Daily Gospel Reflection: Memorial of Saint Andrew Dung-Lac, Priest, and Companions, Martyrs
November 24, 2023
Memorial of Saint Andrew Dung-Lac, Priest, and Companions, Martyrs
Gospel: Lk 19:45-48
As Jesus continued his journey to Jerusalem,
he traveled through Samaria and Galilee.
As he was entering a village, ten persons with leprosy met him.
They stood at a distance from him and raised their voices, saying,
“Jesus, Master! Have pity on us!”
And when he saw them, he said,
“Go show yourselves to the priests.”
As they were going they were cleansed.
And one of them, realizing he had been healed,
returned, glorifying God in a loud voice;
and he fell at the feet of Jesus and thanked him.
He was a Samaritan.
Jesus said in reply,
“Ten were cleansed, were they not?
Where are the other nine?
Has none but this foreigner returned to give thanks to God?”
Then he said to him, “Stand up and go;
your faith has saved you.”
*United States Conference of Catholic
Bishop Robert Barron
Friends, in today’s Gospel, Jesus cleanses the temple. The temple was the economic, political, and religious center of life. And it was seen as the very dwelling place of God on earth. It was the place where heaven and earth met, where the harmony between divinity and humanity was achieved—at least in principle. For the prophets remind the nation constantly that the temple and its rituals have been perverted.
One of the messianic expectations was that the anointed one would purify the temple. This is exactly what Jesus is doing. He is the Messiah who is trying to turn the temple once more into a place of prayer.
Keep this image of Jesus clearly in your mind as we take a further step. St. Paul said that our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit. So the true dwelling place of God is now in the very bodies of the followers of Jesus.
Bring this insight together with the image of Jesus cleansing the temple. You—your life, your body, your self—are meant to be a temple where God is praised. Every aspect of your life is meant to be turned to the Lord, dedicated to him.
COMMENTS