“Stop making my Abba God’s house a marketplace!”
                          —John 2.16
I live in the crowded marketplace,
among its clutter, its anxious hubbub,
ruled by dealers and scales,
transactions and expectations,
by what I’ve earned, what I deserve,
what I have to offer, what I can afford.
Moneychangers change my inner thoughts
into what’s acceptable.
There are things I can sacrifice 
instead of giving myself.
The Beloved overturns all that.
Tosses out my moneybags.
There is no fair exchange,
only me, and the Beloved,
and the love between us. 
         Beautiful temple,
         quiet, empty sanctuary,
         two chairs 
         close together. 
         Holy of holies.
__________________      
Steve Garnaas-Holmes  
Unfolding Light  
www.unfoldinglight.net   
March 5, 2021