“Jesus Cleanses Our ‘Temples”
“Jesus Cleanses Our ‘Temples’”
Reflection for Lent III: March 3, 2024
Churchill and Gilford United Churches
Krista Moore
Scriptures:
Exodus 20:1-17 Moses receives the 10 Commandments.
John 2:13-22 Jesus turns the tables in the temple.
Introduction to the Scriptures
The Israelites were worried.
Moses had been up on Mount Sinai for 40 days and 40 nights…. And they wanted a leader to lead them.
What is he doing up there? Maybe he is dead?!
They went to his brother, Aaron.
Aaron! Brother of Moses!
Make us a golden idol, and we will worship it!
And so he did. He collected all the people’s golden earrings and made them a golden calf.
And they worshipped it.
Just as they were singing and dancing wildly around the idol…
Moses came down from the mountain
carrying two stone tablets in his hands…
And when he saw what they were doing…
He threw them down…
and they smashed to the ground.
Jesus was angry.
It was Passover and the temple was overrun with people and smelly animals.
He marched over to the moneychangers and yelled:
What are you doing to my Father’s temple!!
making a marketplace out of it!
He turned their coins upside down and poured them out onto the ground. Then he turned over the money-changers tables.
Jesus saw the animals being sold as sacrifices, and he made a whip of cords and drove them out of the temple, crying out:
Don’t you know this a house of prayer?!
REFLECTION
STORY: WEST HILL & THE CROSS
I admit, I was angry.
I was angry at West Hill United that they covered the cross in the sanctuary with colourful streamers, to celebrate people. But they never took them down.
I was confused that they removed the Bible from worship & preached people’s ideas instead.
What if Moses came down and saw or heard them? Would he smash his stone tablets on the floor of the church?
Would Jesus march down the aisle and tear down the streamers covering the cross, and cast them outside, ripping them to shreds on the ground…?
Would anyone have listened? Or begged forgiveness?
Later… lightning struck.
It struck a tree outside West Hill United, revealing a hidden cross that lay buried in a tree for years.
A New York Times writer asked our minister if she thought lightning hitting the tree and revealing the cross was a sign?
She said no. She didn’t believe in signs.
When I heard this I was dumbstruck; now that I look at the Scriptures for today, I believe….
Jesus cleansed the temple.
SCRIPTURE: MOSES AND THE GOLDEN IDOL
When Moses saw what they had done, worshipping the golden calf, he smashed the tablets.
Yet, he went back up the mountain and prayed for God to forgive them.
God was angry but merciful.
He gave Moses two new tablets, but still wanted him to “cleanse the temple.”
What does this mean?
In Moses’s day there was no temple yet in Jerusalem.
The Israelites were slaves in Egypt for 400 years.
God rescued them through Moses who would lead them to the Promised Land.
But many would not follow him. They were stubborn.
That is why Moses prayed on the mountain for help.
God gave the 10 commandments so they would know how to honour God and each other and live as a civil society.
“Do not murder, do not steal, do not covet, etc.”
He smashed them on the ground because they were violating the Law by worshipping idols.
LESSON: WHAT ARE IDOLS?
IDOLS are anything that replaces God.
In Moses’ day, idols were statues made from clay, wood, or metal.
We may not make idols anymore,
but we might make idols out of our own ideas…
Or worship possessions,
or money,
or status,
or other people,
or power.
MY STORY: FAME – A GOLDEN IDOL
The lure of fame was my golden calf, my idol.
I thought being famous as an actor was my dream.
But something deep inside of me knew this was wrong.
Call it a conscience, or God, or the many signs I received, but I learned that fame would never make me happy.
It was another form of idol worship.
Our culture teaches us to succeed at all costs, to worship success and climb to the top.
When I climbed Machu Picchu in Peru it was exhilarating, but it also made me proud, like hey, look what I did!
(I admit it was AWESOME!)
But that was nothing compared to what Moses did.
Moses climbed Mount Sinai, the mountain of God, and sat there for 40 days and 40 nights!
He cleansed himself.
He fasted and prayed with no food or water or help of any kind.
He waited and waited for God to speak to him.
The Israelites thought he was dead!
This is true sacrifice. True worship and devotion.
SCRIPTURE: GOD TELLS MOSES TO CLEANSE THE TEMPLE
What happens next is awful.
Moses begs God to forgive the Israelites for their idol worship, and not destroy all the people.
God agrees but tells Moses to only save only those who repent and still follow God; and not save those who refuse and continue to worship the golden calf.
3000 people died that day.
LESSON: IS GOD OR JESUS ANGRY WITH US, TOO?
This is a difficult lesson.
It’s not easy to hear that God or Jesus is angry with us.
But God offers mercy to save us when we are sorry… and
God sent Jesus who became our ultimate salvation.
So why did Jesus storm the temple and turn over the tables?
He stormed the temple because the chief priests and money-changers were selling animals to make sacrifices.
The temple was supposed to be a holy place of prayer and sacrifice for the forgiveness of sins.
But the Chief priests and moneychangers abused the law of Moses by turning sacrifice into a profitable business.
They made poor people pay to buy animals to sacrifice, even when they couldn’t afford it.
Jesus was angry and stormed in to correct an injustice; and to remove any desecrations to the sanctuary of God.
His anger was justified because he was God.
LESSON: DOES GOD FORGIVE US? REPENTANCE AT LENT
So Does God forgive us?
This is the time of Lent when we ask forgiveness…
God doesn’t expect us to be perfect.
God knows we will probably break many commandments.
But are we sorry when we do?
Do we try to put God first in our lives?
Do we speak up when there is a wrong?
God is merciful. But God also has rules…
(Ask any parent who has children. The rules are there to protect them.)
LESSON: WHAT CAN WE DO? HOW CAN JESUS HELP?
God is asking us to put God first.
To not lose ourselves to the world of idols.
He sent Jesus to save us and forgive us.
Jesus came to cleanse our temples so we will worship only God and follow him.
Jesus helps us cleanse “our temples” when we:
Turn away from the world’s ideas and honour God
Put love over money
Help our neighbour
Stand up for the truth even if it costs us
Honour God, above all earthly things
LESSON: GOD FORGIVES OUR IMPERFECTIONS
This all sounds hard!
But God does not expect us to be perfect people.
I am not perfect.
I sometimes watch too much TV, have a glass of wine (or two!), or think about money, or worry more about what people think of me (or how clean the manse is) instead of what God thinks of me.
But I am learning!
God is by no means done with me. I am sure Jesus will be cleansing my temple for many years to come!
God doesn’t give up on us. God offers mercy.
Moses went back up the mountain to pray for the people, to ask God to forgive them.
And Moses too, made mistakes. He killed a man and God still used him to part the red sea!
CHALLENGE: HOW CAN WE CLEANSE OUR TEMPLES?
The good news is, we do not have to be perfect, and we do not have to do it alone. We have each other, and Jesus to help us.
LENTEN PRACTICES:
During Lent we may practice letting go of things like:
- a certain food or drink
- swearing or taking the Lord’s name in vain
- being jealous of others, coveting
- excessive TV /phone watching
- or other addictions
We may take up a positive spiritual practice like:
– praying more
– fasting,
– doing yoga!
– Going to bible study!
– giving an extra donation to the church to help those in need.
But I would challenge us even go deeper with…
Krista’s 3 Things: How Jesus might “Cleanse our Temples”
1. In Our Church: If Jesus came into our church today, would he be happy with what we are doing? What changes might we make, or what things let go of?
2. In Our Lives: Is there anything getting in the way of our faith in God or following Jesus? (doubt, fears, worries, selfish desires, distractions, complacency, procrastination, too much comfort, anger at God or others, unforgiveness, or bitterness?)
3. In Our World: Is there anything that upsets you, that you wish God would come down and fix? Is there anything we can do to make things better? Like cleansing our own temples first!
Jesus helps us cleanse our temples so we will practice the greatest commandments of all:
“Love the Lord your God with all your heart, your mind and your soul; and love your neighbour as yourself.” (Matthew 12:28).
CLOSING: LETTING GO IS HARD BUT…
As I walked away from West Hill, I felt grief and sadness. I knew what was happening wasn’t right. But it took me a long time to let go…
I mourned the loss like Moses who begged God to forgive them, and I asked Jesus to forgive me for my anger and judgement of them.
I realized no one is perfect. We all make mistakes.
Jesus helped me forgive the past and move on.
He cleansed my temple of anger and bitterness so I could hear God’s call and follow him here, to Churchill and Gilford.
Thank God he did!
FINAL MEDITATION:
Let us take a moment to listen to Jesus and how he might be cleansing our temples so we can be closer to God…
Do not be afraid.
I will turn things around.
I will save you from mistakes.
Listen to me.
Honour me and the One who sent me.
God is more powerful than your mistakes.
Come to me and I will teach you what is important.
Let go of everything else.
Follow me.
Believe in me.
Amen.
SONG: BROKENNESS ASIDE: SONS AND DAUGHTERS
May we remember the God who loves and forgives us.
May we let Jesus cleanse our temples and make us whole.
Amen