Daily Mass Reflections- 6/1
“Beloved, the end of all things is at hand”
In today’s 1st Reading (1 Peter 4:7-13) we find the Rock of our Church in something of an apocalyptic mood as is evident by his words that kick off today’s Reflection. Unlike many end-of-time prophecies we encounter even in this day and age however, and there are many, his message is not fraught with hysteria, panic, or doom. Instead he encourages us to simply carry on steeped in the virtues of hospitality, love, sober-mindedness and forgiveness, reminding us that we were meant to partake in the sufferings of Christ, all of which lead to greater glory and exultation on the day that the Lord’s glory is finally revealed.
In today’s Gospel (Mark 11:11-26) we revisit the cleansing of the temple. I was recently made aware of a term used by many young people nowadays to describe someone who is both hungry and angry, calling them “hangry.” Jesus can perhaps be best described in this passage as hangry, as he first approaches the fig tree outside the temple only to discover that it bore no fruit. He then went into the temple to find that those inside had turned his Father’s house into a marketplace, a “den of thieves” as he called it.
Big mistake.
Jesus’ bold actions in the temple are symbolic of the bold actions he wants to perform in our lives. After all, in early biblical times, the Jews considered the temple to be symbolic of the actual human person. Jesus wants to get inside our very person, rearrange some things, get rid of some other things, and cleanse and purify us of all that is not of Him.
Today is a good day to reflect upon those things in your life that are keeping you back, things that are not of God. Perhaps it’s time to throw them out of the temple as well.
