Thursday morning, in Madurai, before catching the train back to Chennai. we visited the Madurai Temple. The oldest portion of this Temple date to the 7th century BC--give or take the time of Isaiah. Unlike other temples, where we only had to remove our shoes, for this Tempel, we also had to remove our socks and hats.

After cruising around the courtyards, a guide took us around the Temple itself. The architecture, engravings, sculptures, colors... all were fascinating.

What was most--I'm not sure what word to choose--unsettling? What was most unsettling was the first step over the threshold and into the Temple area was met with stall after stall of goods and trinkets and foods and bartering and music and noise. The same thought crossed several of our minds simultaneously--didn't Jesus clear all this stuff out of the Temple in Jerusalem? It was a vivid picture of what must have been happening that day when Jesu braided a whip and lit into the merchants.

Jesus' actions then were, of course, in the Temple of His own "religion." Which makes me wonder--in a temple of a religion dedicated not to Him, but to false gods--What Would Jesus Do?

I have a feeling, Jesus' eyes would fill with tears and His heart would brim with compasion as He surveyed these multitudes created in His Image--yet defying Him and even deifying cows and other stone images.

I have a feeling, if Jesus' heart would break over these lost souls, then so should ours...