Spring Cleaning in the Church?

 

In our first post, we made some observations about Jesus's first "miracle," or "sign" - as the Gospel of John prefers to call these interventions.

    Following on then, we see Jesus heading to Jerusalem to participate in the Passover of the Jews. Maybe it was from a hangover after all that wedding wine; maybe a touch of the old in vino veritas, too, but Jesus took umbrage at what he saw going on in the Temple - in both word and deed. (John 2:13-22). He seemingly lost his rag, because he suddenly grabbed some bits of string, or rope, or leather, and twisted them together to make "a scourge" - a rudimentary whip of chastisement - and started driving out the sheep and cattle being sold for ritual sacrifice. He also ordered the stall-keepers to take the birds away.

    That's got to be provocative on several levels. At a purely practical level, though, many of the pilgrims to Jerusalem to celebrate Passover, some from far away, would not have been able to bring their own animals with them. Nor would they have had the wherewithal to bring enough pigeons and doves, either.  So, it seems reasonable to think that having animals and birds available for sale, in situ, was uncontroversial enough.

    Nevertheless, for Jesus the animals and birds had to go, and go they did, with great squawking, bleating and bellowing to boot. The sight, the sound, and the smell of it all made this dramatic event quite the piece of Performance Art, I'm sure! Despite some theological sceptics and pessimists tut-tutting at Jesus's seeming anger-management issues, there is no indication that any animals were hurt in the making of this dramatic production.     And no harm was done to the human elements either.

Turning on the moneychangers, who were there legitimately as far as anyone was concerned, he literally turned the tables on them, scattering the neat columns of coins across the stone floor in all directions. (One can just see the scramble to grab a few handfuls that this sparked!) The Temple Tax could only be paid in a dedicated currency, so all Roman and other 'foreign' coins needed to be exchanged. (You can't have the heads of Emperors and emblems of Empire in God's House, after all! As Jesus famously said at a later date, "Render to Caesar what is Caesar's; render to God what is God's!").That the exchange rate would certainly have been extortionate is largely a given in this case, too. 

Plus ca change! 

What's all this about? What has so got Jesus' goat [and sheep, and cattle, and birds], so to speak? His tirade against the pigeon sellers seems to give a clue,

- "Get out of here!" he yelled, "Stop making my Parent's house a marketplace!"

    It is worth noting, in passing, that Jesus drove out the sheep and cattle; this shows his care that none of them would be completely lost; they could be retrieved later. But the money? Pah! Let the poor (and even the not-so-poor) jostle and jab for what they could grab!

So, God's House as a Commercial Exchange Centre? This really touches a raw nerve here. Since this whole system of "trade" was essential to maintaining the cultic rituals of sacrifice and tithes of the Jewish Temple - not to mention financing the Project, as the sale of indulgences would be for towards the building of St Peter's Basilica in Rome!) Jesus is actually challenging the legitimacy and authority of such rituals and, indeed, worship.

    (I know of a church whose recently installed incumbent closed down the in-house shop, and moth-balled the Cafe, almost certainly in solidarity with, and as a modern metaphor for, the apparent implications of Jesus' righteous indignation. That incumbent was soon un-installed!)

    Anyway, Jesus will come to the point, very soon afterwards. The Religious Authorities (read "Ministers"!) challenge him in turn and demand some evidence, some credentials that authorise Him to carry out such wanton violence against their system. To which, he responds, "I'll knock this temple down, and rebuild it in three days!" Considering the Temple had then been under construction for forty-six years, that Jesus' claim was met with derision, astonishment and scepticism comes as no surprise.

    But, as John points out, Jesus was talking about his body as a temple. The disciples will remember this later, after his return to life. The recollection will instil a renewed awe and respect for the old Scriptures. 

It's funny how the wisdom of old can suddenly look not so out-of-date! The outcome of all this turmoil was that a lot of people figured out that he, and his message, were to be trusted. But not the people themselves, of course. 

    Jesus knew then, and knows, concerning us today, how fickle we humans can be. Ask any politician! Jesus didn't need others to tell him what people are like. After all, he could read their thoughts. And ours, too!

So, while we ponder the implications of this moment in Eternal Time - and our history - let us consider: How many vggchurch messages, notices, even sermons focus on you giving more money to the cause, the project, the "ministry", the "mission". How much of the riches accumulated are, in fact, for the profit of the [mostly false] "prophets" (and preachers)? Ask Joel Osteen!

Don't let the so-called "shepherds" fleece you a day longer!