Risking Anger: Keeping Our Eyes on the Big Picture Preached at Wollaston Congregational Church On March 8th 2020 Scripture: Mark 11:15-19 “My name is Ruth. I have been following Jesus since the beginning. We’ve walked all the way from Galilee, these past weeks. We’ve stopped in villages where he’s healed the sick, welcomed strangers and outcasts. We’ve eaten together, laughed together and prayed together. It’s been a mission of wonders and hope. Then we came to Jerusalem, for Passover, as I have done for so many Passovers before. “This is a joyous time, it is our favorite holiday! We are going to celebrate the liberation of our people from slavery in Egypt all those years ago! We will meet friends and family from all around. And so the first place we go is the Temple, specifically to the Court of the Gentiles. This is the outer area of the temple, where people from all around the world are permitted to come. This is the place where Rabbis teach their students and engage in heated debates. Jesus loves this place. He has been coming here since he was a child. He loves to teach and argue with the other Rabbis. He calls it “my Father’s house.” He is always happiest when he is here. “And now, at the Feast of the Passover, there are many vendors, selling the spotless animals for sacrifice. This is our way of giving thanks and praise. Sacrificing is like sharing a meal with our One God. The pilgrims need the vendors, and so we’re happy to see them. Many Jews are seeking out the perfect Passover lamb. And of course, there are money changers. The temple does not deal in the currency of the Empire, but in Tyrian shekels. The pilgrims need to change their money for the holiday sacrifice. “Coming to this place is an important, necessary part of our trip to Jerusalem. Ever since my childhood, I’ve felt excited about making our offerings [to God. Back then, I would remain with my mother in the court of women, while my father advanced to bring the animal to the priest. Then I’d catch a sniff of the sacrificial smoke ascending.] It always made me feel closer to God. “Right now, the other disciples and I are focus on the sights, sounds, smells, even the flavors of this place. There’s the bleating of lambs, mooing of oxen, the soft cooing of the doves, and the chatter of the people around. I always anticipate our wonderful meal of meat. It’s such a welcome change from the boney fish we usually eat. Everything is so rich and festive! “I turn with a smile on my face, to glance at Jesus, and I am shocked. His face is set like stone, not a hint of a smile. He is not looking at the same things we are looking at. His gaze is set on the horizon, surveying what is happening around the Temple Mount. “He looks up, maybe searching for the High Priests, looking down from the upper levels of the temple. I know he has his issues with them and their collaboration with Rome. And then he looks a little furtively around, over each shoulder, as though he has the feeling we are being followed. “I shouldn’t be surprised. He’s been this way since we turned on our journey to come toward Jerusalem. He began with talk about dying soon, while we were along the route. He said strange things about the ‘son of Man’ suffering many things, being put to death, and on the third day rising again. “He withdrew from us to pray many times. Some of the disciples said that they saw him stop and weep, looking over Jerusalem, as we descended into the city. This should be a joyous time, and yet there is such a heaviness about him. “Then, suddenly, he breaks. Like a thunderstorm that has been brewing for hours, he begins to turn over the vendors’ tables, creating such a commotion. He looks really angry. But what is he angry about? “I hear him say: ‘Is it not written, “My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations”? But you have made it a den of robbers.’ “ -------------------------- As Jesus overturns a couple of tables and seats of vendors, we might wonder, what has prompted this outburst? Is he truly angry at these folk, who are here to support the Passover festival? Remember that Jesus’ parents, Mary and Joseph, bought a pair of doves as a sacrifice when they brought him to the temple as an infant. And, as Ruth told us, Jesus is in his element in the temple. Especially in the noisy Court of the Gentiles, which is truly a house of prayer for all the nations. Jesus keeps his gaze set on the big picture, on what is actually going on in the temple and in the city. And in this moment, he is willing to risk anger … to demonstrate how God views the situation. Jesus knows his prophets, he knows the scriptures. He quotes the prophet Jeremiah when he says that the temple has become a den of robbers. A den, for a robber, is a hideout. Robbers do not rob people in their dens. They take refuge in the hideout and store their treasures. Jesus is not criticizing the vendors themselves. There is no evidence that they are cheating the people. Their presence in the Court of the Gentiles is to be expected. No, Jesus is critiquing something larger, he is critiquing complacent religiosity. The prophet Jeremiah had been given a word from God to challenge the people of his day, who claimed to find their safety and sanctuary in the temple. Meanwhile they ignored the needs of the orphans, the widows and the poor among them. Jeremiah challenged the temple-worshiping people of his time, and Jesus does the same. Taking refuge in our houses of worship, while failing to respond to the poor of the community is a message for us all. In our time, we work hard to create a safe place for our elderly, for children and families, to come and worship in our churches. Many churches provide Christian education programs, youth groups, and Bible studies. We want our people to feel safe and welcomed. And yet there is a fine line between a place safety and welcome for all people, and a comfortable club for like-minded people. Here at WCC are we being challenged to look at the big picture? Are we being challenged to ask: Is our church a safe place for people to ask difficult questions of one another? Is it a launching pad from which we can challenge the injustices in our culture? Or is it simply a place for us to hideout and take refuge from the wider world? And in worship, are our hymns, prayers and rituals, simply memories of good times past? Or are they declarations of God’s radically inclusive mercy and grace? Do they speak to our guests from the community, who come to join us? Or are they only meaningful to those of us who’ve been around here for a while? Can we claim, like the Refuge church in Denver, that in our church “everyone is safe but no one is comfortable”? [1] Perhaps you know about Father Bill’s Place in Quincy. This is a shelter for those in need, that was founded by community leaders and churches in the 1980’s. The founders had thought that the problem of homelessness would be quickly solved and expected that the shelter would be temporary. But, today, Father Bill’s sleeps 130 people in need of a place to stay each night. They provide individuals, families and veterans with food, counseling and shelter until they can find a place to live. Father Bill’s is located in the former RMV building, behind the Police Station. But this building is tabled for demolition, in order to make room for a new public safety headquarters. Father Bill’s administration has proposed a new model, a “housing resource center.” They say that this “would help at-risk residents avoid homelessness while building new affordable housing and continuing to offer emergency beds.” This all sounds good, yes? But let’s ask what is going on in the big picture. What might happen between the demolition of the old site and the construction of the new one? Will the political powers-that-be allow Father Bill’s to implement the new plan without spending all their energy on permitting and petitioning? Or is the demolition a convenient way of getting rid of an unsightly problem? Where will our un-housed neighbors find shelter in the interim, and will the housing resource center actually come to fruition? As these questions are being worked out, Father Bill’s needs the support of the faith communities. In fact, Quincy clergy of all faiths and denominations have been asked to speak for Father Bill’s Place. I am proud to say that 37 faith leaders of Quincy signed a letter addressed to our mayor, our city councilors and state representatives, expressing support for Father Bill’s in this transition. Soon, we will probably be asked to send letters of support from the congregations too. This is one way we can keep our eyes on the big picture. Even risking anger, if it is necessary. ---------------------------- For now, let’s return to Ruth, our eye-witness of the disruption in the temple: “Our visit to Jerusalem that year was very different from the visits we had made before. I know that now. We – me and the other disciples – didn’t want to look at the big picture. We wanted to continue along the same path, celebrating the high days and holidays with Jesus. Of course, we liked his talk, of healing for the sick, food for the hungry, clothing and shelter for the poor. We just didn’t like the disruption it would take to bring it about. “We wanted things to be the same. We didn’t want to ruin the feel-good holiday by risking anger. We didn’t want to see the things Jesus saw. “But now, I know what Jesus saw. “He saw the Roman soldiers, patrolling and circling the Temple Mount. He saw gangs of insurgents, huddling in the Court of the Gentiles, passing their messages from one to another. And maybe, as he glanced over his shoulder, he saw some of Caiaphas’s spies, people who would follow him, at a distance, all week long. “He knew his disruption would cause trouble. But he couldn’t contain himself any longer. His love for God, his passion for God’s people, spilled over. “Once Jesus had simmered down, we turned away from the temple courts to retreat back outside the city walls. I was beginning to get a feeling about this week in Jerusalem. I realized that the previous day’s parade, and this day’s disruption would seem insignificant in light of what was coming.” May all God’s people say Amen. [1] Evans, Rachel Held. Searching for Sunday (pp. 72-73). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition
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