Voice: Kae Chee
Today is Tuesday, 30th of September. Whether you are in your room, driving or taking public transport, take a moment to be aware of His presence wherever you are.
O Lord, open our lips
and our mouth shall proclaim your praise.
Psalm 36:5-12
Your love, Lord, reaches to the heavens,
your faithfulness to the skies.
6 Your righteousness is like the highest mountains,
your justice like the great deep.
You, Lord, preserve both people and animals.
7 How priceless is your unfailing love, O God!
People take refuge in the shadow of your wings.
8 They feast on the abundance of your house;
you give them drink from your river of delights.
9 For with you is the fountain of life;
in your light we see light.
10 Continue your love to those who know you,
your righteousness to the upright in heart.
11 May the foot of the proud not come against me,
nor the hand of the wicked drive me away.
12 See how the evildoers lie fallen—
thrown down, not able to rise!
Glory to the Father, and to the Son,
and to the Holy Spirit:
as It was in the beginning, is
now, and shall be forever. Amen.
Mark 11:15-18
15And they came to Jerusalem. And he entered the temple and began to drive out those who sold and those who bought in the temple, and he overturned the tables of the money-changers and the seats of those who sold pigeons.
16And he would not allow anyone to carry anything through the temple.
17And he was teaching them and saying to them, “Is it not written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations’? But you have made it a den of robbers.”
18And the chief priests and the scribes heard it and were seeking a way to destroy him, for they feared him, because all the crowd was astonished at his teaching.
This is the Word of the Lord
Thanks be to God
A House for All
It’s not difficult to see why Jesus was angry. Pilgrims had travelled for days to reach the Temple. Their hearts longed to pay homage to Jehovah, to witness the holy, and to worship His Majesty.
Some of these pilgrims were not native Jews. They were Gentile seekers—drawn to the God of Israel. Their access to the Temple was restricted, confined to the outermost area known as the Court of the Gentiles.
Israel had a calling to be “a light to the nations.” It was therefore a good and beautiful thing that these seekers were allowed to draw close enough to experience Jewish worship. But practical needs arose: foreigners who had travelled from afar needed to purchase animals for sacrifice, and before that, they had to exchange their foreign currency for the local Temple currency.
It’s not hard to imagine how vulnerable they were to exploitation. As “second-class” worshippers, many simply submitted to unfair treatment. Some probably thought, “We are fortunate to be allowed to worship in their Temple. We can’t expect equal treatment.”
But Jesus would have none of this. In one of the few occasions recorded where He expressed righteous anger openly, He overturned the tables of the money changers and drove out the merchants. A popular but superficial interpretation is to think that Jesus was condemning all commercial activity in the Temple.
Not so. There was nothing wrong with buying animals or exchanging money for worship purposes. What enraged Jesus was greed, dishonesty, and the unjust treatment of these foreign pilgrims. Israel had forgotten that the Temple was meant to be “a house of prayer for all nations.” Instead of welcoming and lighting the way for Gentiles to draw near to God, daylight robbery was taking place in the very court meant for them.
It’s easy to read this and criticise the merchants from a distance. But what if Jesus were to visit our churches today? Many foreigners come through our doors to worship the Lord with us. Do we see them as equal participants—or as second-class worshippers?
Does your church hold services in languages such as Mandarin, Tamil, or Tagalog? And if so, are these congregations treated as full and valued members of the same body, or as “separate but not equal”? Do we welcome foreigners who use our church grounds on Sundays—especially domestic helpers, who often have nowhere else to go on their rest days in the city?
We may carry hidden prejudices without realising it. We may not have noticed ways in which our churches are not truly “a house for all.”
May the Holy Spirit search our hearts. If the Lord were to walk through our churches on Sunday, may He be pleased—not saddened or angered—by what He finds.
We pray this Collect:
Almighty God,
who called your Church to bear witness
that you were in Christ reconciling the world to yourself:
help us to proclaim the good news of your love,
that all who hear it may be drawn to you;
through him who was lifted up on the cross,
and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever. Amen
Be blessed by this song, Open the eyes of my heart.
Link to today’s Morning Office
About This Daily Devotion
This weekday devotion is drawn from the Morning Office and is part of a project initiated by Revd Canon Terry Wong, with contributions from clergy and members across various parishes. Each entry includes selected readings from the appointed Psalm and another Scripture passage, accompanied by a reflection and prayer. An audio option is also available, often ending with a hymn or song. We encourage you to both read and listen.
Our aim is to help Anglicans engage more deeply with our rich liturgical tradition, while meeting the devotional needs of today’s believers. This project began on Ash Wednesday 2025 and is offered on weekdays only.
For feedback, please write to us at info@mpcc.org.sg
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