The king mentioned in this week’s Gospel seems nothing like our idea of a monarch. He is shabbily dressed in the streets like a shepherd, hidden among poverty and humility. Sometimes we wish to have control and dominate everything, as if we were kings. But we also have to be shepherds who heal and treat others with kindness and care for them. We strive to recognize the king hiding in the meekest of persons, serve and feed the hungry, visit the sick and imprisoned, and welcome the stranger with hospitality.

Today is a day to take stock of our blessings: personal qualities, relationships, gifts, and even material wealth. In reality the things we have do not belong to us; they were given so we could continue God’s great work in this world. To selfishly hide our blessings will only end up diminishing them. To give of them generously so they can engender greater kindness and love in the world will in turn multiply them.

Scripture readings speak of God’s house – the Temple. The Temple is not made of stone, but rather it is made of us, God’s children. We are God’s home, the place where God can be God. It is through us that God can express, transmit and deliver his love. If we use our body for things that have nothing to do with God, we are evicting him from his house. We must demand purity and respect for our own bodies, temples of the Holy Spirit.