Lk 19: 45-48
Then he entered the temple and began to drive out those who were selling things there; and he said, “It is written, ‘My house shall be a house of prayer’; but you have made it a den of robbers.” Every day he was teaching in the temple. The chief priests, the scribes, and the leaders of the people kept looking for a way to kill him; but they did not find anything they could do, for all the people were spellbound by what they heard.
New Revised Standard Version, copyright 1989, by the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved. USCCB approved.
Spellbound By Jesus
Jesus is having a hard time in the temple. First there are a lot of merchants and consumers doing business and a bunch of robbers on top of that. He was not having it and started throwing them out. Then he has the hierarchy giving him a hard time about his teaching. But alas, there is nothing they can do because it is hitting home with all the people present. They were spellbound!
When I think about the people being spellbound, it’s not surprising in the least. Jesus’ teaching is spellbinding. Some of what Jesus preaches is love, forgiveness, and compassion. Apply those three fundamental movements to today’s society. Imagine a place where love confronts the hate so prevalent in our country, where forgiveness allows us to reconcile with those we are at odds with, and where compassion becomes our way of approaching the excluded in our community, state, nation and world.
Then let’s apply these three movements to ourselves. How have I been lately loving and forgiving myself, and being just a bit more compassionate with myself?
—Tom Drexler is a graduate of Marquette University High School and Creighton University, and works in advancement with the Midwest Jesuits.
Prayer
Good and gracious God, you spoke to the crowds about love, forgiveness, and compassion, and it resonated with all who heard you. May your message enter our hearts today, so that we may take it in and live it out in our daily lives, both in those we encounter and in ourselves. Amen.
—Jesuit Prayer team