A House of Prayer

Then Jesus entered the temple and drove out all who were selling and buying in the temple, and he overturned the tables of the money-changers and the seats of those who sold doves. He said to them, ‘It is written, “My house shall be called a house of prayer”; but you are making it a den of robbers.’ The blind and the lame came to him in the temple, and he cured them. But when the chief priests and the scribes saw the amazing things that he did, and heard the children crying out in the temple, ‘Hosanna to the Son of David’, they became angry and said to him, ‘Do you hear what these are saying?’ Jesus said to them, ‘Yes; have you never read, “Out of the mouths of infants and nursing babies you have prepared praise for yourself”?’ He left them, went out of the city to Bethany, and spent the night there. In the morning, when he returned to the city, he was hungry. And seeing a fig tree by the side of the road, he went to it and found nothing at all on it but leaves. Then he said to it, ‘May no fruit ever come from you again!’ And the fig tree withered at once. When the disciples saw it, they were amazed, saying, ‘How did the fig tree wither at once?’ Jesus answered them, ‘Truly I tell you, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only will you do what has been done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, “Be lifted up and thrown into the sea”, it will be done. Whatever you ask for in prayer with faith, you will receive.’ Matthew 21:12-22

This "fragile earth our island home" is the Creator's house of prayer. Our land is holy, our waters sacred, and we too often have carved it up and sold it all. Jesus comes into the temple and finds the wealthy extracting high prices from the poor for their offerings. He is angry, as we should be, when wealth and uncontrolled usury is more respected than prayer. Jesus tells his disciples, after this episode, that prayer is much more powerful than any weapon or wealth. Prayer on scared ground changes the world. We took often move to political tactics and violence before we spend our time in prayer. Let us all, in these days of great turbulence, be found in prayer, prayer full of deep, abiding faith.

Loving Creator, ground of our beings

you planted us on fragile, holy ground

you taught us to pray in all times

and promise to move mountains for us.

We are too often focused on our goals

forgetting about the needs of others

you call us to pray without ceasing

while we scheme and ignore your call.

Help us today to be in prayer always

ready to be made new for your purpose

give us new hearts and new spirits

so we might carry your love with us today. Amen.