There really is nothing worse than the pain of being separated from those whom we love, and human beings will often spare no effort to reunite those who have been driven apart. For example when a mine collapse, in the Chilean Atacama Desert, left 33 men entombed nearly a kilometre below ground in 2010, US$20m were spent, and resources gathered from around the globe to set them free. We see something truly beautiful and divine in the bringing together of loved ones who have been torn apart.
No wonder Jesus was so furious when he entered the Temple courts in Jerusalem, the day after Palm Sunday, and found a place designed to facilitate the reunion of God with the people whom He loved, turned instead into a market place devoted to short term gain – those who had come seeking God were having unnecessary obstacles placed in their path.
Jesus’ actions that day point us to the heart of a God whose nature always drives Him to find ways to overcome barriers, and include those who have been separated from Him through sin; and they point us forward to the supreme sacrifice Jesus was about to make – one that would once and for all clear the way for us to approach God and be united with our loving Creator.