Psalm 45
Deuteronomy 9: 4-12
Hebrews 3: 1-11
John 2: 13-22
In today's readings we see Jesus cleaning the temple. As a child this story both scared and excited me. Jesus was described as making a whip of cords, driving "them" out of the temple, pouring out coins and overturning tables. This certainly wasn't the Jesus my Sunday School teachers wanted me to model my life after, was it? It scared me to think that adults wanted me to follow someone who could "lose it" in public, and then go back to Jesus meek and mild. It was all a bit confusing.
But have you ever tried to herd cattle and sheep? There is a lot of arm waving and prodding that looks crazy from the sidelines - it's when you are in the pen that things like oversize gestures and loud voices make sense.
I can see that Jesus was making way for TRUTH. The whip he brandished to drive "them" out most likely referred to moving sheep and cattle, not people. (I think as a child I thought Jesus got a little crazy and hit people - but it doesn't really say that, does it?) Sheep and cattle can be re-gathered. Coins can be picked up and tables set right again. But if God's people didn't clear out their temples and make room for TRUTH... then what?
I think Jesus was saying, "You've got to make way for the Lamb of God, and I AM that lamb! Make room in your hearts, that sacred space, your temple."
The question is, do you think Jesus is telling the Girl Scouts to get out of the parish hall with their cookies (which by the way, I don't think is the point of this story) or is he asking each of us to make space for his TRUTH to abide in our hearts?
Kari Ann Lessner