Monday - distractions

Prayer:  Dear Jesus, when we come into Your presence we are often confronted with many things that distract us from listening to Your voice and seeing You at work. Help us to cut through the clutter of our lives to find You today. Amen.

 

Read St. Luke 19: 45 – 48

 

Jesus enters the temple and begins to drive out those who were selling animals and monies for offerings.    The sellers were charging too much and making a living on the surcharges.  This is not what the original intent of having for sale pure animals  and special monies for offerings.    But it wasn’t only the sellers that had turned the selling of pure animals for sacrifice into commercialism. … the High Priest also shared in the profits of this selling.     

 

Yikes.     Something that started out as a convenience for all peoples turned into something that ended up with greed.    Yikes.  

 

And darn it,  “holy” commercialism didn’t just happen to  the Sellers of offerings during the time of Jesus.   “Holy” commercialism is unfortunately still rampant today.   Churches and TV churches that ask and ask and ask for money.    Tithing is one thing but when the Ministers of these Churches live in opulence and the organization keeps asking for monies,  something is wrong.  This is not the living church that Christ asked us to build.   

 

Prayer: O Lord eternal, help us to remove the distractions from our lives so that we can truly be in Your presence. May we know what we have to throw out of our lives, what attitudes we need to upset and where we need to make space for true worship of You. For this we pray in Jesus name. Amen.