HOUSE OF PRAYER
John 2:14-17
“ He found in the temple those who sold oxen, sheep, and doves, and the changers of money sitting. He made a whip of cords, and threw all out of the temple, both the sheep and the oxen; and he poured out the changers’ money and overthrew their tables. To those who sold the doves, he said, ‘Take these things out of here! Don’t make my Father’s house a marketplace!’ His disciples remembered that it was written, "Zeal for your house will consume me."
Once upon a time there was a man who wanted to build a sanctuary.
Before that wish of his emerged in his heart he used to sit on a hilltop when the weather was permissive, gazing at the starry sky, and was amazed by the order of the universe.
He perceived it by contemplation, that behind this order must be somebody who created this order, who maintains this order, who keeps the universe alive and in movement willingly and by providence. As it is magnificently written in the Psalm 19:
“The heavens declare the glory of God. The expanse shows his handiwork. Day after day they pour out speech, and night after night they display knowledge. There is no speech nor language,
where their voice is not heard. ”
He understood that every heartbeat of his, every breath he can take, his strength to walk, all are recurring gifts from the king of the universe. He felt a profound gratitude, and he wanted to honor the amazement in his heart toward the creator by erecting a sanctuary.
First, he made a very decorative tent out of wool, embedded with colorful and festive embroidery, furnished with hand made rags and cupboards, but after a week a thunder storm came and devastated the tent.
Secondly, he made a beautifully carved, artistic, wooden Temple, the doors covered with gold, silver and brass plates with engraved reliefs. A week later somehow the structure caught fire and the flames consumed the sanctuary, leaving behind only ashes.
Thirdly, he created a building out of mud brick, putting sophisticated ornaments all around. Painted walls, murals and frescos, everywhere. Few weeks later and earthquake happened and the building collapsed to the ground. The man was quite upset as so much work was done in vain. But then he thought that maybe his efforts were denied by faith or by the universe because the buildings he had offered upto that time were not appropriate to honor the Almighty God.
All right, he thought. And he gathered all of his resources and all the help he was able to manage and he built a magnificent building out of granite. The sanctuary he built also served as a fortress, such a massive and huge building complex was, what he established with fortified walls and towering towers.
The nations around his territory became envious what he achieved with the help he was able to amount and the surrounding nations joined against him besieged his sanctuary fortress complex and destroyed it with belfries and huge stone thrower catapults.
He was hardly able to escape with his mere life.
In his bitterness he went back to the familiar hilltop hiding from the enemy, and he found the starry sky still amazing and still reassuring that despite all the calamities and all the disasters and the devastating warfare, there is still a profound order in the universe and the Creator has compassion and justice in the same time toward all beings.
As it is written in the Psalm 19:
“The Lord’s ordinances are true, and righteous altogether. They are more to be desired than gold, yes, than much fine gold, sweeter also than honey and the extract of the honeycomb.”
However, the must humbling conclusion he reached was similar to the declaration in the Book of the Act, chapter seven, that “However, the Most High doesn’t dwell in temples made with hands,” as it is written, that “heaven is my throne, and the earth a footstool for my feet. What kind of house will you build me?’ says the Lord. ‘Or what is the place of my rest? Didn’t my hand make all these things?’
Thus, the man understood, that the ultimate temple can not be built by man.
It is absolutely parallel with the Gospel of John, chapter four, when the Samaritan woman told Jesus, that “Sir, I perceive that you are a prophet. Our fathers worshiped in this mountain, (Mount Garizim) and you Jews say that in Jerusalem is the place where people ought to worship.”
And Jesus answered her, that “Woman, believe me, the hour comes, when neither in this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, will you worship the Father. You worship that which you don’t know. We worship that which we know; for salvation is from the Jews. But the hour comes, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father seeks such to be his worshipers. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.”
Which means, that we have to worship God in our hearts. Wherever we go, the temple in the heart comes with us.
Nonetheless, in the Gospel story Jesus found a marketplace in the church yard, where all the vendors were authorized to sell just everything that was needed by the people for their offerings to have made. Even the money changers were authorized to have been there, because hundreds of thousands of holiday pilgrims used to come to Jerusalemr, and their money offerings or the church tax could not have been paid, but in Shekel, the holy currency. The money-changers did what was very much needed, changing the mostly Roman and Greek coins to the only accepted Shekel.
In the three synoptic Gospel Jesus yelled at them, that “He said to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer,’ but you have made it a den of robbers!”
The den of robbers were definitely mentioned by Jeremiah, however the House of Prayer term comes from the Book of Isaiah, chapter 56, that “for My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations.”
The official title of the first “Solomonic” Temple was the Beyt HaMikdash, which means the Holy House. Otherwise it was called the House of the Lord God, that is why Jeremiah says that the Lord says that this house, the Temple in Jeursalem, is called by my name.
The term, the House of Prayer is used only but only once in the whole Jewish Scriptures, by Isaiah, and from whence we can know that it is a prophetic term, especially, when the prophet used it in a future tense, like “it will be called”.
It is really but really happened, when the Temple was destroyed by the Romans, the sages indeed declared after a while, that out of necessity, the prayers offered by the people of Israel will substitute the sacrifices of the Temple. When the physical Temple was no more, the prayer sacrifices were offered in the hearts. However, the Temple, the future House of Prayer of all nations, prophesied by Isaiah, is still yet to be built in Jerusalem. Nonetheless, waiting, be praise given to the Lord in our hearts, by the Spirit, now and always, AMEN.
