A Penitent Blogger

Mindful of my imperfections, seeking to know Truth more deeply and to live Love more fully.

Quid sum miser tunc dicturus? Quem patronum rogaturus? Cum vix iustus sit securus?
Recordare, Iesu pie, Quod sum causa tuae viae: Ne me perdas illa die...

Sunday, March 19, 2006

Practical or compromising?

In today’s Gospel (John 2:13-25) we have the familiar account of our Lord driving the moneychangers from the Temple.

Since the temple was the site of pilgrimage for Jews from many parts of the world with many different kinds of money, the moneychangers and other vendors were a practical necessity (as any international traveler can attest).

At some point, however, this practical necessity was made more and more convenient and then at some point crossed the line into sacrilege.

Likewise you and I may make arrangements or do things out of what seems to be practical necessity, but somehow these pragmatic decisions can become or drift into inappropriate compromises of moral truth and our personal integrity.

As we continue our celebration of Lent, we do well to look at ourselves and our lives: to reevaluate our pragmatic positions or accommodations, to see whether we have drifted too far or compromised too much, and to discern how we can be even more faithful to the truth and love of Christ.