Sunday of the Passion: Palm Sunday: Holy Week Means Everyone Counts

Today's Scripture Readings

Mark 11:1-11 (NRSV)

When they were approaching Jerusalem, at Bethphage and Bethany, near the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two of his disciples and said to them, "Go into the village ahead of you, and immediately as you enter it, you will find tied there a colt that has never been ridden; untie it and bring it. If anyone says to you, `Why are you doing this?' just say this, `The Lord needs it and will send it back here immediately.'" They went away and found a colt tied near a door, outside in the street. As they were untying it, some of the bystanders said to them, "What are you doing, untying the colt?" They told them what Jesus had said; and they allowed them to take it. Then they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their cloaks on it; and he sat on it. Many people spread their cloaks on the road, and others spread leafy branches that they had cut in the fields. Then those who went ahead and those who followed were shouting,

"Hosanna!

Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!

Blessed is the coming kingdom of our ancestor David!

Hosanna in the highest heaven!"

Then he entered Jerusalem and went into the temple; and when he had looked around at everything, as it was already late, he went out to Bethany with the twelve. 

Isaiah 50:4-9a (NRSV)

The Lord GOD has given me

the tongue of a teacher,

that I may know how to sustain

the weary with a word.

Morning by morning he wakens--

wakens my ear

to listen as those who are taught.

The Lord GOD has opened my ear,

and I was not rebellious,

I did not turn backward.

I gave my back to those who struck me,

and my cheeks to those who pulled out the beard;

I did not hide my face

from insult and spitting.

The Lord GOD helps me;

therefore I have not been disgraced;

therefore I have set my face like flint,

and I know that I shall not be put to shame;

he who vindicates me is near.

Who will contend with me?

Let us stand up together.

Who are my adversaries?

Let them confront me.

It is the Lord GOD who helps me;

who will declare me guilty?

Psalm 31:9-16 (BCP., p.623)


Philippians 2:5-11 (NRSV)

Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus,

who, though he was in the form of God,

did not regard equality with God

as something to be exploited,

but emptied himself,

taking the form of a slave,

being born in human likeness.

And being found in human form,

he humbled himself

and became obedient to the point of death--

even death on a cross.

Therefore God also highly exalted him

and gave him the name

that is above every name,

so that at the name of Jesus

every knee should bend,

in heaven and on earth and under the earth,

and every tongue should confess

that Jesus Christ is Lord,

to the glory of God the Father.

The Passion of Jesus Christ According to Mark 14:1-15:47 (NRSV)


Blog Reflection

Holy Week should be the week during which Christians are able to just sit back and take in the events we celebrate.  We should just take part in all of the Holy Week Liturgies the Church offers and just go back to what we were doing before.  Sadly, we Christians already celebrate Holy Week in that way.  As long as I can remember, Christians observe the Holy Week rituals as if Christians are the only ones that matter.  Anyone who doesn't celebrate what we remember this week is doing something wrong.  No wonder so many look at Christians on this week and respond with, "So what!!  It is just business as usual."

Contrary to what many may see and think, Holy Week is so much greater than our own little world.  There is more at stake during Holy Week than our creeds or the Bible being correctly understood and believed.  Holy Week is about every person's journey in the face of human suffering, betrayal and the fickleness of the human heart as prominent as they can be.  We see it every year on Palm Sunday.  Jesus is welcomed by the same people into Jerusalem who will be later portrayed as crying "Crucify Him!! Crucify Him!!"  Yet, if we pay more attention to how the Passion reading happens during the Liturgy, it is the worship congregation that often reads and recites those words.  The meaning is so very important.  It is not the Jews who crucified Jesus and are therefore irrelevant to the rest of the World (all of which is as incorrect as possible), it is our sins, and God's love for all of us.  Our sins were not strong enough for God who is so madly in love with all of us, that God gave Jesus to suffer the agonizing death He endured.  God's love for all of us without exception is so great, so powerful that God identified with all of us in Jesus to the point of the complete abandonment of Self to redeem all of us from the worst of ourselves.

The events of Holy Week, along with all of the ritualistic celebrations are an opportunity for all of us to find God at work in Jesus exactly where we think God is just not interested.  Just when it appears as if all hope is lost, not even death is strong enough to keep Jesus dead in the grave.  Before we can effectively celebrate and grow in our faith life as Christians in the Easter event, we first must face our own brokenness, our humility and humanness in the passion and death of Jesus.  It does not stop there.  Jesus shows us how God can do more than we can hope for or imagine at the very worst of human tragedies, and find new hope and life by surrendering everything we are and have into God's hands with faith and trust.   

This past week we the Christian Faith used as a weapon of mass destruction.  When Indiana passed their law to allow discrimination of LGBT people on the basis of "religious liberty," they effectively made it possible for Christians to excuse themselves from any means of living the message of the Gospel by simply saying that it "goes against our religion."   If you want to talk about an act of sacrilege just before Holy Week, I believe we have the worst kind of example.  Jesus Christ who loved even Judas who betrayed him, is inaccurately portrayed in such laws as loving others with exceptions based on preconceived notions and religious arrogance.  Anyone who does not "measure up" to a particular Christians ideal of what another person should be, becomes justification for spiritual malpractice and doctrinal abuse.

As we wander into Holy Week with Jesus, we may want to ponder on what the events and rituals really mean to us.  Are we serious about our Baptismal Vows that we will renew together this week?   Or are we just saying such things to get through another Holy Week to eat the ham on Easter Day?  Will celebrating the Paschal Mystery this week really change us to the point in which we trust in God to love others as Christ has loved us?  Or, will we join Judas in selling Jesus for thirty pieces of silver to get that trouble maker who loves others better than we do out of the way?

Holy Week means that everyone counts.  Including us.  Including others around us who are different than us, and with whom we share this earth with.  Whether we succeed or fail, God loves and redeems us all.

As we journey together this Holy Week, may Christians grow and evolve into the Easter People Christ came to save us to be.

Amen.


Prayers

Almighty and everliving God, in your tender love for the
human race you sent your Son our Savior Jesus Christ to
take upon him our nature, and to suffer death upon the cross,
giving us the example of his great humility: Mercifully grant
that we may walk in the way of his suffering, and also share
in his resurrection; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives
and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever
and ever. Amen.  (Collect for Sunday of the Passion: Palm Sunday. The Book of Common Prayer, p.219).

Lord Jesus Christ, you stretched out your arms of love on
the hard wood of the cross that everyone might come within
the reach of your saving embrace: So clothe us in your Spirit
that we, reaching forth our hands in love, may bring those
who do not know you to the knowledge and love of you; for
the honor of your Name. Amen. (The Book of Common Prayer, p.101).

Fifth Sunday in Lent: Christ Lifted Up for All

Today's Scripture Readings

Jeremiah 31:31-34 (NRSV)

The days are surely coming, says the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah. It will not be like the covenant that I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt-- a covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, says the LORD. But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. No longer shall they teach one another, or say to each other, "Know the LORD," for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, says the LORD; for I will forgive their iniquity, and remember their sin no more.

Psalm 51:1-13 (BCP., p.656)


Hebrews 5:5-10 (NRSV)

Christ did not glorify himself in becoming a high priest, but was appointed by the one who said to him,

"You are my Son,

today I have begotten you";

as he says also in another place,

"You are a priest forever,

according to the order of Melchizedek."

In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to the one who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission. Although he was a Son, he learned obedience through what he suffered; and having been made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him, having been designated by God a high priest according to the order of Melchizedek.

John 12:20-33 (NRSV)

Now among those who went up to worship at the festival were some Greeks. They came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and said to him, "Sir, we wish to see Jesus." Philip went and told Andrew; then Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus. Jesus answered them, "The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Very truly, I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. Those who love their life lose it, and those who hate their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. Whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am, there will my servant be also. Whoever serves me, the Father will honor.

"Now my soul is troubled. And what should I say-- `Father, save me from this hour'? No, it is for this reason that I have come to this hour. Father, glorify your name." Then a voice came from heaven, "I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again." The crowd standing there heard it and said that it was thunder. Others said, "An angel has spoken to him." Jesus answered, "This voice has come for your sake, not for mine. Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world will be driven out. And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself." He said this to indicate the kind of death he was to die.

Blog Reflection

This past Thursday I was in the supermarket check out lane.  I was a bit late that day, and had finished my grocery shopping for the week.  I was really looking forward to checking out quickly and getting home.  Things seemed to be moving quite a bit slower than usual.  As I looked more closely at the cashier, I realized that things were moving a lot slower because she was moving very slowly.  It seemed to take her a longer time to count the change from the register, tear off a receipt and fold it.  I saw her eyes and they did look a bit dreary.  Perhaps she was not feeling particularly well that day.  It was difficult for me not to become a bit irritated by the slow pace of things, until I meditated just a bit on St. Benedict's admonition to regard the earth and all it's goods, including all people as the "sacred vessels of the altar." (RB 1980: Chapter 33). Once I began to remember that, I found myself admiring how carefully she was doing her job, irregardless of the attitudes of others around her.  I also found it a bit easier to be aware of the presence of God in the situation.  Whatever the reason the cashier was moving so slowly was really not important.  What is important is that whether it is easy or difficult, God's presence really is every where.  God's law of love is always being rewritten in our hearts as God makes God's presence known to us in those situations, people and places where it just seems that things just are not quite what we think they should be.  All God asks of us, is to take the time to seek union with God, with the God who has already found us.

Here we are on the fifth Sunday and Week of Lent.  Next weekend we start Holy Week and the journey towards Easter Day.  How has Lent been for you?   How have you drawn closer to God through prayer, alms-giving and self-denial?   Well, we still have at least two more weeks to go.  Make the best of it.

The overriding message of the readings for this Weekend's Eucharist is that God wants to enter our hearts renewed by Christ's redemption.  The renewal is ongoing and ever working.  Our biggest obstacle is ourselves.  Our Christian Faith teaches us that not only is it okay to step out of the way and let God help and guide us, it is necessary if we are to search for that union with God in the here and now to find our way forward.

As Christians, we believe that Jesus Christ was lifted up on the Cross to draw all people to himself.   Once again, our Gospel Reading presents us with a bit of a "Jesus only" picture.  As a Christian believer myself, I agree that Jesus is my only Savior and Lord.  I can sing those great evangelical Gospel like hymns that "Jesus saves" and believe it in my heart all I like.  However, the moment that I make it my business to judge the journeys of others by my own beliefs (and I know I have done plenty of this), I am as guilty of making Jesus into a business proposition to benefit my own ego as anyone else.  This is not evangelism.  This is religious zeal by coercion and self concern only.  Instead of keeping me sensitive to others, it makes me blind to the presence of God in the other.  Oh, Lord, have mercy on me.

As has become the tradition of this blog that I have been writing for the past six years, I must at this point in Lent condemn all forms of antisemitism.  There is so much prejudice and violence going on these days over religion.  Christianity by itself does not hold the monopoly on all religious and/or spiritual truth.  The awesomeness of our Faith is that we are one of many great Faiths around us, which includes our Jewish Sisters and Brothers.  No amount of justification for condemning Judaism and those who continue to worship Yahweh on the part of Christians is appropriate or to be condoned.  The Jews are not responsible for the death of Jesus.  Please, let's not continue with this insult to God and to other religions by promoting disrespect or violence towards other religious faiths, including those who chose to practice no religion at all.

Jesus in our Gospel today, welcomes those who came to Him, because He was about to do God's will in what must have been a very frightening time for Him.  Yet, He also knew that if He was going to over throw the powers of sin and death, and be the source of God's love in the world for those who believed in Him, that preparing for the reality of the Cross was going to be God's way of doing it.  Jesus would be lifted up to draw all people to Himself.  No amount of exclusion on any basis including but not limited to sexual orientation and/or gender expression/identity comes close to honoring what Jesus did for all of us.  Jesus who is the fulfillment for Christians of what it means to live with the law of God written in the heart with a renewed faith, was about to be the visible reality of the love of God that has no end.

As Christians who profess a Baptismal Covenant, we Episcopalians along with others are committed to recognizing and loving Christ in our neighbor, seeking justice and peace, and upholding their dignity.  It is a work we must recommit ourselves to not only at the Great Vigil of Easter now less than two weeks away, but every day of our lives.  Each encounter with that person that drives us crazy is the presence of God made as real as the Eucharist, and is to be cared for as such.

May we continue through our Lenten Journey to pray and work together to be the living example of Jesus being lifted up and drawing all people to Him through those of us who love Him so much.

Amen.


Prayers

Almighty God, you alone can bring into order the unruly
wills and affections of sinners: Grant your people grace to
love what you command and desire what you promise; that,
among the swift and varied changes of the world, our hearts
may surely there be fixed where true joys are to be found;
through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with
you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.  (Collect for the Fifth Sunday in Lent.  The Book of Common Prayer, p.219).

Look with pity, O heavenly Father, upon the people in this
land who live with injustice, terror, disease, and death as
their constant companions. Have mercy upon us. Help us to
eliminate our cruelty to these our neighbors. Strengthen those
who spend their lives establishing equal protection of the law
and equal opportunities for all. And grant that every one of
us may enjoy a fair portion of the riches of this land; through
Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. (Prayer for the Oppressed.  The Book of Common Prayer, p.826).

Fourth Sunday in Lent: The Greatest Challenge of Christian Relationships

 
Today's Scripture Readings

Numbers 21:4-9 (NRSV)

From Mount Hor the Israelites set out by the way to the Red Sea, to go around the land of Edom; but the people became impatient on the way. The people spoke against God and against Moses, "Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and we detest this miserable food." Then the LORD sent poisonous serpents among the people, and they bit the people, so that many Israelites died. The people came to Moses and said, "We have sinned by speaking against the LORD and against you; pray to the LORD to take away the serpents from us." So Moses prayed for the people. And the LORD said to Moses, "Make a poisonous serpent, and set it on a pole; and everyone who is bitten shall look at it and live." So Moses made a serpent of bronze, and put it upon a pole; and whenever a serpent bit someone, that person would look at the serpent of bronze and live.

Psalm 107:1-3, 17-22 (BCP., p.746)


Ephesians 2:1-10 (NRSV)

You were dead through the trespasses and sins in which you once lived, following the course of this world, following the ruler of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work among those who are disobedient. All of us once lived among them in the passions of our flesh, following the desires of flesh and senses, and we were by nature children of wrath, like everyone else. God, who is rich in mercy, out of the great love with which he loved us even when we were dead through our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ-- by grace you have been saved-- and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the ages to come he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God-- not the result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are what he has made us, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand to be our way of life.

John 3:14-21 (NRSV)

Jesus said to Nicodemus, "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.

"For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.

"Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Those who believe in him are not condemned; but those who do not believe are condemned already, because they have not believed in the name of the only Son of God. And this is the judgment, that the light has come into the world, and people loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil. For all who do evil hate the light and do not come to the light, so that their deeds may not be exposed. But those who do what is true come to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that their deeds have been done in God."

Blog Reflection

This Sunday, we are brought face to face with the greatest challenge in Christian relationships.  How are we to be a good reflection of those relationships in a world where the very word Christian brings a whole array of meanings?  Some are conclusive while others are elusive.

If you say the word Christian to a person who is of a particular group of people who have experienced that word as being hurtful, their response could be very negative.  It could also be very neutral.  One might hear similar to what Mahatma Gandhi said.  "I like your Jesus, but I do not like your Christians."  I remember a woman once sing out loud over a microphone, "Jesus, save us from your followers."  What in the world is wrong with the word Christian?  Why does it bring such responses?  I am not the only one asking these questions this weekend.  The Rev. Barbara Mraz the Writer in Residence at St. John the Evangelist Episcopal Church in St. Paul, MN is also asking this question.  You can read her blog post here. 

I have been writing a lot this Lent about words such as The Holy Essence of God, and facing the best and worst of ourselves and others.  These words are a special part of my own personal journey with God, because the more I have studied about the word Christian and asked the question of what is wrong with that word; I have realized that there are so many things in my own life that are a contradiction to that word.  One of the things a Benedictine Novice such as myself learns very quickly is that I am not the nicest guy on earth.  I think way too much about myself as opposed to my neighbor.  I struggle every day with my own ego and brush up against my false-sense of self that gets all wrapped up in words and labels.  In as much as I write about the issues of injustice and prejudice, I know that I too hold attitudes within myself that are part of the problem, not the solution.

As I read through the readings for this Sunday's Liturgy, I am drawn to the stark reality that Jesus is telling us that the word Christian is not a word of privilege.  It is not a term that means that I get to impose what I think or believe on anyone else.  I can share it, write about it and do it.  I can also if I am not careful enough, determine that the word Christian stops with myself and has no bearing on my relationship with God and others around me.  It can be so easy for me to think that I am someone really special, just because I use that word Christian to define myself in word only, and excuse myself from acting on what the word means.

The message of these Scripture readings is that God did not stop at loving the world just because we were lost in our sins.  God loved the world so much, that Jesus came as God's perfect revelation in the human form to save the world and not just Christians.  God sent the Son into the world to save it without condemnation, so that we could live into a relationship with God within the context of our relationships.  Such is the work of our faith, and the faith that makes our work worthwhile.  The world in which God sent Jesus includes those who disagree with each other, those who even dislike one another and those who wonder why in the world God still puts up with us.  When we look at the violence expressed in human suffering all over the world over things like religion, sexual orientation, gender, gender expression/identity, the powerful vs the weak, the sick, the lonely, the dying etc., what is it about all of us that keeps God's loving graciousness fixed on us as the apple of God's eyes?

The answer for the Christian (as difficult of a word as it is), is a cross on a hill, far away on which Jesus said, "Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing." (Luke 23:34 NRSV).   God loves each of us so extravagantly that "God did not withhold his own son, but gave him up for all of us." (Romans 8:32).  In Jesus' sacrifice, He willingly handed over His relationship to His Father, only saving His faith that God would raise Him up.   Jesus made Himself as vulnerable as any man alive, and paid the ultimate price of His life out of love, humility and obedience to God's will.

Perhaps the greatest challenge of Christian relationships is that to live them means to set aside even the pride of that name to make ourselves as vulnerable as Jesus made Himself.  It is much too risky say for a lesbian and/or gay person who has experienced rejection, violence and oppression in the Name of Jesus, because she/he will have to risk the possibility of healing to the point of forgiving and reconciling her/himself with those who continue to harm her/him just because.  It is much too risky for an evangelical pastor who has always preached against homosexuality and/or abortion to admit she/he has misinterpreted the scriptures all these years and to change her/his position.  It could not only mean the loss of her/his pastoral ministry in her/his church, but also the esteem of her/his colleagues and friends.  A Christian who stands up against racism or for greater gun control, could face a lot more than her/his reputation going down the drain.  All because the word Christian means certain things for some, and different things to others.

The name Christian often means many other things, but please don't tell us that it means that we have to love others who are different than ourselves beyond our church doors, or outside of our beliefs.  That requires way too much.  Such is too much of a slippery slope that could mean that the Jesus who is an abstract idea held captive in the name of Christian actually becomes a real, breathing and life-giving Savior.  It would mean that Jesus means so much more than watching The Passion of Christ or Jesus of Nazareth.  The name Christian would be who we are because our relationships as challenging as they are, are no longer an acceptable excuse for us to avoid.  Including if it means that I must sacrifice even myself for the benefit of the other person.

O God, make speed to save us.  O Lord, make haste to help us.  May our journey of Lent bring us closer to being what the word Christian is about in the great challenges of our relationships.

Amen.


Prayers

Gracious Father, whose blessed Son Jesus Christ came down
from heaven to be the true bread which gives life to the world:
Evermore give us this bread, that he may live in us, and we in
him; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one
God, now and for ever. Amen.  (Collect for the Fourth Sunday in Lent.  The Book of Common Prayer, p. 219).

Almighty and everlasting God, you hate nothing you have
made and forgive the sins of all who are penitent: Create and
make in us new and contrite hearts, that we, worthily
lamenting our sins and acknowledging our wretchedness,
may obtain of you, the God of all mercy, perfect remission
and forgiveness; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives
and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever
and ever. Amen.  (Collect for Ash Wednesday.  The Book of Common Prayer. p.217).
 
Almighty God, who created us in your image: Grant us
grace fearlessly to contend against evil and to make no peace
with oppression; and, that we may reverently use our freedom,
help us to employ it in the maintenance of justice in our
communities and among the nations, to the glory of your holy
Name; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with
you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.  (Collect for Social Justice.  The Book of Common Prayer, p. 260).

Third Sunday in Lent: Turning Over Tables

Today's Scripture Readings

Exodus 20:1-7 (NRSV)

Then God spoke all these words: I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery; you shall have no other gods before me.

You shall not make for yourself an idol, whether in the form of anything that is in heaven above, or that is on the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I the LORD your God am a jealous God, punishing children for the iniquity of parents, to the third and the fourth generation of those who reject me, but showing steadfast love to the thousandth generation of those who love me and keep my commandments.

You shall not make wrongful use of the name of the LORD your God, for the LORD will not acquit anyone who misuses his name.

Remember the sabbath day, and keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work. But the seventh day is a sabbath to the LORD your God; you shall not do any work-- you, your son or your daughter, your male or female slave, your livestock, or the alien resident in your towns. For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but rested the seventh day; therefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day and consecrated it.

Honor your father and your mother, so that your days may be long in the land that the LORD your God is giving you.

You shall not murder.

You shall not commit adultery.

You shall not steal.

You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.

You shall not covet your neighbor's house; you shall not covet your neighbor's wife, or male or female slave, or ox, or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.

Psalm 19 (BCP., p.606)


1 Corinthians 1:18-25 (NRSV)

The message about the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written,


"I will destroy the wisdom of the wise,
and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart."


Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, God decided, through the foolishness of our proclamation, to save those who believe. For Jews demand signs and Greeks desire wisdom, but we proclaim Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For God's foolishness is wiser than human wisdom, and God's weakness is stronger than human strength.

John 2:13-22 (NRSV)

The Passover of the Jews was near, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. In the temple he found people selling cattle, sheep, and doves, and the money changers seated at their tables. Making a whip of cords, he drove all of them out of the temple, both the sheep and the cattle. He also poured out the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables. He told those who were selling the doves, "Take these things out of here! Stop making my Father's house a marketplace!" His disciples remembered that it was written, "Zeal for your house will consume me." The Jews then said to him, "What sign can you show us for doing this?" Jesus answered them, "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up." The Jews then said, "This temple has been under construction for forty-six years, and will you raise it up in three days?" But he was speaking of the temple of his body. After he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this; and they believed the scripture and the word that Jesus had spoken.

Blog Reflection

This Sundays readings seem to be full of contradictions.

In the reading from the Hebrew Scriptures we read about God giving the Law to Moses on Mt. Sinai.  The Psalmist writes words about praising God in nature and how even the sun gives glory to God.  In the Epistle we read about what it means to be wise and foolish.  In the Gospel we read of Jesus turning over the tables of the money changers in the court yard of the Temple.  All the readings rolled together into one, sound as if we are watching one big drama unfold in front of us.  It could almost be an episode of Murder She Wrote or Law and Order.

These readings and the message contained in all of them are no drama.  They are the stuff of life with the element of faith.  Put together they could lead us to  ask ourselves this same question, "How serious are you about your faith?"  Another question they could pose would be, "How valuable to us is our faith?"

In this journey of Lent, we are fasting, praying and giving alms as we spend time with Jesus in the wilderness of our hearts.  I think this is about that time during Lent, when many of us feel a bit edgy.  Spring cannot come fast enough.  The political news media is full of images of what ISIS is doing.  Our Congress continues to honor the wealthy at the expense of the poor and physically/mentally and psychologically challenged.  The Alabama Supreme Court Justices just defied the U.S. Supreme Court telling their Probate Judges that they cannot perform marriage ceremonies for same-gender couples.   Here in Minnesota, a State Senator just introduced a bill that would rescind a local Public School Districts policies to protect transgender students from discrimination in sports activities.  This and a lot more can make us very angry.

Other than the scene in Matthew 23 where Jesus gives His opponents the business, the turning over of the tables is the only other story in which we see Jesus get this angry.  In most Gospel readings we read of Jesus healing the sick, raising the dead, helping the blind to see and talking with His disciples.  Here, we read that Jesus saw what was happening and did something about it.  Now by many who interpret this Gospel narrative, this becomes an excuse to allow ourselves to become violently angry at just about everything and anything.  If we use this Gospel too irresponsibly, we can justify any reason and/or path to dealing with anger, to the point of disregarding the dignity of other human beings.  I would submit however, that this is the direct opposite of what we are seeing Jesus do here.  We need to take these words deeper into ourselves and let the Holy Spirit speak to us there.

Anger is a response that is about feeling threatened and trying to protect ourselves.  Unfortunately, due to prejudice and injustice that is out of control in most instances, our human tendency toward anger is all too often misguided and out of proportion.  Anyone and everyone who speaks or thinks differently than we do becomes a target for anger.  This is especially true for those who are targeted because of their religion, sexual orientation and/or gender identity/expression, race, etc.  This is equally true for those who claim to have deeply held religious beliefs that are based on the Word of God towards those who are different from themselves in one form or another.  The fact is, when we are angry about something our ability to see things beyond our limited perspective is greatly impaired.  While anger is a healthy response, in many cases when it is out of proportion, it clouds our judgement and makes us sterilized to be able to love another person enough to respect their inborn human dignity.

Jesus' actions and words in today's Gospel are about directing our anger appropriately enough to wake people up to the reality of what they are doing in terms of their relationship with God and others around them.  They do not have to necessarily agree with Jesus, but, given the action Jesus did, they have little choice but to take a good hard look at what their actions are conveying.   Jesus in this Gospel shows us how to be angry, what to do with it symbolically (not literally), and how to call people to the all important task of being attentive to God in their lives.  Our response to what Jesus does in this Gospel text, should not be what tables can we over turn in the world around us per say; but what tables within us do we need Jesus' help to turn over within our own lives.  As we see both the best and worst of ourselves during this Holy Season of Lent, what are the habits, attitudes, behaviors and reactions do we need to let the Holy Spirit turn over so that we can allow God to bring us healing and reconciliation with ourselves and our neighbor?  In the middle of a world and culture that regularly gives itself over to violent and reckless behavior, and all too common unfortunately in the name of some religious belief, how can we live into our relationship with God by finding appropriate and peaceful ways of responding in love, as opposed to reacting in fear?

As we continue to learn about what the Desert Mothers and Fathers did in their search for union with God, we also discover that their journey into the desert was not about fixing the world.  Unlike many of us, they had the humility and courage of faith, to let go of what the world offered them to face the reality of who and what they were.  Through prayer, contemplation and working for the good of their community they grew into a deeper awareness of God in themselves and the world around them.  Consequently, St. Benedict also believed that "the labor of obedience will bring you back to him from whom you had drifted through the sloth of disobedience" (RB 1980: The Rule of St. Benedict in English, Prologue, vs 2, p.15).  Yet, the difference the Desert Mothers and Fathers, and St. Benedict made on the world could not have been more significant.  We make the biggest impact on the world when we take time for solitude and silence to spend with Jesus in our hearts and minds; and respond with transparent action with love of God, neighbor and self as our common goal.

Can Christians turn over tables in holy and life-giving ways?  The answer is yes.  However, the more we rely on our own interpretations alone of Scripture and pretend that honoring the dignity of every human person is not something we need to take seriously; the more we appear as angry Christians who don't seem to give a damn.  Nothing could be more contrary to who Jesus is and what His Gospel is about.  If Christians do regard the law of God as being more precious than silver or gold, then it befits us to listen more carefully to what Jesus is doing and teaching us during this Lent.

May it be so for all of us.

Amen.


Prayers

Almighty God, you know that we have no power in ourselves
to help ourselves: Keep us both outwardly in our bodies and
inwardly in our souls, that we may be defended from all
adversities which may happen to the body, and from all evil
thoughts which may assault and hurt the soul; through Jesus
Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy
Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.  (Collect for the Third Sunday in Lent.  The Book of Common Prayer, p.218).

O God, you made us in your own image and redeemed us
through Jesus your Son: Look with compassion on the whole
human family; take away the arrogance and hatred which
infect our hearts; break down the walls that separate us;
unite us in bonds of love; and work through our struggle and
confusion to accomplish your purposes on earth; that, in
your good time, all nations and races may serve you in
harmony around your heavenly throne; through Jesus Christ
our Lord. Amen. (Prayer for the Human Family.  The Book of Common Prayer, p.815).