“The Divine Heart of Jesus, Although Exceedingly Meek, Still is very Zealous for
the Honor of the Heavenly Father in the Temple"
By Rev. J. Fuhlrott
"Make not the house of my Father a house of traffic." - John ii. 16.
Who would not be astonished when considering the exceeding great zeal which inflamed the Heart of Jesus as He grasped a scourge, and alone, against so many, drove out the crowd of traders-people, with their sheep and oxen, from their temple at Jerusalem, upset the tables of the money-changers, and thereby abruptly terminating their whole business! Owing to His holy zeal, the countenance of the meek Jesus began to be illuminated as if by lightning, so that at sight of Him, not one of the offenders dared to murmur, but every one of them, as if struck by lightning, deserted his wares and flew from the sight of God's wrath. The disciples remembered this fervor and zeal of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, and after His glorious resurrection they spoke about it among themselves (John ii. 17), thereby recalling the prophecy of the royal Psalmist, were it says: "The zeal of thy house has eaten me up" (Ps. lxviii 10).
Why, O most benign Lord, did Thy Heart so burn within Thee, and why didst Thou not disdain to take vengeance in this manner upon these spoilers of the temple? Was this not beneath Thy dignity and Thy divine majesty? Why didst Thou not charge the angels to drive out these ungodly people from the Temple, and to chastise them as they deserved? Thou didst once cast Lucifer, the first offender, from heaven into hell, by Michael, the leader of the heavenly hosts. Thou didst drive Adam out of Paradise by a cherub armed with a fiery sword. Thou didst annihilate the five cities in the valley of the Jordan, the first-born of the Egyptians, and Pharaoh by an angel. Thou didst chastise David when he sinned, and the entire army of Sennacherib by an angel. Why didst Thou not here charge and angel to punish?
St. Vincent Ferrer gives us the reason by saying: "In order to show how greatly those displease Him who assail His Church, He does not command an angel to punish them, but punishes these blasphemers Himself with His own hand; and also to impress upon His followers how greatly they should reverence the holy places and the temple where God Himself takes up His abode." "The church," to use the words of St. Chrysostom, "is neither a hairdressers' shop, nor a perfumers', nor a workshop. It is a place for the angels, the abode of God, Heaven itself."
That which is holy must be held in proper esteem. The temple of the Lord is holy; it is God's edifice, God's dwelling. "But if any man violate the temple of God: him shall God destroy." (I. Cor iii. 17).
When God appeared to Solomon the second time, He said to him, "I have heard thy prayer and thy supplication, which thou hast made before me. I have sanctified this house, which thou hast built, to put my name there for ever: and my eyes and my heart shall be there always." (III. Kings ix 3). Remember, the eyes of God are in the temple: they notice and behold everything, and that what they have seen will count for or against us on the day of judgment.
"The altar is filled with mysteries," says St. Chrysostom, "and the Lamb of God is sacrificed for thee, the Seraphim stand near, . . . and thou dost not blush, thou dost not fear, thou art not ashamed, and dost not seek to be reconciled with thy God? The king is present; He comes to dwell among His faithful, and thou standest laughing before His eyes, and thinkest little of thy levity? Dost thou not see how those who are in the presence of an earthly king are attentive in his service, how motionless they stand before him, without speaking, or looking here and there? Therefore, should we not in the temple lift up our hearts on high, and with great reverence, serve the King of eternity, the Immortal and Invisible One who from the altar observes our actions?
When Abraham, the prince of the patriarchs, went to sacrifice his only son to God, he ordered, before ascending mount Moria, his two servants who had accompanied him for three days on the journey, to wait at the foot of the mountain until he would return to them, after the accomplishment of the sacrifice. Why did he not permit the animal that had carried the wood, and the two servants, to ascend the mount with him? For no other reason than that they might not hinder him during the sacrifice, or distract his heart from devotion, and because it was not fit for an animal to be present at a holy place, where God Himself, with the host of angels, was present to receive a holy sacrifice which was a prototype of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ upon the cross.
Let us apply the example to ourselves. In the temples of Almighty God there is no longer offered the blood of rams and oxen, or of sheep, but the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus is offered up daily by the hands of the priest, at the altar, as an agreeable sacrifice to God. Oh, what reverence must be expected of us here in the presence of God! What purity and fervor of heart on the part of the sacrificing priest as well as on the part of Christians who assist at this sacrifice! Divest yourself of every earthly thought, distraction, or business, and say to them, with Abraham, as often as you enter the temple: "Remain here; I will go and worship, and then I will return to you."
If Moses on Mount Horeb was bidden to take off his shoes before approaching the Lord God who was present in the burning bush, how much more must we keep free from all earthly desires and thoughts when present in the temple to worship God? For "Sanctity is becoming to the house of the Lord."
If Joseph of Egypt, when he was led out of his dungeon after having been imprisoned there for two years, was first of all washed, shaved, and arrayed in clean garments before he was allowed to appear before King Pharaoh and his court, how much more must we have a pure heart and conscience when offering up our prayers and supplications in the presence of the almighty, in the palace of the King of heaven! "Before prayer," says Sirach (Eccl. xviii. 23), "prepare thy soul, and be not as a man that tempteth God." "For it is not sufficient," says St. Bernard, "that our heart prays in the temple, like an empty grindstone, upon which no grain is poured out, but we must pray well, and lift up a pure heart to God." "We should not only pray," says St. Chrysostom, "but we should pray so that we may be heard."
"What is the meaning that my beloved hath wrought much wickedness in my house?" (Jerem. xi. 15). Are not these words true in our day? Mary and Joseph found Jesus in the temple after seeking Him diligently for three days. How many Christians, are there not, who lose Jesus anew, but through their own fault, through their vices! The publican obtained forgiveness of God in the temple because he had a contrite and humble heart. "He went down to his house justified" (Luke xviii 14), says the Evangelist. But how many are there of us who not only neglect to turn their presence in the temple to good account, but even increase, by willful or thoughtless irreverence, their fault and punishment! nowadays many go to church just to see and to be seen, to talk and gossip with one another, to laugh and discuss scandal "You stand and laugh," says St Chrysostom, "It would not be surprising if lightning descended upon you, for such behavior deserves immediate death."
A poor widow, as is related by St. Luke, the Evangelist, came into the temple to offer to God her heart and all her belongings. She threw two pennies into the collection box, and, as the divine Savior Himself tells us, her gift was more precious tan that of any one else. But in our time many persons come to church, not to give their heart to God (for their heart is far from Him), but to turn their backs upon Him, and to turn their faces to other people, and their minds to levity.
"Is this house, then, in which my name hath been called upon, in your eyes become a den of robbers? I am he" I have seen it, saith the Lord." (Jerem. vii. 8-11). A great many Christians deserve this reproach, particularly those who make bad confessions, and even approach the divine banquet with sin-laden consciences. Many persons wonder why God caused the miraculous birth of Christ to be announced to the shepherds by an angel. Eucherius explains this, and tells us: "The reason why the angel announced this message to the shepherds appears to have been that they might not enter the stable incautiously, where the Infant lay. This cave was, owing to the presence of the Son of God, consecrated as a temple; therefore the shepherds must enter this new house of God well prepared, with the right condition of body and soul, so that they might not desecrate it." The three wise men did the same. They entered the house, and, finding the Infant with Mary, His mother, prostrated themselves, and adored Him. Here you have an example how you should enter the temple, and how you should conduct yourself in the presence of the Most High. Offer up your prayers in unity with the intentions which the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus had upon earth, when He prayed to the heavenly Father: "The prayer of him that humbleth himself, shall pierce the clouds and till it come night he will not be comforted: and he will not depart till the most High behold." (Ecclus. xxxv. 21). Amen.