Celebrating the memorial of the Presentation of Mary

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Today is the memorial of the Presentation of Mary. It is an important feast in the Eastern church but is not recorded in the gospels. However when Jesus was presented in the Temple the purification of the child's mother was also carried out so today's memorial is seen as parallel to the Presentation of Jesus. The Temple is the subject of the Gospel today as it tells us how Jesus drove out those who were selling goods in the temple. The account in Luke's gospel is quite short compared to the other three gospels. John tells us how Jesus found people selling cattle, sheep and doves in the temple. There were also moneychangers at their tables. Jesus made a whip of cords and chased the sellers and their animals out, turning over the tables of the moneychangers. He did this for three reasons. First because they were desecrating the temple, turning a place of worship into a market place where the poor were being exploited by unjust prices. Secondly, Jesus wanted to show that the sacrifice of animals was irrelevant to God who wanted the transformation and offering of people's hearts and lives. Thirdly, the market was being held in the patio of the Gentiles. It was reserved as a place of welcome for those who were not of the Jewish religion but wished to learn more of worship to the true God and all they found was the noise and clatter of buying and selling. May we see our time in our church or chapel as a special time to deepen our faith in our creator and saviour, as we offer our lives to be lived in love. Some people say that when they enter a church for the first time they do not feel welcomed. May we be the first to greet and show newcomers how happy we are that they have come to join our community.