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"On The Couch"
Lent 3-B
March 15, 2009John
2:13-22
I remember when I was a Boy Scout. We, that is, the scouts in my troop would head off to camp several times a year, where we would often find ourselves in competition with other scout troops. During the winter, the competition was often one of building and pulling a sled, racing other troops. At other times of the year, we might have an obstacle course, tug-of-war contests or even knot tying contests. One of my favorite contests, however, was one that involved reading a compass, following directions, and running, things that I was pretty good at. We would be given a set of directions to the first check-point, where we would receive a second set of directions while being “checked in,” and then race to a second point, and, well, you get the idea. Reading directions also meant following directions, which became a bit more important as Cindy and I started moving from one side of the country to the next, often living in either relatively small, rural communities, or in major metropolitan areas. In either case, following directions was crucial if we were going to visit someone or looking for a particular place. I suppose you could say that in our first reading this morning, we, along with the ancient Israelites, received directions for living, from God. It’s kind of ironic then, how the ancient Israelites, and everyone since, has really done a poor job of following those directions. I suppose you could say that it’s in our genes, in our blood, that it’s something we’re born with, born in a state of sin, separation from God. So I imagine it’s quite a surprise to you to hear that as a child, I occasionally didn’t follow my mother’s directions either. Having to contend with my younger brother and sister, my mom, if especially upset with something I had done, seldom with something I hadn’t done, would tell me to sit on the couch and wait for my dad to get home. I think the idea was that I was going to be punished. But the real punishment was sitting there wondering what would happen, wondering what I did to get myself into the mess I was in. Wondering if there was anyone else I could blame or point a finger at. Knowing that my dad would be upset if I was still sitting on that couch when he got home, because he would know why I was there. Facing my guilt, even taking responsibility for my actions, although I wouldn’t have thought of it in those terms. And in our Gospel today, we are facing our God who is upset, even angry. We want to look away from him and just concentrate on what the Apostle John tells us, that: “God is love.” And he is love. But as we sit on the couch we are forced to face God’s anger. Because we are essentially doing the same thing the ancient Israelites did – using for our own gain what God has provided for us for use in his service. In Jesus’ day you atoned for your sin by sacrificing an animal at the altar in the temple. And this was turned into a means of gain – to sacrifice an animal, it had to be without blemish, sure you could bring your own, but the judges of such animals were the same people who profited by selling you an unblemished animal. And offerings could only be given in a specific currency so the money-changers would charge a fee to change your everyday currency into an acceptable currency. To sacrifice an animal was a holy act, an act that would put back in a relationship with God, and this holy act was turned into an opportunity to make money. And we do it now because we don’t worship the God of Abraham and Moses, we instead worship the dollar and all it can buy us; stuff, prestige, power. And this is the temple that Jesus had to tear down, the system he had to upset, where service to God takes second place to service to making money. “Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up.” Now interestingly enough, what Jesus said here has double meanings. The word translated as destroy applies to “buildings” and to “bodies.” The word we translate as temple can literally mean “temple,” but it also can mean “body.” When Jesus says “raise it up” the Greek can apply to “raise up a building” or “raise up a body.” Was Jesus talking about a temple of stones? Or was he talking about the temple of his body? Or both? Because with Jesus’ death the stone temple ceases to have meaning – remember the crucifixion? The curtain in the temple, the veil, is rent, torn asunder. We can now go directly to God because the old temple, the temple of greed, the temple that demanded that our self-interest comes first, was destroyed, it was replaced. The new temple isn’t a temple made with human hands, a construction of men and women, instead the temple is Jesus, who is our high priest, a temple where we can receive forgiveness without cost, reconciliation given by grace through faith. A temple where we worship one true God, free from bondage to sin, free from bondage to greed, free from bondage to self-service. We entered this temple through our baptisms, we entered into the body of Christ. Jesus invites us off the couch, out of greed, sin, guilt, he invites us to his new temple, given for us on a cross. A temple where we can live by the grace of God. AMEN. Rev. Bruce Hannem, Associate Pastor
Lutheran Church of the Cross, Nisswa, Minnesota |
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