They forgot about the Gentiles

Friends in Christ, today in the gospel we are presented with the scene of Jesus driving the money changers out of the temple. What is the Lord upset about here? Is it just the matter of buying and selling in the temple precincts? No.

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Let us think a bit about the temple. The entire temple complex was arranged in various sections. Inside was the Temple proper itself, then the court of the priests, the court of Israel, the court of women, and the huge outer court – of the Gentiles. There was a place for the Gentiles to come and participate, to some degree, in the worship of God.

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Yes, the Jewish people were chosen by God to be the carriers – the guardians of true religion, but God’s goal had always been to ultimately bring all the Gentiles, all people, into his kingdom. As Isaiah 56:7 said: “Foreigners will bind themselves to the LORD to serve him, these I will bring to my holy mountain, for my house will be called a house of prayer for all nations.”

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The outer courts were a special place of prayer, just for the Gentiles. So here comes Jesus; Christ has come into the world, he has come to die for all people, to bring even the Gentiles to salvation. And what does he find? He finds that this special part of the temple for Gentiles to pray, has been converted into a place of business. The Jews have forgotten about the Gentiles. This is why Jesus is upset. You have made my house a place of business. ‘No!’, says the Lord, My father’s house shall be a house of prayer for all the nations.

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We must not become like those Jews; we must not become so parochial, that we forget about the people outside; it is our mission to invite everyone into the kingdom of God. Those on the outside, other Christians, non-Christians, other religions, everyone – we are called to invite all of them to enter into the Church. The Church is to be a house of prayer, for all the nations.