Charlotte
Collins Reed
Christ
Church Episcopal
March 4,
2018
3 Lent B
My most exasperating seminary
experience was the course “Anglican Church History.” In the first nano-second of the class, we
figured out that our teacher, a graduate student from the University of
Chicago, had never taught a class before.
But we were kind hearted souls and tried to be patient with convoluted
lectures and confusing assignments. The
last straw came when we were given a take home open-book test. I took the test home, found and wrote all the
answers, turned the test in, and was quite puzzled to receive the test back and
have one of my answers marked as incorrect.
How can you get an answer wrong on a take home open book test? At the end of class, I went up to the teacher
and inquired about my answer, which he insisted was wrong. So, I politely got the textbook out, which was
required for the course, and showed him where I got my answer. His response was that the book was
wrong. My patience was running thin at
this point. I had done everything right,
used the book he required, found the answer, and now I was wrong because the
book was wrong. I left the room before I
said something I would regret and headed home furious that we had been required
to purchase a book with wrong information, that the seminary would hire such a
teacher, and that valuable time was being wasted in that class.
I wonder if the people in the temple
felt that same combination of confusion, frustration and fury when Jesus comes
barging in with his whip of cords this morning.
The people in the temple were faithful people, trying hard to live
according to God’s commandments. Cattle,
sheep, and doves were sold at the temple to help weary pilgrims procure the
unblemished animals God required for the temple sacrifices. Worshipers had walked for miles to get to
Jerusalem for the Passover. They
couldn’t bring cattle, sheep and doves with them. Unless they could buy the animals at the
temple, they could not make the sacrifices they had traveled so far to make. The money changers were required to convert
the Roman currency into temple currency, just like we convert currency when we
travel to another country. There is
always a fee, and in the case of the temple, there were sales taxes to be paid
to the Romans. Everyone at the temple
was trying to be faithful to the laws given by God in the book of Leviticus and
the laws of the state as dictated by the Romans.
So, why is Jesus so upset this
morning? Which of the commandments are
the people breaking? Fortunately, we
hear those commandments this morning in the reading from Exodus. The people in the temple buying and selling
animals for the sacrifice do not seem to be dishonoring their father or mother,
murdering, committing adultery, stealing, bearing false witness, or
coveting. So, they are good on the last
six commandments. The problem must be in
the first four commandments. But the
people don’t appear to have put another god before God, made an idol, made
wrongful use of God’s name, or violated the Sabbath. Quite frankly, they are doing all in their
power to keep the law and honor God with the required sacrifices. So what is Jesus so worked up about?
The story of the cleansing of the temple is found in
all four gospels. In Matthew, Mark, and
Luke, however, the story occurs towards the end of the gospel. The cleansing of the temple is the last straw
that leads up to Jesus’ arrest, trial and crucifixion as Jesus refers to the
temple as a den of robbers. But in
John’s gospel, the story comes in chapter 2, so at the beginning of the
gospel. Jesus does not accuse anyone of
being a robber. He simply says “Stop
making my Father’s house a market place.”
John also adds Jesus’ words “Destroy this temple and in three days I
will raise it up” and the note that Jesus was speaking about his body. Those words are not found in Matthew, Mark,
and Luke, so I think Jesus is up to something else in John’s gospel.
Jesus obviously does not want his
Father’s house turned into a market place.
The temple was thought to be the place where humans encountered God in a
unique way, the place where the divine and the human meet. The claim was not that the temple was the
only place the people encountered God.
The Hebrew people had experienced God in their Exodus from Egypt, during
their time in the wilderness, in their exile in Babylon far from the promised
land, and on and on. But the experience
of God in the temple was uniquely holy.
However, in John’s gospel, Jesus is the place where the human and the
divine meet. John’s gospel begins “In
the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God….and
the Word became flesh and lived among us.”
In that sense, Jesus is the new temple.
When Jesus is asked “What sign can you show us for doing this,” Jesus
replies “Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up.” The resurrection will allow people in all
times and places to experience the fullness of God in Jesus. This morning, Jesus brings all of the action
in the temple to a dramatic halt, turning over tables and driving the people
out of the temple in order to tell the people that he is the place where human
and divine meet.
The people in the temple are no doubt
confused, frustrated, and angry when Jesus shows up this morning and interrupts
their activity. But Jesus will do what
is needed to get our attention. Jesus
wants us to know that he is the new temple, that he and God are one, and that
when we encounter him, we encounter God.
Through the resurrection, Jesus is present in all times and in all
places through his resurrected body. As
the Body of Christ, the Church, we are that resurrected body. If Jesus were to show up here and get our
attention by throwing furniture around, Jesus would do so to remind us that
every action we take, day in and day out reflects God’s love to the world. The sacrifice of cattle, sheep, and doves is
not required. As the Body of Christ, Jesus
calls us to the sacrifice of self that makes possible the reflection of God’s
love
through our lives.
Amen.
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