Sunday 15 March 2009

Background

As we continue our Lenten journey, the readings this week bringus face to face with some uncomfortable aspects of Jesus and hismission. They challenge us to a fresh understanding of the natureof Jesus, his ministry and of our discipleship and mission.

Whatever happened to gentle Jesus, meek and mild? Our assumptionsare overturned in the same way as the tables of the sellers in theTemple were overturned.

Here in John's Gospel, this account of the overturning of thetables in the Temple comes immediately after the wedding in Cana(John 2:1-12),where Jesus had turned copious amounts of water into wine - a signwhich revealed the glory of Jesus and the abundant new life heoffers. Whilst abundant life is certainly good news, it isn't allcomfortable and cosy. Instead it brings a challenge and threat tothe existing order of things.

The Temple was, to the Jewish mind, where God was especiallypresent: a special place for worship and sacrifice. Cattle, sheepand doves were required for burnt offerings in the Temple (seeLeviticus chapters 1and 2). The incident of the overturning of the tables happenedat Passover time, when Jews would be travelling long distances toworship in the Temple, and therefore could not have brought theirown animals to sacrifice. 'Temple tax' couldn't be paid in Greek orRoman coins so had to be changed into legal currency in Jerusalem -the shekel. The sale of animals and changing of money werenecessary if appropriate worship was to happen.

In overturning the tables Jesus wasn't just confronting abuses ofthe system - he was confrontingthe whole system as verses 18-20 makeclear. The body of Jesus becomes the new Temple, the focus of God'spresence on earth. This is what gives him authority to act in thisoutrageous way.

John Wesley, one of the founders of Methodism, did a similar thingwhen he "consented to become yet more vile" and reluctantly agreedto preach outside of the confines of the church, in the open air.Because of his Church of England background, this felt initiallywrong to him. Today, the Fresh Expressions movement is challenging us to look againat what it means to be 'church' and remove those things that act asbarriers to people's encounters with the living God.

The gospel (good news) of Jesus goes beyond systems and structuresand buildings. It's about a relationship with God as encountered inJesus, and all that hinders this needs to be overturned.

To Ponder

What, in the worship or fellowship life of yourchurch, stops others from encountering the living God in Jesus?

Where has religion replaced relationship? Whatmight you do to restore relationship?