Voice: Shivdas
Today is Monday, 12th of January. As we begin another week, let us take a moment to be still in His presence.
We pray:
Almighty and everlasting Father,
we thank you that you have brought us safely to the beginning of this day.
Keep us from falling into sin or running into danger;
order us in all our doings;
and guide us to do always what is right in your eyes:
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Psalm 82
God has taken his place in the divine council;
in the midst of the gods he holds judgment:
2 “How long will you judge unjustly
and show partiality to the wicked? Selah
3 Give justice to the weak and the fatherless;
maintain the right of the afflicted and the destitute.
4 Rescue the weak and the needy;
deliver them from the hand of the wicked.”
5 They have neither knowledge nor understanding,
they walk about in darkness;
all the foundations of the earth are shaken.
6 I said, “You are gods,
sons of the Most High, all of you;
7 nevertheless, like men you shall die,
and fall like any prince.”
8 Arise, O God, judge the earth;
for you shall inherit all the nations!
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.
Matthew 21:9-13
9And the crowds that went before him and that followed him were shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!” 10And when he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred up, saying, “Who is this?” 11And the crowds said, “This is the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth of Galilee.”
12And Jesus entered the temple and drove out all who sold and bought in the temple, and he overturned the tables of the money-changers and the seats of those who sold pigeons. 13He said to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer,’ but you make it a den of robbers.”
This is the Word of the Lord
Thanks be to God
A House of Prayer
It’s not difficult to see why Jesus was angry. Pilgrims had travelled for days to reach the Temple. 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.
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. Some of the Jews there had forgotten that the Temple was meant to be “a house of prayer”, not a place for commercial greed and unjust treatment of foreigners. He quoted Jeremiah 7:11:
“Has this house, which is called by my name, become a den of robbers in your eyes?”
A den is not where robbers commit crimes, but where they hide after committing them. Jesus is accusing the temple leadership of turning God’s house into a place that legitimises injustice, exploitation, and religious corruption—especially of the poor. For it is easy to hide behind religion.
As a house of prayer, the temple was meant to be a place of communion with God. It is to serve all races and nations and centred on reverence, repentance, and mercy. Instead, it had become transactional, exclusive, and self-serving.
Is worship forming us into people of prayer and justice? Or are we using religious spaces—even religion itself—to gain from others for our own profit? Is the Church there to serve ourselves or a world in need?
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 the Collect for today:
Eternal Father,
who at the baptism of Jesus revealed him to be your Son,
anointing him with the Holy Spirit:
grant to us, who are born again by water and the Spirit,
that we may be faithful to our calling as your children;
through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord,
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
In closing, be blessed by this song, Sermon On The Mount by April Cheah
Blessed are the poor in spirit
Theirs is the kingdom of God
Blessed are the grieving acquainted with tears
For they will find Him near
Blessed are the meek and gentle
They shall inherit the earth
Blessed are the starving for justice and light
They shall be satisfied
Cause us to seek first Your kingdom
Teach us to carry Your peace
That we’ll be called children of God most high
All those who seek will find
All those who seek will find
Blessed are the mercy givers
They will receive it in turn
Blessed are hearts that are pure
They will see Your risen reality
Stir us to love like You love us
Free us to give what we keep
Knowing our Father sees the secret things
Our treasure is in the King
Our treasure is in the King
Lord speak to my worries and help cut me free
Of this bondage to comfort and vanity
When I see You again on that one final day will You know me
I want to know You
Will You know me
Help me know You
Blessed are the peacemakers
They are Yours for You call and they come
Those blessed to suffer for righteousness’ sake
Your kingdom is theirs to partake
Lead us to walk with the suffering
Restore us to choose the harder road
That we will hear and do the word of Christ
Your way alone leads to life
Your way alone leads to life
Cause us to seek first Your kingdom
Teach us to carry Your peace
That we’ll be called children of God most high
All those who seek will find
Treasures where You are cannot be destroyed
And Your way alone leads to life
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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