My House Shall Be Called a House of Prayer – Monday of Holy Pascha
In the Name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, One God. Amen. May the blessing of the Father who calls us and His Only Begotten Son Jesus Christ who saves us, and the Holy Spirit who sanctifies and transforms us be with us all, that we may hear His word and bear fruit—thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold. Amen.
✥ Beloved in Christ,
Today we stand at the threshold of a holy journey—a journey that passes through a temple. But this temple is not only the one made with stone, but the one made with soul and flesh—your heart, and mine.
The Gospel proclaims with divine fire:
“Do not make My Father’s house a house of merchandise.” (Matthew 21:13, NKJV)
These are not just words directed at ancient Jerusalem—they echo now in every heart that has turned the sanctuary into a marketplace. A marketplace of distractions, pride, anxiety, performance, and self-will.
✥ Christ Cleanses with Love
Christ, in His holy zeal, entered the temple not with a whip of hate, but with a fire of love.
He overturned the tables—not just of money, but of manipulation, pride, greed, and self-glory.
St. Paul reminds us:
“Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?” (1 Corinthians 3:16)
St. Augustine adds:
“If the Lord cast out buyers and sellers from the temple, what would He do with those who harbor worldly ambitions in the temple of their hearts?”
When the Lord entered the temple, He found noise instead of prayer, and business instead of brokenness.
And today, if He enters your heart, what will He find?
✥ The Temple Is Also the Fig Tree
The Gospel reading from Mark 11 reminds us of the fig tree full of leaves but empty of fruit. The Lord approached it, hungry—not for food, but for the fruit of righteousness. He came expecting fruit and found only leaves.
“When He came to it, He found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs.” (Mark 11:13)
In His divine wisdom, He cursed it—not out of frustration, but to reveal its deception. Many hungry souls had come to it, hoping to find sustenance. It drew them in with the promise of life, but gave them nothing.
Just like the temple filled with rituals but void of repentance, the fig tree had become a symbol of external religion without inward reality.
✥ The One Who Alone Works Wonders
The Psalm of the morning calls Him:
“The One who alone works wonders.” (Psalm 72:18)
And indeed, this sign was a wonder: Jesus approached the fig tree as He approaches each of us every morning—hungry for the fruit of the Spirit.
“Bear fruits worthy of repentance.” (Luke 3:8)
“Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit.” (John 15:2)
That same morning, He entered the temple—and finding no fruit there either, He drove out those who had defiled it. Just as He cursed the tree, He cleansed the temple.
✥ A House of Prayer or a Den of Thieves?
“Then Jesus went into the temple and began to drive out those who bought and sold… And He would not allow anyone to carry wares through the temple. Then He taught, saying, ‘Is it not written, “My house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations”? But you have made it a den of thieves.’” (Mark 11:15–17)
The fig tree and the temple are one and the same: symbolic of a life full of leaves but lacking fruit.
He seeks not rituals alone, but righteousness—not performance, but purity.
✥ The Readings Unfold the Drama of the Soul
The readings from the first hours of Monday remind us of the fall of man, the rebellion of angels, the suffering of the righteous Job. From creation to judgment to invitation, Scripture lays out the drama of the soul.
Yet in each scene, God does not destroy—He calls.
He cries:
“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem… how often I wanted to gather your children as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing.” (Matthew 23:37)
This is not the cry of a disappointed judge—but the lament of a broken-hearted Father.
✥ Judgment and Authority
Later in the ninth hour, the chief priests question Jesus:
“By what authority are You doing these things?” (Mark 11:28)
But the real question is: Who gave you the right to cleanse me? To convict me?
The Church Fathers say:
“They questioned the Word with words, and the Light while blind.”
How often do we do the same? How often do we resist the hand that wants to purify our temple?
If you question Christ’s authority in your life today, you may miss His cleansing presence.
We must stop managing Jesus—and start submitting to Him.
✥ The Call to Be Naked and Not Ashamed
Adam, once naked and unashamed, fell and covered himself with fig leaves.
So too do we—every time we hide behind pride, excuses, false righteousness, and performance.
“And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.” (Genesis 2:25)
“But when they had sinned… they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings.” (Genesis 3:7)
The fig tree of our lives must no longer be a place of external beauty and internal barrenness.
God desires truth in the inward parts. (Psalm 51:6)
✥ Come, Let Him Cleanse You
Today, beloved, the Lord is walking through the temple again.
He is overturning tables in hearts, pruning branches in souls, silencing the marketplace within.
Let Him cleanse your temple.
Let Him strip you of leaves, and clothe you in light.
“My house shall be called a house of prayer.” (Isaiah 56:7; Mark 11:17)
Not just the church building, but your mind, your marriage, your ministry, your motives.
Let your heart be His sanctuary.
✥ Closing Prayer
Lord Jesus Christ,
who entered the temple in righteous fire, enter now the temple of my heart.
Turn over what I have allowed to remain.
Cast out the merchants of pride and the noise of pretense.
Let this house be Yours again.
Let it be a house of prayer, not of performance— of repentance, not reputation— of grace, not greed.
Let me be fruitful, not just leafy.
And let me stand before You, naked and not ashamed.
May the Lord bless us, transform our hearts and minds, that our homes may stand on the Rock, our hands serve in the harvest, and our hearts long for Heaven. Amen.