Father through prayer.
Our Holy Week journey continues tomorrow, so please join us for that. To conclude, let us share in a prayer:
Dear God: I try my best to worship you above all else. Thank you that when I worship you, I am more fulfilled than if I worshipped other things. When I don’t worship you above other things, please help me to put you first. Thank you that you love me and help me to put you above all things. Be with me as I journey through Holy Week, remembering the work of Your Son, our Saviour, Jesus Christ. In His name I pray; Amen.