Scripture:
Exodus 20:1-17
1 Corinthians 1:22-25
John 2:13-25
Reflection:
“Take these out of here,
and stop making my Father’s house a marketplace.” -John 2:16
I just returned from breakfast with an old friend. But for the masks we wore and the fact that we were the only two in a restaurant that in pre Covid-19 days, would have been packed, it was almost like “the good old days”.
Scott and I are two different souls who from our different backgrounds, probably should not agree on anything. Scott got an MBA from Harvard; I went to the local Catholic University known for it’s social justice stances that few people would have heard of in the 1960’s, DePaul. (Today it’s much better known). Scott comes from a family of two children; I come from a family of seven. Scott is politically on the opposite end of the spectrum than I and yet we had just a marvelous time together sharing memories, but also visions of what we would like to see life be like.
While this never came up, I believe we both agree that the answer to today’s issues is less—not more. This idea seems to be counter-cultural in 21st Century America, but we seemed to agree that with all our material wealth, we still have a lot to learn about taking care of one another. I wonder if that is not the same issue Jesus saw when he “…spilled the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables…” (Jn 2:15)
Thank you, Jesus, for challenging the money changers and political powers of your day and please give me the courage to do the same. Maybe then, like you, I’ll be able to take up my cross of service and love in my little corner of the world and experience a real Easter joy with you, my family and my world in this year of 2021.
Dan O’Donnell is a Passionist Partner and a longtime friend of the Passionists. He lives in Chicago.