Reflection
Sunday 7th March 2021 – Third Sunday of Lent
We
are thinking this morning about the passage in John 2: 13 – 22. A passage we
all think we know well, where Jesus takes up his whip and drives the money
changers out of the temple. It is a story found in all four Gospels, although
unlike in the Synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke) John includes his
version at the start of Jesus’ ministry, whereas the others include it during
Holy Week.
It
is a story those of us with a heart for social justice and Christian action
relish. Here is Jesus rolling his sleeves up and getting stuck in. Showing us
how we should deal with injustice. And Jesus’ actions place him squarely in the
great tradition of the Old Testament prophets, whose words and visions thrill
and empower us when the weak are exploited by the powerful. It’s no coincidence
that during the protests that took place in the City of London in October 2011,
with protestors camped outside St Paul’s cathedral, this passage of scripture
was often cited as a way of dealing with greedy bankers.
When
we think of the story in this way it is a real temptation to go searching in
the cupboards for our whips, join a protest march and to storm the barricades!
These
actions can all have a place and I do believe that it is right at times for
Christians to be prepared to stand up and be counted. But today I want us to
look at the story from a different angle.
In
the story Jesus drives out the money lenders and those selling sheep, cattle,
and doves. These traders hadn’t set up business within the Temple courts on
their own initiative, they had been permitted to do this, in fact positively
encouraged to do this, by the Temple authorities. As you probably know, worship
in the Temple required various kinds of sacrifices to be made and for certain
payments to be made. What better thing to do than offer animals available for sacrifice
and provide a way of exchanging everyday money for the special coinage used
inside the Temple.
Jesus
is a complete outsider to the power structure of the Temple. He is not a
priest. Yet he issues a challenge to the authority of the Temple that quite
literally shakes its foundations. Jesus throws the mechanics of temple worship
into chaos, disrupting the Temple system during one of the most significant feasts
of the year (Passover). By driving out the money changers and the animal
sellers neither sacrifices nor tithes could be offered that day. No wonder
Jesus was asked
‘What sign can
you show us to prove your authority to do all this?’ John 2:18
Of course, Jesus
has the authority to challenge the Temple authorities because he has God’s power.
Jesus is God’s presence on earth. And Jesus is making the point that as such
Jesus should be the focus of people’s attention not the Temple.
Jesus’
anger was not directed at the traders – though they may well have exploited
their position. Jesus’ anger was at the authorities who had allowed this to
happen and who should have known better. It was not something that happened
overnight. It had been allowed to develop over time by those who made a career
of studying the word of God and no doubt these things were allowed initially
with the best of intentions. After all the Jewish scriptures spoke of sacrifice
as part of worship. But Jesus identified that the authorities had allowed
things to get out of hand and move from the good intentions as set out in Jewish
scripture.
It’s worth
remembering that Jesus is not being “anti-Jewish”. Jesus is challenging the authorities
because they have developed customs and practices and rules that are no longer
open to a fresh revelation from God. A temptation that exists for contemporary
Christianity as well as for the Judaism of Jesus’ day.
This
is what has spoken to me in preparing this Reflection. What would Jesus’
reaction be to the way the Church universal, or the Methodist Church or indeed
our own church, does things now? Has the Church, the Methodist Church, our
church become complacent, cosy and comfortable rather than really proclaiming
the Gospel, making new disciples, developing existing disciples and watching
for signs of God at work and following Him?
Christian
faith communities must be willing to ask where and when the status quo of
religious practices and institutions have become absolute; that is free from a
willingness to be changed or challenged. Closed to the possibility of
reformation, change and renewal. In other words, where the “we’ve always
done it this way” mindset rules.
At
the time of writing this Reflection (23rd February) we’ve just
received Boris Johnson’s “roadmap” for bringing us out of lockdown. So far
there has been nothing specific about opening churches. I anticipate in the
next couple of weeks I will receive some guidance about this and will share it.
It will be good to be able to worship together once again of course.
But
I believe that Covid has provided a wakeup call to Churches, church leaders and
church members. God has been speaking through Covid and challenging us. God has
been asking us all to look at what we’ve been doing before Covid and to
consider whether what we were doing before will work after.
These
are big issues to consider. And I wouldn’t claim to know the answers. But I do
feel that as a church leader God is prompting me to voice these thoughts. And
God is telling me to say to all of you to pray and think about this yourselves.
When Jesus entered the temple
that day, he found a faith that was stale and downright dirty. People were
taking advantage of others and ritual had become more important than the
condition of the heart. What Jesus did, I believe, was challenge a smug, hypocritical
religious system that desperately needed to change. Therefore, a little
demolition was necessary, not to mention an all-out assault to clean things up.
The faith community at that
time was so wrapped up in rules and ritual the fresh revelation of God could
not get through. It was impossible for them to "see" because
they were blinded by obstacles that hindered their ability.
In this story we get an image
of Jesus as a one-man wrecking crew, swinging a sledgehammer. There is no way
to make improvements in an old house without making a mess. There is plaster
dust, dirt, nails, and smelly carpet. It is hard work. It is impossible
to paint without getting paint on yourself. I am sure that Jesus absorbed a few
skinned knuckles that day, not to mention getting his garment dirty.
The
faith community needed a good spring clean and Jesus took it upon himself to do
just that with zeal and determination.
Is that what the faith
community of 21st century needs? A good spring clean? Do we see it
or are we blinded by obstacles that hindered our ability?
Lord of Lent, come to your Church and ask us your hard questions. Are we faithfully proclaiming your gospel? Are we demonstrating in our life together the justice of your Kingdom? Have we welcomed the weak and given prominence to the poor? Come to your Church to spring clean our ways of life, our structures, our priorities. Point out to us the cobwebs, the dirt, the extravagance, and the waste. Create in us a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within us. John Pritchard Intercessions Handbook © SPCK 1997
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