Presence

I bring myself into Your presence, O God.
May I always take time to notice and enjoy
the beauty You have created
for my pleasure.

Freedom

Thank you for the gift of freedom, Lord.
Grant that I may always choose to follow You.
Keep me ever mindful of Your ways,
of Your love and concern for all people.

Consciousness

At this moment, Lord, I turn my thoughts to You.
I will leave aside my chores and preoccupations.
I will take rest and refreshment in Your presence.

The Word of God

¹¹Then he entered Jerusalem and went into the temple, and when he had looked around at everything, as it was already late, he went out to Bethany with the twelve.

¹²On the following day, when they came from Bethany, he was hungry. ¹³Seeing in the distance a fig tree in leaf, he went to see whether perhaps he would find anything on it. When he came to it, he found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs. ¹⁴He said to it, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again.” And his disciples heard it.

¹⁵Then they came to Jerusalem. And he entered the temple and began to drive out those who were selling and those who were buying in the temple, and he overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold doves, ¹⁶and he would not allow anyone to carry anything through the temple. ¹⁷He was teaching and saying, “Is it not written,

‘My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations’? But you have made it a den of robbers.”

¹⁸And when the chief priests and the scribes heard it, they kept looking for a way to kill him, for they were afraid of him because the whole crowd was spellbound by his teaching. ¹⁹And when evening came, Jesus and his disciples went out of the city.

²⁰In the morning as they passed by, they saw the fig tree withered away to its roots. ²¹Then Peter remembered and said to him, “Rabbi, look! The fig tree that you cursed has withered.” ²²Jesus answered them, “Have faith in God.^{, 23}Truly I tell you, if you say to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ and if you do not doubt in your heart but believe that what you say will come to pass, it will be done for you. ²⁴So I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.

²⁵“Whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses.”^,

Inspiration

It’s hard to know where to start with a gospel like today’s. The image of Jesus that is presented gives us a different aspect of the Lord than usual. The things going on around him clearly disturb and anger him. The temple, which was supposed to be dedicated to his Father, had been appropriated by traders and turned into something that resembled a cattle market. Its primary purpose – to make prayer possible – was a near impossibility. Jesus asks us to be a praying but also a forgiving community, so that a forgiving spirit towards others might be achieved. Ask in your heart that this might happen.

Conversation

Friends don’t keep secrets from one another.
As I pray, can I look at Jesus as my friend
and share my innermost thoughts with Him,
trusting that He understands?

Conclusion

Filled with the loving presence of God,
I ask Him to bless me and guide my steps
as I go to do His work in my daily life.

Amen