Totality

Charlotte Collins Reed
Christ Church Episcopal
April 14, 2024

3 Easter B 

          Monday afternoon, Kathy, Mario, and I sat on the front porch of Beebe House to watch the eclipse.  I was surprised at how much of the sun was gone before the dark started to come.  Once totality was achieved and the darkness had fallen, we heard a brief cheer from some neighbors, then the peace settled in.  For three minutes Monday afternoon, there was peace.  All was quiet and still.  And dark.  All day Monday, media attention and the attention of much of the country was focused on something utterly out of our control, magical and mystical in the way of the natural world.   We were united in awe and wonder. 

          I think about that day and those moments this morning when I hear Jesus say “Peace be with you.”  Jesus often says those words when he appears to startled disciples after his resurrection.  In my mind, the peace of Jesus is not unlike the peace of Monday afternoon, a peace that brings unity, that is focused on something outside ourselves, and a peace over which we have no control other than to choose it. 

          At the end of today’s gospel lesson, Jesus says “You are witnesses of these things.”  Jesus is not talking just about peace, but about all that he has said to the disciples in this resurrection appearance.  We are witnesses to Jesus’ living presence in the world.  But how do we do that?  How do we show the world the presence of Christ in our midst?  How do we show the world the peace of Jesus?

          Jesus gives us some tools for that this morning.  First, Jesus shows the disciples his hands and feet, which would have born the marks of his crucifixion.  The scars of his suffering show the disciples that it is really Jesus standing before them.  One of the ways we witness to the risen Christ in our midst is when we use our own scars to help others.  I have seen you do this time and time again, using your experience of grief to help someone else through the grief process, or your experience with illness to help someone else going through that experience, or your struggles with parenting to help another parent. The list goes on and on of the ways I have seen you do what Jesus is doing this morning.

          Secondly, Jesus says “Have you anything to eat” and the disciples give him a piece of broiled fish which he eats in their presence.  There are several stories of the resurrected Jesus eating with the disciples to show them that he is alive and in their midst.  For me, table fellowship, whether around the altar or tables in the Parish Hall, or a meal with family or friends is one of the most powerful ways to experience the Risen Christ in our midst.  Whether in the Eucharist, or at Potluck Theology, or the dinner group, or coffee hour, or the many meals we have together, the Risen Christ is present.  Inviting others to share in those meals is another way to witness to Jesus’ presence in our midst.

          Then, Jesus opens the disciples’ minds to understand the scriptures.  Jesus is part of the story of God and God’s people that goes all the way back to creation.  Jesus’ death, resurrection, and ascension, while essential to God’s plan of salvation, are not the end of the story.  Jesus’ disciples are to carry that story forward, seeking and serving Christ in all people, as we promise in baptism.  We help that story come alive for people and we help people know Christ in their midst when we practice the radical hospitality of the Risen Christ, whether by welcoming people here, or building houses for Habitat, or tutoring with Project Learn, or making peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for unhoused people in Akron.    

          Lastly, Jesus tells the disciples that repentance and forgiveness of sins are to be proclaimed in his name to all the nations.  In our baptismal covenant we promise to persevere in resisting evil and, not if, but whenever we fall into sin, repent and return to the Lord.  We witness to repentance and forgiveness of sins when we actually repent and return rather than run and hide after we fall into sin, and when we live as people who know that our primary identity is as beloved children of God rather than the sum total of our successes minus our failures.  We witness to the Risen Christ by treating all people as beloved children of God regardless of whatever might try to divide us.

          On Monday, we experienced a few brief fleeting minutes of deep peace, awe, and wonder.  But that peace ended after three and a half minutes. The sun reappeared and we were back to life as normal.  This morning, Jesus calls us to be people of a deeper, enduring peace, a peace that transforms lives, and to witness to the awe and wonder of that peace with the totality of our being. 

                                                                             Amen.

Abundance

Charlotte Collins Reed
Christ Church Episcopal
April 7, 2024

2 Easter B 

          In the early days of the pandemic, I found myself obsessed with toilet paper.  Never mind that I had just been to Costco before the shut-down and had a 30 roll case of blue Charmin in my linen closet along with whatever was left from the previous case.  Never mind that, in the beginning, we thought the pandemic would be over by Memorial day.  Never mind that there are only two people living in our house and 30+ mega rolls of toilet paper should really last a while.  I think perhaps I had heard too many stories from Don’s mother about using the pages of the Sears and Roebuck catalog when she was growing up during the Depression to even think about running out of toilet paper.  So I spent hours surfing websites looking for toilet paper that could be delivered to my house, even though I had plenty.  Perhaps you have your own stories about toilet paper, or hand sanitizer, or masks, or even chicken from those rather scary days.

          Contrast my mentality of scarcity with the mentality or theology of abundance in the reading from Acts this morning.  In the days following the resurrection, all of the believers were of one heart and mind and everything, including toilet paper if there was such a thing, was held in common.  No one was in need of anything as everyone sold what they had and gave the proceeds to the apostles who made sure everyone had what they needed.  Granted, plenty of people at Christ Church and in Hudson shared what they had with those in need during the pandemic, and even I shared toilet paper from time to time, but the early Christians in the book of Acts take sharing to a whole new level. 

          Then there are the disciples in John’s gospel this morning, who are  scared and in hiding.  Let’s be clear here that the problem is not the Jews.  The problem is the fear.  Even after Jesus appears to the disciples, minus Thomas, breathes the Holy Spirit into them, and sends them out, one week later they are still in hiding.  When Jesus appears to them again, what he doesn’t say is as important as what he does say.  He does not say “What are you doing here? I sent you out!”  What he does say to the still frightened disciples is “Peace be with you” then he offers to let Thomas touch his wounds, which seems quite intimate and vulnerable.  He meets the disciples where they are, no judgement, and we know that eventually they do leave that room and go out into the world.

          On the one hand, the reading from Acts, while quite lovely, seems utterly unrealistic in our 21^st century world.  As followers of Jesus, we are not all of one heart and soul about many things.  We are highly unlikely to sell all that we have and allow the church to distribute everything to those in need.  On the other hand, the disciples in John’s gospel are hardly a model for faithful discipleship as they hide behind a locked door and fail to leave even after Jesus gives them the gift of the Holy Spirit and sends them out into the world.  So how are we to live in this world in which Jesus is risen if neither example of discipleship this morning is really helpful?

          I believe these readings are more helpful than they might appear at first glance.  Two things from the passage from Acts stand out.  First, what the early believers were of one heart and mind about was probably not every little detail of human life.  Psalm 133 begins by reminding us “Oh, how good and pleasant it is when the faithful live together in unity.”  The early believers lived in unity and were of one heart and mind about Jesus.  Jesus was the focus of their lives, not their possessions.   As Christians, we are called to have Jesus as the focus of our lives, not our possessions, or our accomplishments, or our activities.  If Jesus is the focus of our lives, everything else we do or own looks different whether in the first century or the twenty-first.   

Secondly, listen to the language in this short passage.  We hear phrases like “the whole group,” “everyone,” “no one,” “everything,” “all” and “not a needy person.”  Those are words of abundance.  What does a church of abundance look like?  A church of abundance is one where everyone does all that they can, gives all they are able to, and puts the needs of each other first.  No one thinks “my small bit doesn’t matter” and they spend a few minutes each week calling people who haven’t been in church for a while so that everyone knows that they matter.  Everyone reads the emails and newsletters sent out by the wardens, vestry, or staff AND responds so that the leadership of the parish feels supported.  Everyone offers their gifts, time, and talents willingly, cheerfully, and early and often, so that the ministry of the church continues to grow and thrive as the ministry of the early church did.  There are so very many ways to live into being the church described in the book of Acts and meet the needs of each other while keeping Jesus as the heart and soul of the congregation. 

Even though the disciples in the reading from John are in hiding this morning, we still learn much from the story about how to follow the risen Christ.  Throughout the gospels, we hear the words “Do not fear,” usually from an angel.  Followers of Jesus do not act out of fear but out of trust that Jesus will meet them where they are, as Jesus does on Easter evening and a week later.  Jesus meets Thomas where he is, needing to know that the person standing before him is, indeed, the risen Christ.  Jesus calls us to trust that Jesus will meet us wherever we go and whatever we do, including venturing into a new chapter at Christ Church.

Both the gospel story and the reading from Acts call us to put Jesus at the center of our lives, trusting that when we do that, we will be a healthy community focused on Jesus rather than anything that divides us, that everyone will be cared for in deep and genuine ways, and that we will find Jesus waiting for us wherever we go and whatever we do.  That is a promise.

                                                          Amen.

Stone

Charlotte Collins Reed
Christ Church Episcopal
March 31, 2024

Easter 

          My mother died the Tuesday of Holy Week eleven years ago.  She had been ill for some months and while we knew we were on borrowed time, we did not realize how short term the loan was.  I spent a couple of days after she died with my brother, sister, and father before returning home for Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Easter.  The days with our father were full of decisions that needed to be made, support given and received, actions to take, paperwork to deal with-all without the clarity of thought one would like to have when doing that sort of work.  Grief, I learned, is exhausting, like pushing a rock uphill.  The to-do list is endless.  The whole experience was confusing and fogged up my brain.  I walked through the days of Holy Week toward the empty tomb that year, held together by the glue that is a curious mixture of grief and joy, despair and hope, death and life. 

          Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome have no such glue holding them together this morning and they are feeling all of the grief, confusion, and exhaustion we feel at the loss of a loved one.  They are tending to their “to-do” list, which includes procuring spices, walking to the tomb, and anointing Jesus’ body for burial.  As with many of the decisions we make when grieving, their decision to go to the tomb makes no sense.  They know there is a very large stone blocking the entrance to the tomb, and they know full well that there is no way they can roll away the stone and enter the tomb to do their work.  And yet, they continue to walk.

          When we arrive at the empty tomb on Easter morning, having traveled, like the women, through Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday, and Good Friday, we expect the tomb to be empty and Jesus to have risen as is the case every year.  We expect to experience the triumph of life over death, joy over sorrow, and hope over despair (in our music, the flowers, and the festive atmosphere).  But an empty tomb is not what the women were expecting. When they see that the stone has been rolled away and the tomb is empty, their minds go to a very dark place.  But the tomb is not completely empty.  A young man dressed in a white robe is sitting there as if he is waiting for the three women to arrive.  He has a message for the them.  “Do not be alarmed.  You are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified.  He has been raised.  He is not here.  Go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him just as he told you.”  The exhausted, grieving women have no idea what the young man is talking about.  What could the young man possibly mean by “He has been raised”?  In their confusion and grief, they are petrified and they flee from the tomb.  They say nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.

          These three faithful women have taken a lot of criticism over the years for their apparent lack of faith as they fled the tomb and the Easter message.  However, this is my favorite of all the Easter stories.  This story is my favorite because I think these women actually understood the enormity of what had happened.  If the women really understand that Jesus has been raised from the dead, that the powers of death have been overcome, then they understand that the world has been turned upside down and nothing, nothing will ever be the same again.  Now they live in a world where death no longer has the final say and anything is possible.  All of the rules have changed. How do we live in a world like that?  Terror and amazement seem like perfectly appropriate responses to this brand new reality.  The women model for us a faithful response to the enormity of what has happened in the resurrection of Jesus from the dead.

          How do we live in a world in which Jesus is risen from the dead?  On the one hand, we have the gift of hindsight, which the women did not have so we do not flee in terror. On the other hand, the temptation is to domesticate the resurrection and get back to life as usual tomorrow as if nothing out of the ordinary has happened.  Nothing could be further from the truth.  These three women show us how to live in this new world.

First, the women kept walking to the tomb even though they had no idea how they would move the stone from the entrance to the tomb.  Easter happens every time we keep walking toward challenges that seem impossible, knowing that now there is no stone we must move by ourselves. Secondly, the women were alarmed by the empty tomb. We are blessed with the knowledge that the tomb is empty, but Easter happens every time we join the women in beholding the magnitude of what God has done for us in raising Jesus from the dead and really believe that life has triumphed over death and nothing will ever be the same.  Lastly, the women fled from the tomb in terror and amazement at the news that Jesus was now in Galilee.  Easter happens every time we go out to meet Jesus in the Galilee of our own lives, the very ordinary places where we live and work, day in and day out, in the midst of grief and joy, hope and despair, death and life.  Easter is not just a day with lots of chocolate, wonderful music, beautiful flowers, and the return of the Alleluias.  The Easter message is that Jesus is always one step ahead of us, on this side of the grave and beyond, meeting us wherever we go, whatever challenges we face, and promising that there is no stone we must push away alone, not even the stone of death. 

                                                                                      Amen.

Plans

Charlotte Collins Reed
Christ Church Episcopal
March 24, 2024

Palm Sunday 

          The year my great-grandmother celebrated her 90^th birthday, which was 1971, my parents spent weeks if not months planning the party.  A festive meal was planned, invitations were issued, tables and chairs were rented, decorations were procured, beverages were purchased, food was cooked, gifts were wrapped, and the house was cleaned.  When the great day finally arrived, the guests arrived at 6pm and the whole thing was over by 8:30, not including clean up.  The ratio of time spent planning to time spent partying was absurd.  And most holidays were like that when I was a child.  Weeks and months of planning for a joyful delicious event that was over in half a day.  My mother believed that hospitality and good food were worth almost any amount of effort and that every detail was important.

Mark’s account of Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem reads like an account of one of my mother’s great parties. Jesus spends eight verses preparing for his entry into Jerusalem. Only three verses describe the trip itself and of those three verses, most of two verses is spent quoting psalms. Jesus’ planning for this event seems to be at least as important as the trip into Jerusalem itself, if not even more important. So, what do we learn about Jesus from all the verses leading up to the actual procession into Jerusalem?

The first thing Jesus does is arrange for a colt. Jesus sends two disciples off on this errand and says to them "Go into the village ahead of you, and immediately as you enter it, you will find there a colt that has never been ridden." Jesus knows exactly where the colt will be and that the animal has never been ridden. Why a colt? Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem will demonstrate humility. 

Then Jesus says "If anyone says to you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ just say this ‘The Lord needs it and will send it back here immediately.’" The people were used to having Roman soldiers co-opt their property on a moment’s notice. The promise that Jesus will return the animal is something new. Jesus is on a different kind of mission from one the Roman soldiers would typically engage. Jesus’ mission is not of a military nature. He has to borrow a colt. Jesus is not organizing an event that will highlight raw power and wealth.  In addition to humility, Jesus entry into Jerusalem will demonstrate a different kind of power. 

Lastly, if Jesus was planning a military procession into Jerusalem, now would be the time to acquire some weapons. Instead, we hear that the people threw their clocks on the poor unsuspecting colt that has never been ridden. Then Jesus sat on the colt and the people spread their cloaks and leafy branches on the road. Quite frankly, this sounds like a recipe for disaster. One young animal, never ridden, Jesus sitting on cloaks on the colt, and riding over more cloaks and leafy branches. This does not look like a recipe for success, even success grounded in humility.  Jesus is going to show us a new model for success, one that involves risk.  Then Jesus rides into Jerusalem, to shouts of “Hosanna,” goes into the temple, looks around, and leaves.  All that planning leads to a rather anti-climatic ending if one is looking for drama. 

What do we learn from all that planning? We learn to watch for humility, a different kind of power, and a new understanding of success as we enter into the events of holy week.  We learn about a kind of power that is joyful and humble, a kind of power that draws the people in and engages them without force, and success that takes risks and emerges from the appearance of failure.  That joyful yet humble demonstration of a different kind of power and success plunges us into Holy Week. On the one hand, as disciples of Jesus, we know that we are called to walk this journey with the one who rode into Jerusalem on a colt to turn our notions of power and success upside down. On the other hand, I can identify with the crowds who say "Hosanna! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord" and the Psalmist who says "Hosanna, Lord, hosanna! Send us now success!" Can’t we just fast forward to Easter?

The truth is that Easter will come next Sunday whether we journey with Jesus or not. But if we leap from "Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord" to the great Easter acclamation which involves the use of the word we buried on the Sunday before Ash Wednesday, we are thinking like the crowds and missing the message of Palm Sunday. We will move from the request for a great display of human power and might to the great display of God’s power without allowing our understanding of real power to be transformed. The details of the Palm Sunday story tell us that Jesus is up to something new and we need to keep our eyes open. As we walk through the events of Holy Week, the mighty power of God will be revealed in ways that are consistent with the arrival in Jerusalem of a humble Messiah on the back of a colt with little likelihood of success.

Amen.

Seeing Jesus

Charlotte Collins Reed
Christ Church Episcopal
March 17, 2024

5 Lent B 

          At Christ Church, our vestry meetings begin each month with the question “Where have you seen God this week?”  The answers are honest and thoughtful.  Some provoke laughter and others provoke tears as we hear about experiences of God in answered prayers, the work of medical professionals in scary situations, the antics of our children and grandchildren, the relationships among people at Christ Church, nature, and in so very many other places.  Hearing where others have seen God at work helps us see God’s presence in our own lives in new ways.  Answering that question has deepened relationships among the vestry members and brings energy and joy to our meetings.  We see each other with new eyes when we are willing to share what God has been up to in our lives.

          This morning, some Greeks approach Philip and say “Sir, we wish to see Jesus” which is simply the future version of “Where have you seen God this week?”  Philip tells Andrew, then the two disciples tell Jesus.  Jesus’ reply has always struck me as a little odd if not downright rude.  Rather than give a direct answer to the Greeks, Jesus goes on about a grain of wheat falling to the earth, losing and gaining life, and serving and following Jesus.  A simple “yes” or “no” would have sufficed.

          Rather than being rude, however, I think Jesus may be doing the Jesus version of “Be careful what you ask for.”  When we ask to see a doctor, for example, or this time of year, an accountant, we do not just want to look at a medical or tax professional.  We need something from that person.  We trust that person to provide what we need.  We want a real and honest encounter.  I believe that is what the Greeks wanted in their request to see Jesus.  They do not just want to look at Jesus.  What Jesus wants the Greeks to know is that seeing Jesus in that real and honest sense comes at a cost.

First, the Greeks will be encountering someone who will soon fall to the earth and die, in order to bear much fruit.  While the bit about the seed may be common agricultural sense, Jesus is also reminding the disciples to whom he is speaking that all of the fruit will be connected.  When the seed falls to the ground, that seed reconnects with all of creation, and when the seed finally bears much fruit, all of the fruit is connected through its relationship to the seed.  Through our connection with Jesus, we are connected with all humankind.

Secondly, those who love their life so much as to put up boundaries around it, guard it and protect it from any challenge will inevitably lose their lives.  Those who are willing to give their lives unreservedly in service to others and God will live into eternal life.  Encountering Jesus means encountering the one who models the giving of one’s life.  And thirdly, whoever serves Jesus must follow him and where Jesus is going is to give up his life for the life and love of the world.

          So, if the Greeks really want to see Jesus in a deep and honest way, they need to know what they are getting into.  And what they are getting into is living as people who are organically connected with God and the whole human family, being willing to die to self to bear much fruit, and being willing to follow Jesus as he is raised from the earth and draws the whole world to himself.

          Sir, we wish to see Jesus.  When we say “Sir, we wish to see Jesus” and only see Jesus in people who look and act like we do, we are not looking at Jesus.  When we say “Sir, we wish to see Jesus” and do not live as people who believe that the whole human family is connected through both creation and the death and resurrection of Jesus, we are not looking at Jesus.  When we say “Sir, we wish to see Jesus” and do not rise up to claim our connection with the marginalized, the vulnerable, those without power, those trying to escape war or persecution, or even our enemies, we are not looking at Jesus.  As long as we think in terms of “us” and “them” whoever us and them may be, we do not really want to see Jesus.

          Jesus reminds us this morning that seeing Jesus means seeing Jesus, serving Jesus, and following Jesus, not just when Jesus goes places where we are comfortable and feel safe, but when Jesus goes where the reconciling love of God is needed.  We practice seeking, serving, and following Jesus here at Christ Church, which is an incredible blessing but not an end in itself.  Practicing here gives us the courage and the ability t0 seek, serve and follow Jesus at all times, in all places, and with all people.  Tolerating bigotry, hatred, and division is not an option for followers of Jesus.  The only option for those who want to see and follow Jesus, is love. 

 

                                                                                      Amen.

Beauty and Life

Charlotte Collins Reed
Christ Church Episcopal
March 10, 2024

4 Lent B 

          Last Sunday at Lego Church, we heard the story of Jesus in the wilderness.  We talked about the three temptations the devil offered Jesus: power, privilege, and protection.  We wondered in what way the angels waited on Jesus and what Jesus’ relationship with the wild animals might have been.  When it was time for the Lego build, everyone was asked to build a wilderness scene.  Both the children and the adults at Lego Church take the Lego build very seriously and we had some very interesting wilderness scenes.  We had a beach scene that represented one kind of wilderness. We had a wilderness with flowers and friends.  One person built a representation of Jesus in the wilderness with the three temptations.  One very small child put a Lego person in a Lego escape car.  A child after my own heart.  Interestingly, almost all of the wilderness scenes were happy ones.  A beach. Flowers.  Friends.  A getaway car.  None of the scenes were scary.  The children found life and beauty in their wilderness scenes.

          The Hebrew people could use a little life and beauty in the wilderness this morning.  They are brutal in their complaints against God.  They complain about the lack of food and water and insist that God has brought them into the wilderness to die.  While I have never complained to God about not having enough to eat or drink, I have certainly done my share of complaining to God about war, natural disaster, the illness of beloved family and friends, and any number of other things.  And this is hardly the first time the Hebrew people have complained against God in the wilderness.  Plus the Psalms are full of complaints.  So I would really like to know what about these particular complaints has sent God over the edge.  These complaints caused God to send poisonous serpents to bite and kill God’s chosen people.  I would really like to avoid those complaints!

          As utterly bizarre and inexplicable as it is that God would send poisonous snakes to attack God’s beloved people, perhaps we would do well to focus on what goes right in the story.  The people recognize their sin in speaking against God.  They ask Moses to intercede for them, which Moses does.  And God tells Moses to make a bronze serpent, put it on a pole, and tell anyone who is bitten by a snake to look at the serpent and live.  While on the one hand, the story has gone from bizarre to incredible, and where does Moses get bronze out in the wilderness anyway, God’s plan works and the people live. 

          If we try to be like our children and focus on life and beauty in the wilderness, which is admittedly a challenge in this story, what we see is an agent of death, a poisonous snake, being turned into an agent of life.  All the people have to do is look at the bronze serpent being raised on a pole, and they will be healed and live.  The people recognized their sin, repented, believed God could heal them if Moses asked, then did as God asked of them.  In the end, this is a very weird story about life, but it is a story about life.  Psalm 107 is a reflection on this story, praising God for God’s healing word, God’s mercy, and the wonders God does for God’s children.  At the end of the day, even a day like the Hebrews were having in the wilderness, God is a God of love and mercy.  There is beauty and life in the wilderness.

           In a clear reference to the story in Numbers, this morning we hear Jesus say "Just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life." Jesus is not saying that whoever gets the best score on the correct belief test will be saved, whatever the John 3:16 billboards might imply. The cross itself looked like the very essence of the wilderness-a place where God could not possibly be present and where the poisonous snake of death has done its worst.  But once again, God will take an agent of death, this time the cross, and turn it into life.  In the wilderness of the cross, ultimately there will be beauty and life.  In John’s gospel, the cross and the resurrection are two pieces of the same theological statement.  When we look upon the cross on Good Friday, we will also hear words of resurrection in our liturgy.  When we experience the empty tomb on Easter morning, we know that resurrection is possible only because of the cross.  Jesus beckons us to look at the cross, that serpent of death, to feel that wilderness, and trust that out of death, God will bring life.  When we are bold enough to open our eyes and look at Jesus raised on the cross, and trust that life will prevail, then we can also trust that in the midst of the snakes in the wilderness of our own lives, whatever those snakes may be, God will also act to bring life.  There is beauty and life in the wilderness.

                                                                             Amen.

 

         

Focus

Charlotte Collins Reed
Christ Church Episcopal
March 3, 2024

3 Lent B

          In seminary, I took a class entitled “Anglican Church History.”  I enjoy history and took a lot of history classes in college, so I was looking forward to the course.  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.  Ever.  But we were kindhearted 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?  I was just as competitive as a student as I am as a parish priest, even if in a slightly different way, so I was not amused.  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 showed him where I got my answer.  I got nowhere.  My patience was running thin at this point.  I left the room before I said something I would regret and headed home confused and furious. 

          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 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, what is Jesus so upset about 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’ problem?

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 where 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.  The claim was also not that the Temple was bad.  There are many examples in the New Testament, particularly in the book of Acts, of followers of Jesus worshipping in the Temple.  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 meeting of the human and the divine in Jesus. 

          The people in the temple are no doubt confused, frustrated, and angry when Jesus shows up this morning and interrupts their faithful activity.  Sometimes we are so busy and so focused on our faithful activity, trying so hard to do everything right, that we fail to see what new thing God is doing right in front of our faces and we get downright annoyed when interrupted.  In our faithful activity in this holy place, we encounter Jesus in the bread and wine of the Eucharist, in our music, in scripture, and in our relationships with each other.  But Jesus makes clear this morning that there are other places we encounter Jesus as well, sometimes in places where we least expect to have an encounter with the divine.  We encounter Jesus in conversation with those with whom we disagree or do not understand.  We encounter Jesus in a friendly greeting from a stranger or the opportunity to make a difference in the life of someone we don’t even know.  We encounter Jesus in the anger expressed against the injustices of the world.  Whatever else Jesus is up to this morning, Jesus challenges us not to let our focus on our faithful activity prevent us from seeing Jesus right before our very eyes.