New Church
  • Hello
  • Let's Meet
  • Say Hello Back
  • Watch Service
  • Read Message
  • Bible Study
  • Ministries
  • Lent Devotions

Life Is An Ongoing Story.

Remodeled and Renewed.

3/4/2018

2 Comments

 

God’s radical presence is among us; bringing about the changes needed for God’s Kingdom to be complete.

Picture
John 2:13-22
So he made a whip out of cords, 
and drove all from the temple courts, 
both sheep and cattle; 
he scattered the coins 
of the money changers 
and overturned their tables. 
It’s hard for many people to see Jesus as…well, Jesus. But as all four gospels have recorded, it’s possible for the divine Son of God to act like a son of a human – throwing fits and behaving a bit ungodly.  
 
I don’t like Jesus acting like me because I struggle daily to be like him. I need him to be the better one, the more mature and even keel. But guess what? Jesus is like all of us, and that’s a good thing. He understands what it’s like to be human. It can be hard, hurtful, and frustrating.
 
We should celebrate that Jesus has feelings and emotions. And like many of us he has difficulties containing them; especially when life isn’t fair. He is not ashamed or afraid to show his passion for life and justice – the essence of God’s righteousness. So we ought not focus on Jesus being like us. But instead, we should all strive to be human’s like him.
 
With all that’s going on in our world, how might Jesus react in today’s political and religious climate.  What he might do if he walked into the U.S. Capital or sat in with the Supreme Court? 
 
Would he take a position on gun control if he sat with students and parents who lost their loved ones in Parkland, Columbine, or Sandy Hook?  Something tells me if he were here today, there would be a target on his back as big and bold as it was some 2,000 years ago.
Speaking for myself, Jesus is irresistibly attractive when he confronts the bad guys, or one-up’s the wise. I like being on his side of justice. But when Jesus shifts from being the Son of Mary and Joseph to speaking as the Son of God, I get an uncomfortable feeling in the pit of my stomach knowing I have more in common with those Jesus is reprimanding than with the righteous one himself.
 
We don’t have to look very far to see how our religious and political laws, or simple everyday life, clash wildly with what God wants from us all. Which is why we need Jesus to come inside and do a little house cleaning.
 
Uncomfortable as it is, John’s gospel reading is perfect for Lent. This is our time to take inventory and to toss away the stumbling blocks and trash bags we carry, so we can make more room in our lives for God’s love and peace. I believe this is exactly what Jesus is doing at the Temple.
 
In the midst of the religious and political chaos, Jesus enters the sacred space whose name literally means "The house of many nations.” His restoration project begins in the Court of the Gentiles, an area where the local merchants were allowed to set up shop; selling the sacrifices that God demanded.
 
This area of the Temple was a dedicated place for non-Jewish people to worship or pray to God. But the animals and sellers have made it impossible for people not only to get in but to also find peace. Think about how we get distracted by Daisy barking! Now add hundreds of mooing cows, bleating sheep and squawking birds!
 
Jesus sees the barrier that the religious leaders have allowed to be put in place. And naturally he doesn’t like it. So naturally he begins to tear them down. Imagine that, God not liking walls.
 
Years ago I worked in a record store. As CD’s where becoming popular, my boss, Joe, knew the store needed to be remodel and reconfigured to make room for this new format. Now, we worked with this guy Billy Ropple, who was a big, hulking kid. When Joe asked Billy to take down the back wall, this 6’2” chunk of punk rock muscle and rage happily went to work. 
 
When demoing a wall, most people use crowbars, sledgehammers, drop cloths, and gloves. Not so with Billy. He just threw his body into the wall. With his physical strength alone, he smashed holes in the drywall and ripped out the wood studs like they were matchsticks.  
 
With zero regard to the mess he was making...Billy’s pent up rage exploded like a wrecking ball of aggression. To an outsider, it probably looked like a violent rampage, but for us it was truly exciting to watch.  By the end of the week the remodel was complete and we were ready to welcome and embrace the future.
 
Like Billy Roppel, Jesus’ aggressive action was not hostile or belligerent. It was assertive and energetic. Jesus’ action and reaction to what was going on was a restorative act of passion – the same passion he would use to restore and reclaim us as children of God.
 
To read Jesus’ actions as being an ungodly temper-tantrum we might miss the point of this story: God’s radical presence is among us; bringing about the changes needed for God’s Kingdom to be complete.  
 
Jesus saw that the Temple needed to be reclaimed for its intended purpose. How can you be a house of many nations, if you refuse people from coming in to worship God?
 
As far as those in power were concerned, the Temple was fulfilling its function as a place to honor God. I don’t believe they were intentionally disobeying or opposing God. They were only doing what they thought God wanted. I can understand that.
 
But a closer inspection of the place would reveal that there were many inside the temple who had forgotten its true purpose. Instead of being a “House of Many Nations” the Temple had become tainted with exclusivity and economic exploitation.
 
Like any lopsided structure, the whole thing was bound to collapse. Jesus’ passionate display of God’s justice was just the tipping point. When they confronted and questioned his authority, Jesus said, “Destroy this temple. And I will build it again in three days.” 
 
To most people it was laughable. But as John noted, it’s only as they look through the lens of his death and resurrection, do the disciples get what Jesus is saying.  I wonder if he knew that this statement would be use to justify his crucifixion?
 
Even as we have the privilege of hindsight, we continue to put up walls to keep people out; some are even decorated with stain-glass.

No matter how hard we try, we all get caught up in the human spaces we construct. Bigotry, jealousy, envy, power, greed invade our physical and spiritual structures gradually and subtly. If we are not careful, if we lose our focus on what God is calling us to do and be, we might find our sacred space full of cattle, sheep, turtledoves and moneychangers.
 
Lent is a time for us all to look at our spiritual structures and do the necessary repairs and renovations.  It’s a time to clean out what we don’t need so we can make room for what God is building in each one of us – a true spiritual Temple with Jesus as the cornerstone.
 
Lent is a time to look in all the nooks and crannies of your life, and ask God to help you to be more open and accepting of others; to be patient with yourself so you can be kind and gracious to those in need; to be forgiving knowing that you have already been forgiven; and to encourage others to love you by the way you love them.
 
As the Christ, Jesus replaced all earthly temples once and for all. Jesus has removed the barriers that divide us, and by his love he draws us all together. Through him, we become part of much more inclusive structure built with Divine intentions and specifications.
 
Yes, Jesus was human like us. But he was also divine. Through him we become a true house of many nations…where all people are welcomed to not only be like his humanity, but to also partake in his everlasting divinity. ​
study_guide._2018.03.04.pdf
File Size: 47 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File

2 Comments
Billy Ropple
8/21/2018 01:30:56 pm

Hey Ian its Billy Ropple!
It was so crazy to stumble across this sermon where you mentioned me. I totally remember the wall destruction but I had forgotten about it until this reminder. How do the meteors get one to the bible? Lol. Hey about 20 years ago when I lived in San Francisco I was in a band that on 2 occasions opened for Demented Are Go, a band you turned me on to about 31years ago. I hope you being a reverend doesn't make it controversial to talk about rock and roll. My friend Heather whos family is very Christian, explained to me the parallel to Jesus and how it related to lent etc. Very cool.
A funny thing is I'm a hardcore atheist with a bunch of goat heads and 666's tattooed on me. I'm 48yrs old but I'm still punk rocker! I'm in 3 bands in colorado, the Nc-17s, the Truckstop Quickies, and Shotgun Hodown. I guess I'm trying to set a record for the worlds oldest teenager. Funny, when I was a young punk all I wanted to be was an old punk cause I looked up to them so much. Well talk about be careful what you wish for cause now I'm an old punk and hi, nobody gives a shit. Anyway I'm glad you're doing well I'm touched that you remembered me at all, thanks
Billy

Reply
Ian Macdonald
8/21/2018 02:54:06 pm

Billy!!! How did you find out about this!? Yes I remember you. How I do well that’s still a mystery. Yes, it’s ok to talk about rock and roll in church. In fact, if Jesus were here he’d be off the the side of the stage healing the bruised and beaten before sending them back into the pit. He was a radical punk rocker like me and you. I was interviewed by a small town newspaper and at the end I just blurted out “I’m just a Jesus loving anarchist!”

I think the way this fury Jesus loved and lived his life in a way that was so against the world’s way of thinking...I was naturally drawn to him. I’d say he was like the Sex Pistols pissing off the corporate music machine. So after 20+ years making commercials and hanging out with all my favorite teen idols in LA, I decided to focus my attention on a new revolution based on love and peace. And here we are.

It’s absolutely nuts that this story in this little sermon would reconnect us. I’m still in touch with Pat Carroll and whenever I go back to DC I hook up with him. Be good, brother. And don’t worry about the tattoos and atheistic stuff...you are loved, mofo.

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    Rev. Ian

    has been blogging under the name: Jesus not Jesús: Looking for Christ in the face of strangers. You can read his posts and browse his archives by clicking here.

    Donate Today

    Sermon Archives

    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017

    RSS Feed

    Watch Sermon
    Picture
    Worship with us live on Facebook
    Sunday at 11:00 a.m.  
Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.
  • Hello
  • Let's Meet
  • Say Hello Back
  • Watch Service
  • Read Message
  • Bible Study
  • Ministries
  • Lent Devotions