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Many read Jesus’ action in the temple as a criticism of the way the money changers were profaning a sacred space. There is another way to understand this action, though. The world is God’s house, and every misuse of money is a violation of God’s command to love my neighbor as myself. In this respect, money is no different from any other of the tools people use, except perhaps in the frequency with which we use it. Jesus’ criticism points to the ways that people tend to act differently in the sacred space (the temple), which ought to mirror life in God’s kingdom, from the places “outside the temple” (in Latin, pro fanum). Many are tempted to use money not for the sake of building the kingdom, but to become (in the words of St. Augustine) “turned inward on themselves” (incurvatus in se). Like the child holding his thumb up to block the sun, our sinful attitude toward money prevents us from seeing the great good that Christ is trying to work in us.
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Tim Muldoon (The Ignatian Workout for Lent: 40 Days of Prayer, Reflection, and Action)