“My house will be called a house of prayer”
RESPOND:
- How does this image evoke the righteousness of Jesus?
- Rest in the truth that His justice will prevail.
REFLECT AND PRAY:
PSALM 99
1 The Lord reigns,
let the nations tremble;
he sits enthroned between the cherubim,
let the earth shake.
2 Great is the Lord in Zion;
he is exalted over all the nations.
3 Let them praise your great and awesome name—
he is holy.
4 The King is mighty, he loves justice—
you have established equity;
in Jacob you have done
what is just and right.
5 Exalt the Lord our God
and worship at his footstool;
he is holy.
6 Moses and Aaron were among his priests,
Samuel was among those who called on his name;
they called on the Lord
and he answered them.
7 He spoke to them from the pillar of cloud;
they kept his statutes and the decrees he gave them.
8 Lord our God,
you answered them;
you were to Israel a forgiving God,
though you punished their misdeeds.
9 Exalt the Lord our God
and worship at his holy mountain,
for the Lord our God is holy.
RIGHTEOUS ANGER:
12 Jesus entered the temple courts and drove out all who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves.13 “It is written,” he said to them, “‘My house will be called a house of prayer, but you are making it ‘a den of robbers.’” Matthew 21:12-13
REFLECTION:
It’s about time.
I never thought I’d see the day
when a way was made.
I’d heard about this day.
My father, his father before him.
They all talked.
Dreamed.
Even prayed,
Break the teeth in their mouths, O God;
Lord, tear out the fangs of those lions! (Psalm 58:6)
I saw it today.
It was about time.
What was prayed, I witnessed.
All my enemies will be overwhelmed with shame and anguish; they will turn back and
suddenly be put to shame. (Psalm 6:10)
Furious moments of righteous indignation.
Shock and shame. And relief.
A table flipped, then another;
the crack of a whip;
shrieks of a woman.
Clanging metal as soldiers move to restore a peace that never was,
but now will forever be.
RESPOND:
-
- Where do you find yourself experiencing righteous anger?
- How might you partner with Jesus in advocating for the marginalized?
PRAYER:
God, release the constraints of my anger. What has happened to me was wrong, is wrong. I know you know that, God. I know you know this.
There is no relief. I have carried this for so long.
I don’t have the voice to articulate this pain.
My only comfort comes from the Laments, my constant companion.
19 I remember my affliction and my wandering,
the bitterness and the gall.
20 I well remember them,
and my soul is downcast within me.
21Yet this I call to mind
and therefore I have hope:
22 Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed,
for his compassions never fail.
23 They are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.
24 I say to myself, “The Lord is my portion;
therefore I will wait for him.” (Lamentations 3:19-24)I’m waiting. Be faithful.
SCRIPTURE:
25 And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years. 26 She had suffered a great deal under the care of many doctors and had spent all she had, yet instead of getting better she grew worse. 27 When she heard about Jesus, she came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, 28 because she thought, “If I just touch his clothes, I will be healed.” 29 Immediately her bleeding stopped and she felt in her body that she was freed from her suffering.
30 At once Jesus realized that power had gone out from him. He turned around in the crowd and asked, “Who touched my clothes?”
31 “You see the people crowding against you,” his disciples answered, “and yet you can ask, ‘Who touched me?’ ”
32 But Jesus kept looking around to see who had done it. 33 Then the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell at his feet and, trembling with fear, told him the whole truth. 34 He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering.” Mark 5:25-34
REFLECTION: (written by Scott Hellman)
Have you ever felt undesired or left out? How about like you just don’t belong, even though you so deeply desire to be seen and wanted?
I think deep down inside we all have that profound, longing desire to be wanted, needed, and seen. With all the distractions today, it’s easy to feel like we are just lost in the shuffle or just overlooked. Jesus knew that and still very much does today. I think that is why he always made himself so approachable and accessible. That’s one of the many things about my relationship with Jesus that draws me to Him. It’s his never-ending desire for my heart and his sincere desire to just spend time with me. He wants me just the way I am, right in the middle of my mess.
One thing we always see in the Bible is how accessible and in tune Jesus was to the outcast and forgotten, those who felt most excluded or left out. We see it repeatedly in the way Jesus always made himself accessible to anyone who felt left out or not needed. Whether it was the leper, the tax collector, the Gentile, the poor, the pagans, the sinners, or just like this shunned, sick woman we read about in Mark chapter 5. It did not matter; Jesus always invited them into his story, just as he does with us today.
Maybe Jesus was this way because he felt the very same rejection or outcasting as we do today. Some would say that his life was defined by rejection. His neighbors shunned him, his family questioned his sanity, and even his closest friends betrayed him. Or maybe it was because Jesus had an im- measurable understanding and insight into our desire for belonging, and he still does. Whatever the reason, make no mistake: Jesus went out of His way to embrace the unloved and unworthy. He went out of His way to be approachable to everyone and still does today. He is calling us to Himself right now, just as we are. Know this, Jesus is with you! He loves you more than you can possibly imagine! And from that place of being loved, we can love others as He does.
RESPOND:
- Do you feel left out, alone, rejected, or excluded?
- Have you ever felt like the woman in the crowd, not worthy enough to approach Jesus?
- What is keeping you from approaching Him with your longing to be known?
PRAYER:
Jesus, thank you for who you are. Thank you for your never-ending love and acceptance and understanding of who I am and how I feel. Jesus, so often the world creeps in on me and I feel like I just don’t belong or I am not desired by, not only those around me, but also you. My prayer today is for you to shed light on those lies, expose them for what they are – untruths. Remind me how much I am loved and how much you desire me. Remind me how accessible you are and how you desire for us to hang out and rest in your love and your truths. Amen.
