Jesus - the authentic gospel

One of the things that really builds up the atmosphere at big rugby matches outside the ground is the smell of the hot dog vans and also the shouts of the various traders, whether they be selling scarves and hats, face painting or trying to buy or sell tickets...

Though the hot dog vans and scarves and things were probably missing I think the Passover celebrations must have been a bit like this with traders crowding into Jerusalem to earn a bit of money.

It was a great occasion with people going for the religious festival obviously but also for the celebration, and during the Passover even the Temple authorities saw a great opportunity to make some money.

This was the scene in our gospel reading this morning (John 2:13-22). It’s one of those great human events, as Jesus stormed into the temple and found people selling animals and the money-changers all ready to help with sorting out the payment. Within the temple compound the Roman currency was considered idolatrous because it was stamped with the image of Caesar, and so people had to exchange Roman currency for Temple money to purchase the sacrificial offerings needed for the festival.

Anybody who has travelled and changed currency knows the moneychangers always get a fee, and that was exactly the same in Jesus’ time, and the fee was taken on the Temple steps. I don’t think for a moment Jesus was too concerned about the sale of the animals to people who may have needed them but he was concerned about the level of abuse that had taken over the event – people were using a religious festival to make money…

And that made Jesus angry – he threw aside the tables, and called for the destruction of the temple. He was making the point that the religion being practised in that place had little to do with God, and much more to do with money and power. As he called for the destruction of the temple, he said he would rebuild it in just 3 days.

Of course, Jesus wasn’t talking about the physical building at all – he didn’t care whether the building was destroyed or not. I don’t think Jesus ever cares too much about buildings, but what he was talking about was the fact that he would rebuild all of the relationships with God that people needed in the space of just 3 days – the 3 days between his crucifixion and his resurrection.

I love Lent because it’s the time in sermons that you can be really blunt – people expect it, it is lent after all and each one of us is challenged to feel just a little uncomfortable ! But beyond the bluntness there is something more, because the uncomfortable bit applies to us all who fall short of the ideal person that God would love to see us be... Lent is a very personal journey.

The concept of lent is based of course on the 40 days that Jesus spent in the wilderness, a time when he was tempted by the devil – following that period he began his ministry, ready for anything the world could throw at him. In a sense we are asked to do the same in Lent – to give up what is comfortable and journey into the unknown… But doing so with the assurance that God is with us every step we take.

We are to reflect on the suffering and pain that Jesus accepted on our behalf and the reasons for it…

We are to reflect on his journey to the cross with all the pain that journey involved, and to ask ourselves what we are doing to get closer to him and to understand the love that he has for us…

These are very personal questions… In Church, and I’m as guilty as anyone, we hide behind a collective sort of body – THE CHURCH !

Because, it doesn’t sound quite as scary when we talk about the Church needing to live out the love and compassion of Jesus, the sort of love that made him want to die for the people he loved… It doesn’t sound quite as scary when we talk about the Church fighting for the justice that Jesus fought for – the sort of fight that led him to walk into the temple and overthrow tables…

But we all know actually that the Church is you and me – the Church is personal !

I was speaking to a friend a while back, and I may have told the story before... He is the Vicar of a few Churches, 1 of which is in danger of closure because of problems with the building, and the lack of people attending. Last week there was good news – a baptism was to take place in the main Sunday service.

The family of the baby to be christened had lived in the area for some time but were not regular attendees at the Church, but this was a wonderful chance to welcome them into the Church community – to at least begin to build some sort of relationship with them – Who knows where that relationship would lead in the future ? Perhaps these people could be the green shoots of recovery for that Church….

It wasn’t a big baptism so my friend reserved a couple of rows at the front for the family, and when he arrived at the Church he was met by a rather worried looking Church warden who explained there’d been a bit of a problem !

A lady who usually sat in the front row was disgusted to find these people sitting in her seat ! She had marched up to the warden and told him, loudly enough for everyone to hear, what she thought. This included the family and friends of the child to be baptised… She didn’t see why she should have to give up her seat to people who were just “using” the Church – sitting 2 rows back was not good enough – there was the principle.

After the warden said he would not move them, she stormed out of Church and later sent an e mail saying how disgusted she was. My friend explained to her nicely that it was important to try and make this family feel welcome and so on, but the lady was having none of it – she would not be coming back to this Church and would be sending back her Church key in the post....!

It would almost be funny if it wasn’t real…

I’m sure that wouldn’t happen here, but this example is just one of any number of petty incidents that could be quoted by so many people about things that go in Church…

Lent is one of those times to stop..., and not ask about the rest of the Church, but ask ourselves what we are doing to build the Church of God today…

What actions are we taking that are good, or bad, and what are we going to do in the future… Jesus turned over the tables of the money changers, and we have to honestly ask ourselves what we need his help with to overturn in our lives - things which are getting in the way of our relationship with him or with others, or getting in the way of us sharing the gospel, the good news of Jesus, with others…

In Lent we usually leave out the Gloria from the service because this is a time of sombre reflection, it’s a time when we reflect more on the suffering of Jesus than on his glory, but it’s pointless doing that if we don’t reflect on our own failings, and on the things we can do to get over them…

Lent is not about being miserable – it’s not about leaving out the Gloria because that may be a bit too lively, it’s just about doing something a little bit differently in order to challenge ourselves to be changed for the future...

Unlike those in the build up to the first Easter – those early followers who watched Jesus walk to Jerusalem, who saw him being arrested, tried, convicted and killed – we know the rest of the story already.

We know the risen Jesus, who is still active in the world and in our hearts today. We know the transforming Jesus who wants to play a bigger part in our lives, and in the life of the world.

We know the peace of a relationship with him… and so he asks us to turn over our lives to him, to offer more of ourselves to shine as a light for him in a world so often clouded in darkness.

This Lent, let’s remember it’s not about a distant body called “the Church” being the body of Christ in the world today – it’s about you and me – it is personal. We are his hands, his feet, his mouthpiece…

The former Brazilian Archbishop, Helder Camara, said, ‘Be careful of the way you live, it is the only gospel that most people will ever read !’   

When Jesus turned over the tables he was reminding people that the gospel wasn’t about the Temple or about churches as places, it’s not about trying to be nice to each other because it’s the right thing to do, it’s not about you and me, it’s about Jesus and the love he has for every one of us and the relationship he wants to enjoy with us....

He calls us by name as Isaiah wrote... and day by day he sees our response... AMEN