Clean Up Time
Today's Gospel describes the cleansing of the temple. Jesus drives away the animals, overturns the money tables, and chases away those who have made God's house into a marketplace. He had zeal for God's house. It was supposed to be a place of prayer but had become a chaotic, corrupt, worldly space. Jesus was not gentle, but rather quite aggressive, as he cleared out the unholy refuse. 
In the second reading, Paul reminds us that our bodies are the temple of God. Does Jesus need to cleanse that temple? If I believe that my body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, what does that look like? It is easier to describe the opposite - what it would be like if I didn't consider my body a temple. I would eat food that was unhealthy, indulge in activities that violate God's law and harm my mind and body, and believe that my body and maybe my life were nothing special. I might be easily persuaded to follow the ways of the world. I might doubt that what I do with my body matters to God. 
I have been there. I didn't always consider my body a temple of the Holy Spirit. I used to focus on money, use rationalizations to excuse my failures and sins, and indulge in excessive food and alcohol. Surely Jesus wanted to clean out all the refuse that I had invited in. The temple of my body was like the temple Jesus cleansed in Jerusalem. 
On the other hand, if I believed that my body was a temple of the Holy Spirit, I would believe that I mattered more. I would recognize that my body and soul were fearfully and wonderfully made. As I welcomed God into my home, I might hold my head a little higher. If God thinks I am so special, maybe I should think so, too. I would believe that I was blessed.
We teach children that church is a special place. It is God's temple. When I go to church, I wear different clothes. I am a little quieter. Hopefully, my conversations are charitable and my thoughts are more focused on God. I treat the church building differently than other places. God is calling me to treat my body in a special way because it is a temple for Him.
This is a profound but simple truth, one that I haven't fully embraced. My body is the temple of the Holy Spirit. I pray for the zeal of Jesus to cleanse my temple. I pray that I can be more forceful in casting out the unholy and self-serving characters I have invited in. 
The Jews asked Jesus, "What sign can you show us for doing this?" They wanted to know what authority He had to kick out those who had permission to be in the temple from the powers that be. Who has authority over my body? It is me. I must choose to use that authority to cleanse the unholy and to treat my body as the beautiful temple of the Holy Spirit, believing that one day I will be raised to eternal life with Jesus. 
By Colleen Orchanian