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Third Sunday of Lent
March 19, 2006
3 Lent Year B
Delivered by Reverend Sandra Stayner
Exodus 20:1-17
Psalm 19:7-14
Romans 7:13-25
John 2:13-22
"Jesus, my savior,
Oh how I love you, for you have filled us with your new life.
All your heavenly glory you counted as nothing
And died upon the cross to set us free.
Therefore with all my heart I'll gladly sing your praise
And do so all my days to bless your holy name.
For God has exalted you,
Seated at the Father's side you shall be glorified
Jesus my Lord." Author unknown
The author of these words is expressing a deep and tender relationship of love between himself and God that causes his heart to simply bubble over with praise. He is exquisitely aware of the enormity of God's sacrifice seen as Jesus laid aside his equality with the Father and took the form of a man who, as Paul tells us in his letter to the Philippians, "humbled himself and became obedient to death, even death on a cross!" (Phil.2:8).
In the passage from psalm 19 appointed for our liturgy today the psalmist expresses the same tenderness and respect for God. The psalm begins with a celebration of creation the very beauty of which declares the glory of God, as the firmament shows his handiwork. Next the psalmist moves into the passage we read today, a celebration of the law, which is intrinsically linked with creation. Yahweh, created the universe for the good of its inhabitants. It is good! It was created for God's pleasure. The law also is a delight to those who live by it. It was created for the good of those who choose it as a way of life. "It is more to be desired than gold, sweeter far than honey in the comb" (Ps 19:10) says the psalmist. The primary context of the law is not legal it has to do with life. "The law of the Lord is perfect and revives the soul."(v.7) "The commandment of the Lord is clear and gives light to the eyes." (v.8b) Life lived in obedience to the law was to be recognized as something that was infinitely desirable. As the people wandered in the wilderness after their release from bondage in Egypt, they were gradually formed as God's own people. The law was given as a means by which they would learn t worship God. It was an expression of the character of God that only later, by extension became a legal framework for the society in which God's people were to live. This was the kind of grace-filled life God intended for his people. As any good parent knows, the house rules for behavior are not based on random whims, but on a desire for the family to run in a harmonious way. The rules are "cords of love" boundaries that allow each member of the family to co-exist in peace. Likewise God's laws are given for the freedom and safety of every member of the community.
Which perhaps explains why Jesus is so angry as he strides into the temple in Jerusalem, overturning tables and sweeping piles of coins to the floor while birds and animals scatter in every direction. The temple of God, built as a place where God's people could come to give thanks for all God had given them, had become a place where cheating and corruption were the norm. Jesus was not angry simply because the animals were in the courtyard, or money was being changed. Jesus was angry because of the corrupt business practices that were silently endorsed by the temple hierarchy. Pilgrims who had come from all over the world had to change money in order to buy the birds or animals they needed to make the required sacrifice. The money-changers were known to make the equivalent of a full day's wage from one single transaction. In his commentary on John, William Barclay says that it was not that they received some discount in the exchange of money. It was the exorbitant rate charged by the money-changers that seemed to enrage Jesus. The system had been corrupted. Simple hard working people were prevented from worshipping the God they loved because of the greed of their fellow men.
And while it is easy to look back and condemn the practices that were corrupt in Jesus' time, perhaps we should look also at some of the systems in our society that may not in the end be any more righteous than those in Jesus' time. Our leaders, in spite of all their talk about their adoration of God, seem to have acted as if there is no higher moral authority to which they are accountable. We don't any longer seem to feel bound by the requirements of just war theory that was laid down by the church as a way of monitoring the practices of war. Pre-emptive strikes forbidden by just war theory are now deemed acceptable because of the kind of threat we are facing. The Sabbath, which was once maintained as a sacred day, with shops and businesses closed so that people could attend their place of worship, is now just one day among many. Shops are open for business as usual, and sports events fill the day. The leaders of corporations who hold so much power in this country have shown over and over again that their minds are so utterly fixed on the bottom line that they are no longer bound by God's laws that require them to show justice and mercy.
In the face of such violations of God's law Jesus was incredibly angry. And perhaps there is a need for righteous anger in the face of injustice and extortion, and especially the exploitation of the most vulnerable among us because anger at such things is not always bad. It can also be good and cleansing. As Jesus showed, anger at injustice can be an appropriate expression of love. It is not a loss of control, but a move from passionate acceptance to an insistence upon change. St Augustine of Hippo said "Hope has two daughters. Their names are Anger and Courage: anger at the way things are, and courage to see that they do not remain the way they are.
As a nation and as individuals we have turned away from the laws of God that were offered as a way for us to live a grace-filled life. What would it take for us to recapture the passion for God that is so evident in the words of the psalmist, and in the actions of Jesus in the temple? Throughout the season of Lent we must continue to ask the question, "What is it that prevents us from living our lives according to God's commands?" And when we find the answer to that question we must ask ourselves what we need to do to find the grace to repent and make the needed changes.
The Lord our God who descends in fire, is wrapped in wind and cloud and speaks through the thunder and lightning says, "I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt. You shall have no other God's before me. You shall not make for yourself and idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath, or in the waters below." (Exodus 20:2-4)
Let the words of our mouths and the meditation of our hearts be acceptable in your sight, O lord our strength and our redeemer.
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