From Tablets to Temple: Reclaiming Worship and Priorities

In the guise of protecting their religion and in the very real sense of protecting their perceived power, they will condemn him. They will horribly torture his body. He will be nailed down to a cross. That's the human verdict, the end of God's temple, this bodily meeting place between us and God. But just wait three days, and we will discover God's infinite determination to be in fellowship with us. The temple shall be raised. Amen. Amen. [00:46:42] (40 seconds)  #ThreeDayResurrection

When Jesus says, I am the way, the truth, and the life, he is giving us a very different definition of truth. Now the truth about God has become a human being and has moved in with us. Jesus has not come to tell us the truth or point us toward the truth. I am the truth, he says. Truth is more than an idea. Truth is personal. A Jew from Nazareth who lived briefly, died violently, rose unexpectedly, and returned to resume the conversation. [00:44:44] (33 seconds)  #IncarnateTruth

all that is being ended in Jesus. Now we have a way to talk to God and a way to be with God ourselves. It is provided by God. It is Jesus Christ, word of God, son of God. Perhaps we need to reexamine our priorities and be sure that God is once again at the center of our lives, not just some sort of sideline transaction. Where have we cut corners in our discipleship, in our worship, in our relationship with God? [00:43:02] (35 seconds)  #GodAtTheCenter

It would be nice to think that this sense of devotion to worship and taking care of and providing for the least of these was what was in the minds of those who set up shop near the temples. But this wasn't the case. Instead, those who set up shop beside and in the temple courtyard were people who saw a need from which they could profit. Savvy business minded farmers set up stands with grain to be sold for grain offerings and livestock for sacrifices. [00:37:50] (34 seconds)  #SacredCommerce

When they cut costs and cut out the risk of losing their livestock, they also cut out that sense of urgency and care for the journey. When the sacrifice did take place, they didn't see the cow they had fed and washed and cared for over the years. Rather, their sacrifice was bought, purchased. They were not giving up something of value to them in making the sacrifice because there was no personal attachment. [00:41:17] (31 seconds)  #BoughtSacrifices

Now this is a difficult thing to imagine, let alone comprehend, for the Jews who were challenging Jesus because the temple in question had been under construction for forty six years. It took forty six years to build up this place of worship. So they thought, how could Jesus build it up again in only three days? Of course, we understand now that Jesus and the Jews were talking about two different things. Their priorities were different. [00:39:41] (32 seconds)  #DifferentPriorities

So what should we want? We should want God, creator, and Christ, redeemer, and spirit, comforter. So it's time to set our priorities, time to reflect and return to what's important, Priorities. During the season of Lent, we give things up in an effort to prioritize our lives once again by decluttering and focusing on that which we should be more grateful for. And that that is exactly what Jesus did that day in the temple. Clearly, Jesus was angry. [00:36:02] (39 seconds)  #SetYourPriorities

And so in our gospel text, Jesus was cleaning up, cleaning the house of the things and the people cluttering it and making it into something other than a place of worship as it was intended. At the time, the things needed for worship were no longer personal. People had stopped bringing their own cows, sheep, and pigeons, which they had raised at home and with care because there was a danger of their livestock dying on the long journey to Jerusalem. [00:36:41] (31 seconds)  #TempleCleansing

As a result, people no longer needed to take such a big risk. They could sell a cow at home and then bring the money with them to buy a cow at the temple. And what was once a side market eventually took over the temple of God. Sound familiar? People had started cutting corners, and they were looking for easier and easier ways to do the sacrifice. And by doing so, they had lost the essence of value in the ritual acts of sacrifice. [00:38:24] (36 seconds)  #ValueInSacrifice

We ask God to show up. God does so as the incarnate word. God with a name, a face, God speaking. God is still speaking today. What's the point of Jesus Christ, God with a body coming among us? John's answer to this is fellowship, camaraderie, communion, fellowship with the creator and the redeemer. In a few weeks, we will follow Jesus to his trial where the governmental and religious authorities will render a verdict against him. [00:46:01] (41 seconds)  #GodWithUs

I imagine that Jesus knew the culture and the need for animals to sacrifice. I imagine Jesus knew that the market by the temple could have begun as a service, but turned into an exploitation of the people of God and especially of the house of God. The Jews who had witnessed Jesus overturning the tables and upsetting sails questioned Jesus. By what authority are you doing these things? Jesus answers, destroy this temple, and in three days, I'll raise it up. [00:39:05] (36 seconds)  #OverturnTheTables

It was profitable for the temple to have the money changers and the farmers selling their goods. Meanwhile, Jesus was referring to the hearts of the people. Jesus, in overturning the tables and making a whip out of cords, had called out a brokenness in the temple, which the people had grown comfortable with. Jesus called attention to the manner in which people had been approaching worship and furthering their relationship and dependence on God. [00:40:19] (34 seconds)  #HeartOverMarket

No adultery. In a culture where sex as impulse, pleasure, and self fulfillment is all over the media. Jesus said, if you harbor lust in your heart, you are an adulterer. No condemnation there. Just as in that moment in John's gospel, Jesus encounters an adulterer to set her free. No coveting. Coveting is the engine of capitalism. But God would liberate us from the stranglehold of always wanting more or really always wanting what is new and different. I don't want more iPhones. I want the latest iPhone. [00:35:23] (39 seconds)  #InnerMorality

I believe that the commandments are not meant to be chains or to be used to keep some people in power over others. Rather, they are a safety net. They are actually a path to freedom. Or as Brevard Childs says, the intent of the commandments is to engender love of God and love of neighbor. Now then, how can we look at them again? That is without some kind of overexaggerated authoritarian misuse of God's laws, a way to keep some people more important and powerful than others. Well, let's start. I'm gonna go through some of these commandments a bit and just chat about them. [00:33:52] (43 seconds)  #LawForLove

At first, to ensure that they made it to Jerusalem with a living cow, sheep, or goat for sacrifice, people would bring with them two or even three animals rather than just one. It was a long and a difficult journey to the place of worship for Passover. And with livestock, the economic loss endured for Passover could be pretty significant. It made sense then for a devoted worshipper to provide livestock to all worshippers in case someone's pigeon or cow or sheep didn't survive the journey to the temple. [00:37:13] (37 seconds)  #CommunityProvision