Advent 1 Meditation - Tuesday

From today’s reading:  Then Jesus entered the temple and drove out all who were selling and buying in the temple, and he overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold doves. 13 He said to them, "It is written, 'My house shall be called a house of prayer.'  Matthew 21:12-13

So, how do the daily office readings during Advent actually relate to Advent?  When I read the lines above I think of preparing for Christmas – most of us are cleaning house and getting special decorations out to ‘deck the halls.’  We often complain about the commercialism of Christmas, lamenting that Christ is often nowhere to be seen.  But for us Christians, even if we don’t see Christ, we know that’s what it’s all about.  And we can liken the cleansing of the temple to sweeping the house clean and know it’s also cleansing our hearts to prepare a place for Jesus.   And as we are decorating the tree and hang the wreaths and lights and bows, set out nativities (or Christmas villages), we know we are making our homes welcoming for visitors.  We can make our hearts and our homes a visual prayer to welcome our Lord Jesus when he appears.  Amen.