New Thoughts (12/25/10-12/27/10)
What a difficult study to find oneself in on Christmas morning, yet how needful. Here we are, watching Jesus enter that place which ought to have been of all places most holy, most clearly focused on the glory, the sanctity, the purity of God. And, what does He find, but a near total disregard for everything the Temple ought to represent, in favor of getting on with life, getting ahead in life according to the ways common to man.
For all the hue and cry that is raised up annually over the secularization of Christmas, and the way it has become little more than one vast advertising opportunity for most, I wonder: Is the world’s reaction to Christmas the problem, or is it our own reaction to the world? After all, would the advertising industry have taken any notice of this quaint religious matter if there had not been a market amongst the religious for what they were selling? Seriously think about that. Obviously, we have a lengthy Christian tradition in this country, which could be looked upon as a market ready made for the one prepared to exploit it. But, that market ought never to have been ready for exploitation, for it should never have been a market!
That would seem to be the major point of this little passage. As I was trying to look at this from the disciples’ perspective, I envisioned some among them looking at Jesus and wondering, “What are You doing?” However, it would be far more fruitful to look at this from Jesus’ perspective, and realize that it is He Who is asking us the question. “What are you doing?” Don’t you realize even yet what it is that matters? Are you really going to play into the very thing you claim to think is so terrible? Are you really treating this holy day with any greater solemnity than those about whom you are complaining?
It’s an interesting bit of timing that I turned to today’s study in Table Talk to find them discussing the perennial, perpetual need for personal repentance and reformation. There was a point being made about the very real fact that we are called not only to attend our churches, not only to be God-conscious come Sunday, or in our times of private meditations. We are called to be God-conscious in the workplace, to repent of such worldly ways as are common to whatever trade we may ply, and bring righteous to bear on whatever it is we have been given by which to earn our provision.
“Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men” (Col 3:23). Make your work an act of worship! That is how wholly transformative this faith of ours is intended to be, yet we neglect to do as we are taught. What? Think about God at work? Why, that’s practically illegal, isn’t it? I mean, it’s not what my employer pays me for. Indeed, we quite often discover that we are so far from doing our work as for the Lord that we have actually come around to the point of trying to work for the Lord as if He were just another man. And that brings us right back to the issue of this scene in the courts of the temple.
There are many levels at which the event before us should be considered. Of these, perhaps the least important is that of the historical. It is, however, worth noting the situation of that time, so that we might more readily recognize the symptoms of this thieving disease in our own situation. There are three particulars of the goings on in this court of the temple that are particularly noted. I would also note that from what we understand of the ways of that time, it is the Court of the Gentiles which is host to what happens. After all, the Jews would hardly tolerate such corruptions in the courts reserved to their use, and certainly not in the Holy Place! No. They may have thought some of these services needful (although I suspect the thoughts had more to do with profitability than need), but they weren’t going to have them in their own areas. The Gentiles could deal with the noise and the bustle, and leave the Chosen to their sanctity, thank you very much.
So, first, it is in the outermost courts of this place of God. It was, by man’s measure, the least sanctified of the temple grounds. You see, the whole was arranged to emphasize an increasing holiness as one came nearer to that Holy of Holies in the center, where even the Chief Priest could enter but once a year, and that at great risk to himself. So, with each approach to that central place, the rules of admission grew stricter. First, the Gentiles found themselves excluded, then the women. Next, those not of the Levitical and priestly lines were kept at distance, and thereafter, only the Chief Priest, until finally, even he was not allowed entry. Only God.
But, what had happened with all this was not that those allowed closer access found greater cause to attend to their own sanctification, but rather that they wore their access like a badge. It had become an issue of prestige. See! I am allowed closer access than you, so it must be that I have come to a greater holiness. Why, I ought to take care of even associating with you, lest I be defiled. Honestly! This was the thinking even amongst the various degrees of the Pharisaical order. I would suppose that Paul was referring to this ranking system when he spoke of himself as being a Pharisee of the Pharisees.
So, then, apart from location, what is of interest here? Again, there are three upon whom Jesus has set His interest. There are the moneychangers mentioned first. These were making an exorbitant profit by providing the only officially available coinage for the required annual contribution. Mind you that this official status of the coin was not so dependent upon Mosaic Law for its basis. Oh, they had a verse to quote, to be sure. But, as so often happens, the intent of that verse was set aside in favor of a convenient buttress for their own opinion. So, only the official Jewish shekel would do. None of this filthy Roman currency was to be allowed in, nor any other coinage of the Gentiles. If you wanted to heed the Law, you would have to do so by such means as the Temple authorized.
Admittedly, it seems ridiculous to consider the apparent scale of their charges for this conversion to the Jewish shekel but it would appear to approach something like a 50% mark-up, making the money-changer’s charge almost equal with the required contribution itself. Again, it seems absurd to our sensibilities, but it was hardly out of the question for the time. And yet it should have been, most particularly when the transaction was between God’s people. Such usury was clearly contrary to the Law God had set forth, and yet, here was the Temple not only turning a blind eye to exactly such practices, but actually enabling and even promoting it! Shameful. But, of course, don’t allow that verdict to distract you.
Secondly, we have the sellers of the approved sacrifices. In John’s account of that earlier time when Jesus had gone through these same courts with scourge in hand, chasing all those animal dealers out, He had spoken in particular to those selling the doves (Jn 2:13-16). This time, He’s lost patience entirely. Talking is not enough, for they clearly aren’t listening. So, we read that he tosses over the seats of those who are selling the doves. Let’s be clear, though: we can be near enough to certain as makes no difference that those doves were set loose in the process.
What’s at issue here? Why is it such a big deal to Him that they are making it a bit more convenient for the people to offer their sacrifices? Times change, after all. Accommodations need to be made. People just don’t raise their own any longer. A lot of these folks are coming in by ship now, or caravan, for they live in enclaves throughout the world. They have been faithful to return for the Passover as good Jews, but who can be bringing cattle or sheep with them? So, yes. We sell them what they need.
I know of no particular evidence to suggest that only such sacrifices as were bought on premises were deemed acceptable at the altar, but perhaps that had crept in as well. Business is business after all, and that’s what this had become: business draped in religion.
But, the bigger crime is seen in the particular animal sales that Jesus is dealing with: that of doves. The whole intent of including doves in the sacrificial system was to make provision for the poor and the destitute, lest they be cut off from worshiping God due to their need. The dove and the pigeon, birds as ubiquitous to the landscape as they are in pretty much any city today: These were something that the poorest individual could go out and trap for themselves, that they might have an acceptable offering for their sins; that they might also know God’s forgiveness. And we know that Jesus’ own parents had found it needful to resort to just such a sacrifice to satisfy the Law at His own birth (Lk 2:24). Indeed, we have a High Priest in this Jesus Who is particularly qualified to sympathize with our weaknesses, having Himself faced the worst the world has to offer us (Heb 4:15). He knows what it’s like to be us, and in that we have perhaps our greatest hope of mercy from Him.
Thus far, the situation we have seen is that of an official abuse of the most vulnerable, a taking advantage of the very ones who most hunger for and need what God has to offer. But, it doesn’t stop with that. Consider the third group, which Mark alone brings to our attention. There were folks just passing through. They thought so little of the temple that it was nothing but another roadway to them, a shortcut to get where they were going. So we have Jesus not permitting anyone to carry goods through the temple (Mk 11:16). Who were these people He was stopping? Foreigners? Romans? Maybe so, but I think not. No, it was God’s chosen people, who had come to think so little of their status as such that they no longer even gave much thought to the Temple. Oh, they would show up at the official times, perhaps, or maybe only for the great occasions, like Passover. But, Passover’s still a few days off yet, so they’re still just going about their lives, giving so little thought to God that it doesn’t even occur to them, particularly, that they’re wandering through His courts.
And, to all of these groups, both the profiteers and the oblivious, Jesus had the same message. You know what this place is. You know what God intends should be happening here, and look around! WAKE UP! Look what you have made of it! This is what you think a house of prayer looks like? I don’t believe it. What could you possibly think this noisome bazaar has to do with prayer? Could you pray here? Would you even allow this sort of nonsense in any place you do pray? Do you pray?
All of this only serves to prepare us to look where we must. It serves us little at all to contemplate what Jesus was doing in the temple two thousand years ago. It serves us very well to contemplate what He is continuing to do in our own temples today, both in those places of corporate worship and – even more – in the temple which is our own body.
One immediate lesson to draw from this is to be found in those who were carrying goods through the temple. These were not religious officials, nor were they businessmen set to make a profit with the aid of those officials. These were just common folk, passing through the temple courts with no more thought than they would give to walking the streets of the city. In other words, they no longer viewed the house of God, or at least this part of it, as having any particular importance. Where does that attitude come from? What happens to a people that they lose all sense of the holy?
I would contend that this is a case in which the problem starts at the top. The official uses to which this court area was being put demonstrate more clearly than any sermonizing just how the priests and scribes viewed the courts. They were a marketplace, a bazaar, a profit center. Whatever the original intent may have been, the court of the Gentiles at this stage was obviously viewed as having no significance whatsoever to the worship of God. It was nothing more than a means of supporting the practices of the true members. If the leadership so viewed the outer courts, why should it surprise us that the membership at large began to take the same view? For all that the courts mattered to anybody anymore, they might as well have been completely detached from the Temple. Of course, then the balance of profits might shift away from the temple coffers, as they’d have to pay rent or taxes or some such for having such a market off premises, so it stays, but it’s held at a distance. It’s part of the temple, but not really part of the temple, if you get my meaning.
OK. Here’s another issue that arises out of the last. Note the area which is suffering this neglectful treatment, this reassignment in the priorities of the membership. It is the court of the Gentiles. It is the place set aside for those who while not born into the nation chosen by God have made a decision on their own part to honor Israel’s God none the less. They are volunteer believers! They’re like immigrants to the Church, and this court is, if I may, their Ellis Island. It is supposed to be a place of welcoming, of introducing the alien who would be part of the People to the ways of worshipping the people’s God. It’s step one on the way to becoming truly a part of God’s people, and rather than making these newcomers welcome, and easing their transition onto the true path, what’s going on? They are being treated as nothing and less than nothing. Their desire to honor God means nothing to us, because we are already God’s people. We’ve got our ticket and to hell with you.
Sounds so shocking, doesn’t it? We’d never say such a thing, certainly! And yet, what of our actions? What do our practices say? We must start by considering what parts of our physical plant might be viewed as the corollary to the temple’s court of the Gentiles. For some, the answer may be that there really isn’t any such part. Certainly, if I go back into the history of the American Church, particularly as we established it up here in New England, there was a strong sense that church was for the believers, and that sense remains strong. It remains strong because there’s a great deal of truth to it.
We look askance at things like the seeker friendly movement and the mega-church movement. Sure, there’s a bit of envy at the numbers these places are attracting, but we’re reasonably certain it’s a shallow attraction, and they’re probably not true believers anyway, just social Christians taking on the label without taking on the responsibility. And yet, where do we find it in Scripture that our churches should lack any component geared toward the unchurched, toward the seeker? What do you suppose that court of the Gentiles was for, if not for such as these? Go back and comprehend what Jesus is proclaiming in the quote He takes from Isaiah: “My house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations” (Isa 56:7).
Note well the part Jesus didn’t say, as well: I will bring them from the nations. I will accept their sacrifices. Well, if God brings them and God accepts them and God hears them, what ought we to be doing? Surely, whom He calls and accepts we ought also to embrace as family? Surely we ought to be doing what we can to make their assimilation into the family easier, to familiarize them with family tradition and family history and the character for which we strive? For all that, surely we ought to be seeking to demonstrate that very character in just these circumstances more than at any other time! Yes, God will do the attracting, but it is His way to have us as His means.
We are intended to be His best advertisement, but the truth is that we are far often His worst. We, too, tend to suffer a case of “I’m in and to hell with you.” You don’t think so? Check yourself! How involved are you in outreach aspects of ministry? I’m not talking financial contribution as involvement here. That’s all well and good, necessary even. But it’s not involvement. When’s the last time you spoke to an unbeliever about God? Was there a last time? When’s the last time you helped out at a soup kitchen, or bringing much needed assistance to the homeless, or reaching out to immigrant communities with the Gospel, or anything of that sort? Big Brother / Big Sister? Adopt-a-Grandma? Anything?
I know how I’m feeling as I look at these questions, and it’s not a good feeling. That evangelistic urge just doesn’t seem to abide in my breast. I can continue claiming that it’s just not my role, but that’s a hard stance to maintain if I’m going to be true to the text. I don’t find any sort of conditional clause attached to the Great Commission. There’s no sense of, “Go, those of you I specifically name, and make disciples.” Yes, I can find some comfort in the fact that some plant and some water, and I can decide that my part is to water. I may even be right about that, but it’s something I need to really and prayerfully consider, whether I am pursuing my purpose or just making excuses to avoid change.
There will be other cases, and I think this is becoming more common, where the church actually has some specific spaces set aside as being more in tune with outreach. In our previous church, for instance, there was the basketball court, which was still being used as often as not by folks outside the church. There were days that were specifically put to the purpose of simply serving folks in the neighborhood, perhaps by hosting a cookout day, or offering night courses of one sort or another, or by serving as an emergency response center. These were all means by which the attempt was made to make the love of God somehow evident to the lost around that area. Whether they worked or not is not really at issue just now, and I’m not sure any man would be fit to answer the question anyway.
Here at our current church, there is the basketball outreach which goes on, and there is service to a soup kitchen, and now there is talk of opening up a coffee house which I think is intended at least in part to serve as an outreach effort. Of course, the premises of this church are a bit more remote than the previous one was, a bit more rural. There’s not a lot of pedestrian traffic in the area that might just wander in, given the right ad outside. If there is unchurched attendance, it’s going to be something far more intentional.
As far as these efforts go, though, again I must consider first whether I am doing anything by way of actively participating, assuming that God has this in mind for me to do. Secondarily, though, I ought surely to consider whether anything in my actions, my behavior, my attitudes, or my words is actively discouraging those being reached by such efforts. This is simply wrong. It cannot be accepted as a reasonable action of a man of God.
Let me consider one example. If, perchance one of those being served by the soup kitchen should find him or herself curious about the God Who so moves on the hearts of His people as to cause them to help the helpless like that; if that one comes to service of a Sunday, do I go out of my way to make that one feel welcomed? I consider how my wife and I felt, first coming to this new congregation and knowing but one family who came there – and they out of town! The welcome we received was as much a godsend as the message we heard preached! What, then, of the next new family to arrive? Give as it has been given to you, right? You know and I know that it is not supposed to matter to us whether that family has an air of financial stability or if they’re living out of their car and we know it.
Let me stress that. It is not supposed to matter! That cuts both ways. There is neither master nor slave, male nor female, Jew nor Gentile, rich nor poor in the eyes of one with kingdom eyes. There is only brother and sister, fellow child of God. If we are going out of our way to welcome the well-dressed, but keeping our distance from the man from the street, we are not acting as God’s children. The opposite holds equally true, though. If we go out of our way to make welcome the poor, but give no thought to the middle class family come to worship God, we are still not acting as God’s children.
You know, we may very well have come to a time in history when real racial prejudice is becoming a thing of the past. You wouldn’t know it by the accusations that are constantly slung about, but really, it seems like more and more often, those accusations are a cheep attempt at avoiding real debate, rather than anything supported by evidence. But, we still have our prejudices. We tend to want to associate with folks like us, to the degree there are such folks. If we’ve attained to some level of status in the community, we have this natural urge to associate with others at that same level. If we find ourselves amongst folks of higher status, it’s a bit uncomfortable. If we find ourselves amongst folks of lower status, we may find ourselves concerned for the impact on how we’re perceived by our peers. We think that peer pressure ended in high school, but it didn’t really, did it? It’s on us every day that we place ourselves outside the four walls of our own homes, and in some cases, even when we don’t.
But, the house of God does not permit of this mindset. I’m not saying you won’t find it happening. You will. The fact remains, though, that those who are truly pursuing the reformation that God instills in their hearts are setting those habits aside. From my experience I would have to say it’s not even that much of a conscious effort. It just happens, as most of the change God brings tends to do. Part of it is simply that in the house of God we find ourselves in a very mixed company. We are granted an opportunity that is simply not available to many, the opportunity to discover that these classifications we have established in our minds are really just arbitrary distinctions that have absolutely no bearing on character.
We will meet folks we would consider poor who are yet much more pleasant to associate with than those we might deem rich. We will discover, given the chance, that the least intellectual among us is as able to speak the truth of God into our lives as the doctor. We will find, if we will open ourselves to the magnificent opportunity that God has thus blessed us with, that every child of God, being informed by the Holy Spirit of God, is equipped and able to give of God’s wisdom into the body of God which is the Church.
All of this, in my usual roundabout way, comes back to the question of our attitude towards those who are just entering into the outer courts of faith. I’m not talking about becoming so seeker friendly that we fail to truly feed the sheep. I’m not talking about becoming so like the world in our practices as to render the service of God’s Worship just another entertainment. These ways bring only death, and our purpose is to bring Life! But, even as we hold true to the Church displayed in the pages of Scripture, even as we maintain the primacy of the Word over every thought, word and practice, even as we insist on providing good, solid spiritual food to those who come to this particular house of God: All should be done in such a way as welcomes those who are maybe not yet family. All should demonstrate to the curious that here is something in which there is every reason to believe. At the very least, we must welcome the lost into the light of Christ, and not deny them access to the throne room of God. Honestly, if God does not wish to hear from them, He is certainly capable of keeping them away on His own! Indeed, if He did not wish to hear from them, it would seem to me most incredibly unlikely that we should find them knocking on His doors or wandering His halls.
[12/27/10] And what shall I say to the fact that yesterday’s sermon touched on this very same theme, of taking up the work of the evangelist whenever and wherever opportunity arises? What can I say, other than Yes, Lord. Let me lay hold of those preparatory points that were set forth, that I might be a laborer prepared for the labors, and then, Holy Spirit, be my boldness, that I might break through the fear that keeps me silent. I am willing, Jesus, but I am willing, too, to make the excuse that my flesh is weak. That’s as may be. When I am weak, is it not the case that You are shown strong? Then, by all means, be Thou shown strong in me.
There is a great deal more that could be said as regards the corporate application of this passage. I will but briefly (I hope) touch on some of them. The fundamental question that must be asked, and this is a thing to be asked about every aspect of our ministry, is whether each action, each tradition, each facet of ministry is serving to focus those it serves upon the life of prayer, or whether it is distracting them from the same. Does this mean that we ought to be all about praying and nothing about doing? No, not in the least. But, if our doing is done without a lifestyle of prayer, then our doing is vanity and wind.
So, let me very quickly point out some things that I should think ought to give us cause for concern. If we have a franchise for some coffee vendor or another in our lobby, selling their elixir to those come to worship, is this focusing us on prayer or distracting? If we have given over the platform week after week to performers promoting their latest recordings, are we doing so to focus the mind on prayer, or are we just conducting business? I am not, let me state plainly, making any sort of blanket judgment on these sorts of activities. There are surely those who promote their music from a clear sense that in doing so, they are promoting a worshipful attitude in those who might choose to buy a copy. There are also those who, quite frankly, are just making a living, and have found this a pretty low-cost means of capturing a market. In between, there are a myriad different nuances between the two poles. Indeed, the same can be said of those who serve on any worship team, even though the monetary aspect is set aside. The motives of a man are rarely if ever pure, however much he may wish it were otherwise.
We might also wish to consider the aesthetics of the worship experience. After all, every aspect of our presentation of the Gospel is going to have an effect on the outcome. This is the case whether we are presenting an evangelistic message to the unchurched, or delivering exhortations to the true believers. What of the layout of our building? Does it draw the attention upward towards God, or earthward towards His servants? What of our worship time? Does high volume really serve to provide an atmosphere of worship, or does it shout, “Be entertained here!”? What of multi-media style presentation? Does having bullet points up on the overhead during the preaching aid in absorbing the message, or distract from the message?
These are all tough calls to make, and asking different folks will inevitably lead to differing answers. But, it is the prayerful consideration of these very questions that will lead us to accept what is fittingly in accord with the Word of God, and what is beneficial to the health of the congregation. By the same token, we will be better fit to withstand the tendency towards accretion and admixture. We will be able to maintain a godly distinction from the world at large that is not, as can tend to be the case when we seek to make that distinction by our own means, just a matter of being weirdly out of touch, but by maintaining a dignity even in our liberty, by maintaining a joy even amidst our sorrows, by offering steadfast hope and a clear desire to abide in Truth.
I recall, many years ago, a pastor trying to give advice to the worship team I was part of at that time. He was trying to teach us to actually minister. In so doing, he advised us to consider that one who is coming to service on the last of his strength. He is a broken man, near to being done in by the circumstances of life. This may be his last hope. If, then, you come crashing in on his situation with this opening crescendo of joy and celebration, how is he ever to enter into it? You may have set up an atmosphere of praise, but that atmosphere is choking the one who has not been ministered to in his pain first. You know, I may well be garbling the sense of that message, for in all honesty I did not well receive it at the time.
The gist of his point, though is spot on. If your order of worship is not taking into account the real situations that the congregants have faced during the preceding week, then it is not preparing them to receive the message that lies ahead. It is not turning their attention on God. It is not ministry. It has become performance. The reality is that very often a worship team can fall into a place where they are really playing for themselves rather than for God. There are songs that might be avoided because one or another of the team members just really can’t stand the thought of singing it ever again. Never mind whether the message is on the mark or not. That’s really not the issue.
Indeed, it’s sad to say, but much of what passes for praise and worship today is so unsound in lyric as ought to preclude its being used. It’s all well and good to celebrate when some famed rock and roller finds Jesus and begins to shift his lyrical focus. It’s all well and good when some clever sod is able to take a well known tune and reorient the wording just a bit to make it about Jesus. But, the fact remains that everybody singing that song remembers the original form even as they sing the modified. I don’t know. Is that something that ought to be part of a worship service? I have no complaints about such a thing as an entertainment. There’s nothing wrong in having entertainment for Christians. Nothing at all! But, worship is not about entertainment, and I think we have in large part forgotten the distinction.
What is the purpose of worship music in the house of God? I’ve heard many theories put forward. There is that matter already noted, of doing something of a pre-ministering to the congregation. And, many a worship leader looks at his worship list as a sermon in music. As such, he may give little or no regard to the message about to be preached as he puts together his list. After all, he hears the Holy Spirit, too, right? Indeed, there are even those who will teach that leader that he ought not concern himself with coordinating with the sermon. And, we need not even explore the never-ending debate over style. Hymn or chorus? Organ or band? These are considerations, yes, in the light already noted. Do they serve or do they distract? And the answer may very well differ from one house of worship to the next. I dare say, though, that if that is the only focus, there’s a problem. You know, if worship is all about the fact that hey! We’re a rock style worship team, or we’re an R&B style worship team, and the beat’s gotta be kickin’ or we just can’t feel the Spirit move! If that’s your story, then your story is quite frankly not one of worshiping God. It’s become all about you and you haven’t even noticed it yet.
All right, I’ve spent more than enough time on that topic. Suffice it to say in summary that whatever we do in the house of the Lord – and let me state that this applies as much to those in the pews as those on the dais – ought to be done with an eye toward prayer, toward promoting the spiritual well-being of those in the house along with us. I am not about to claim that I have attained to this goal, nor that I have even given it proper consideration with any consistency. But, I will claim that I need to do so. I look again at what Jesus says here, and I have to ask myself whether I think as He does. “My house shall be a house of prayer.” Do I see it thus? Do I treat it thus? Am I serving thus, or am I getting in the way of those who do?
So, I see this list of points I have left for myself as I continue, mostly my paraphrases of what Jesus was saying. “What has this noisome bazaar to do with prayer?” This place of worship, “look at what you have made of it!” Yes, and I see that I have left myself this point, which I suppose I have made sufficiently already, but let it be restated in blunt terms. The Church must not be allowed to become just another market. I have written enough times on that topic over the years, and really don’t need to go into it again on this occasion.
Rather, I need to tighten the focus, to zoom in, as it were on the temple of one. We are told that this body we occupy is indeed a temple of one. Each one of us who can truly be counted a Christian must maintain this truth, that our body is the temple of the Holy Spirit as it is written. And what are we told about this? “By the mercies of God, present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God. This is your spiritual service of worship” (Ro 12:1). If, then, we are to be such living and holy sacrifices, we dare not allow ourselves to be bought and sold. Does that register with you? We dare not allow the enticements of daily life to pull us away from that spiritual service. We cannot live a life that is one way on Sunday and entirely different the rest of the week. We cannot be shouting about heaven in the pews and then going home complaining about living in hell. Well, obviously, we can, because we’re fallen people and we manage to do exactly that in spite of knowing we shouldn’t. And that’s the key. We know we shouldn’t. I know I shouldn’t. So, the question has to come down: What am I going to do about that?
I know a major factor that contributes to this problem. I’m using the temple as a shortcut. Just like those Jesus was forbidding entry into the court of the Gentiles, I have become numb to the reality of this temple which is my body. I have failed to see it as anything any less mundane than a car or an office building or the pavement on the street. And so, I fail to have an attitude of worship in this tabernacle of flesh. I know, as well, that there is not enough focus on prayer. What is this house supposed to be about, after all? I tell you it’s not in the least bit different than what Isaiah had said of the temple long and long ago. It is to be a house of prayer. Me. I am to be a house of prayer. I am to be of the sort to pray without ceasing (1Th 5:17).
Now, you know and I know that we live in one of the most easily distracted cultures in all of history. Indeed, our culture is designed to distract. We complain about the shrinking attention span in our children but fail to notice that we, too, suffer the very same problem. We fill our days with distractions. If it’s not the TV, it’s the computer. If it’s not the computer, it’s a book. If it’s not a book, it’s work. If it’s not work, it’s sports. Or concerts. Or movies. Or anything, anything! Just don’t leave us time for introspection. Don’t make us look at ourselves.
This is my story, and well do I know it. I am actually a relatively introspective, introverted guy. But, prayer? A house thereof? Hardly. Oh, I have my moments. I have my bursts. But, that’s not what the description indicates, is it? No, it’s not a house of occasional outbursts of doxology. It’s not a house of I’ll call You if things get desperate. It’s a house of prayer. It’s a place where I commune with God, take time with God, talking to Him and He to me. So, to the extent that I allow this temple to be distracted from its right and proper focus on prayer, on communication, on talking to and listening to God Whom I claim to serve and claim to love, I am no different from those carrying their goods through the temple. I am every bit as guilty of declaring by my actions that the goods mean more to me than God. What an insult! But, it is a truth that must be faced and faced down.
Far more would I prefer that it could be said of me as was said of Him, “Zeal for Thy house consumes Me” (Ps 69:9). John relays that the disciples were put in mind of this message back when Jesus had first chased the salesmen from this same courtyard (Jn 2:17). I suppose it’s no wonder, then, that it comes to mind again as I look at this later occasion. Zeal for Thy house consumes me. There have been those over the years whose lives have made this same statement. I can but pray that when I come to the end of my days, the same may well be said of me. I do not, on this occasion, think so much in terms of the community house, that place we go of a Sunday to minister and be ministered to. I am far more mindful, in this moment, of that temple of one, that house of God I carry about in my person day by day, hour by hour.
God, how is it that I can tolerate the clear reality that I defile this Your house with my ways day in and day out? I cast my mind’s eye back across even the last day, and it’s awful. Just awful. The mouth that I have! Will it ever run clean? The anger and frustration that are so much a part of my daily order. Even if it is a strange sort of expressing concern, how can such a twisted outworking of compassion be allowed here? It’s not right. I beg Thee forgive the mess I’ve made here. I beg Thee to cleanse once more, and train me to the mopping that must be done to keep it thus clean. I am a poor servant, I know, but I would be better. Thank You, that You are ever merciful with me. Thank You, that You have gone to such lengths to understand what it’s like to be me. May I go to such lengths, myself to come to grips with what it’s like to be You! Let a zeal such as Yours so fill this man that he will no longer give place to those things which ought not be found in proximity with Your goodness.
Father, I admit that even as I say this, or type this, my thoughts range forward to things that seem inevitable to me, urges that rise up, battles that seem hopeless. I’ve fought them – or failed to fight them – so many times. It seems almost pointless to take up the battle again. Much easier to simply give in, to accept that I shall ever be as I am. But, I know this is not the Truth. No! But I am being renewed day by day, as Your Word penetrates my mind, shapes my character, refashions this house to be a more fit dwelling for Your holiness. And yet… It’s an agony, my God, and one I am in myself powerless to end. But, You are far from powerless! You are all Powerful! Come swiftly, then, to my aid!
There are many other points I had thought to make but I think I would prefer, at this point, to turn my eyes upon Jesus as He is revealed here. It is not the vengeance that I see in Him that captures my attention, but rather the depth of compassionate concern that fires that vengeance. What is being played out here is reminiscent of the message Samuel delivered to Saul. “Has the Lord as much delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Wake up! To obey is better than sacrifice! To Heed far supersedes the value of the fat rams” (1Sa 15:22). Where is the focus in this court? It’s on sacrifice, sacrifice, sacrifice, but forget why you’re here. Just pay the fine and get on with your life. Prayer? Bah! Takes too long.
But, “My house shall be called a house of prayer.” Love is not found primarily in sacrifice, in making oneself a martyr for some other’s benefit. Love, we are told, is found in obedience (Jn 14:15). Any parent, I suppose, must recognize the truth of that. Our children’s love is not really found in those moments when they’re gushing out their, “I love you so much” comments, because those are generally to be found in times when their desires happen to have been gratified. You’re as likely as not going to hear an “I hate you so much,” within the hour, when you find it necessary to deny the next request. No, love is expressed in that obedience which comes without the need for reminders. It’s found in seeing that their lives are beginning to take on some resemblance to what you’ve been teaching, and hopefully modeling.
Here in the court of the Gentiles, obedience is not to be seen, only enslavement to a system of limited value. Indeed, what little value was to be had in the sacrificial system is being so thoroughly subverted in the practices going on in that place as to make it doubly theft. And in steps Jesus! Oh, look at Him! He is so much more concerned for our ability to come to Him than He is about receiving the full value of His rightful tribute from us. That’s what is going on in that courtyard. That has never stopped going on! That’s what’s going on today. Right now, right here, right there where you are in life. Jesus is far more concerned that you and I recognize our ability to come to Him, and – oh! How ridiculously marvelous! – to find ourselves welcome in His house, in His very throne room! This is what has been made available to you and me! This is what it was all about. We can come in. We can come home. In spite of the incredible mess we’ve made of this temple, in spite of the fact that we will no doubt go forth and make a mess of it all over again in short order, still we are welcomed home. Still, He continues to work patiently on us.
Oh, grasp hold of this! God doesn’t need your stinking sacrifices! What bloody use is a cloud of smoke to the Creator of heaven and earth? Do you suppose He needs your cash? No! It’s a great and glorious thing to commit what you have to the promotion of His Kingdom, but does He need it? Goodness, no! He owns the cattle on a thousand hillsides (Ps 50:10). That may not mean much to you. Let’s try it this way: He makes the Bill Gates and the Warren Buffetts of our day look like paupers. Indeed, He owns them! He owns the tyrants and those who rule with greater beneficence. He owns it all. What are you going to give Him? The most you can do is return what He gave you, with all appropriate thanks. That’s it. Whatever you can give, however much you labor on His behalf, however much you choose to live as if on vows of poverty for His name’s sake, it’s still just giving Him back what is His anyway.
To obey! To obey even in the private times. To obey not because it’s easy, neither because it’s hard, but simply because it’s right and it’s become our habit, our nature to do so. That’s it. And, how are we ever to arrive at this place of obedience? Well, it certainly won’t be by dint of our own strength. That’s right back into the sacrifice column! Nope, it’s going to be as we come, by the infinite benefit of His ministering to us, to the place of abiding in His love, of having the confidence to relax in His presence, to come spend time with the God of the Universe. It’s as we realize that He is utterly afire for our sake, that He is ever vigilant, ever working to rescue us not only from ourselves but from those who would take advantage of our need. It’s as we realize that He is afire for our sake, ever vigilant, ever working to rescue us not only from such under-shepherds as may seek to fleece their own sheep, but from ourselves as we seem to forever be handing our fleece to every passing stranger. Jesus is afire for our sake. When it is said that “Zeal for Thy house consumed Me”, that you He’s talking about. You are your Father’s house. You are a temple of the Holy Spirit of the Living God of All Creation! And His zeal encompasses you. His zeal moves Him to labor ceaselessly for your purification, your sanctification.
Oh! Oh! If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare His own Son (Himself!), but delivered Him up for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things? Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Tribulation? Distress? Persecution? Famine? Nakedness? What peril or sword could sever you from Him? I tell you, in all these things we OVERWHELMINGLY conquer through Him Who loves us. No, it is beyond doubt: Not death nor life, no angel or principality, nothing in my past, nothing in my present nothing still to come, no power in highest heaven or deepest earth, nor any created thing whatsoever shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is ours in Christ Jesus our Lord (Ro 8:31-39)! Man! If you can’t feel the thrill of that realization, you need to!
That, folks, is setting an atmosphere for praise! It’s all well and good to work up the power chords, and nail that particular sequence of notes that sends a thrill up the spine, and it’s surely the way of human nature to join in the excitement, yes? Nothing stirs like a mob! But, this is so far and away beyond such things! This is the throbbing of the very heart of God in my own breast! This is the call of deep unto deep, awakening the soul the reality of its situation! Yes, that situation is hopeless! Of course it is. But, our hope isn’t in situations, our joy isn’t a matter of circumstances. Our hope is in the Lord and all our satisfaction is found in Him alone! Thus it has always been, even when we failed to see it. But, now that eye has seen and ear heard: Oh! Let not thought forget! Let this OVERWHELMING joy color not just this day, but every day. Let this mind be mindful of the incredible benefits that have been given in this Lord, this Christ, this Jesus Whom I serve in deepest loving regard.
Yes, Jesus, afire for my sake! May it be that I know myself afire for Yours! Light up!
