Welcome to the third week of Lent, MIKURAB (literally - TEMPLE). This week is dedicated as a time of remembrance for the Lord's teachings and actions in the temple. The scriptures read and/or sung from the eve of this Sunday are centered around this theme. The name originates from St. Yared's hymn that commemorates the miracles performed by Jesus Christ in the temple.
Misbak of the Day:
"Because zeal for Your house has consumed me, and the reproaches of those who reproach You have fallen on me. When I wept and chastened my soul with fasting" - Ps. 69:9-10.
This signifies Jesus' anger upon seeing goods being sold and bought in God's temple. His zeal for God's house led Him to cast out all those who were selling and buying, overturning the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold doves. He proclaimed, "My house shall be called a house of prayer, but you have made it a den of thieves" (Jn. 2). This event highlights Jesus' divine authority and recalls the 40-day fast He undertook in the Corinthian Monastery.
Readings of the Day:
- Archdeacon: Colossians 2:16 to the end,
- Assistant Deacon: James 2:14 to the end,
- Assistant Priest: Acts 10:1-9,
- Arch Priest: John 2:2 to the end.
During Passover, Jesus went to Jerusalem and found merchants in the temple. He drove them all out, stating, "Do not make My Father's house a house of merchandise!" His actions fulfilled the scripture,
"Zeal for Your house has consumed me" (Ps. 69:9).
Reflection:
Do you share this zeal for God's house? How do you honor your body, the temple of God, in a way that is pleasing in His eyes?
Remember, you are the temple of God, and the Spirit of God dwells in you. If anyone defiles the temple of God, God will destroy him, for the temple of God is holy, and you are that temple (1 Corinthians 3:16).