‘A House of Prayer for all Nations’
Readings: 1 Corinthians 1:18-25, John 2: 13-22
Narrator: My house.....
A: My grandfather
helped build it.
B: My mother sat
here
C: She
and Dad were married here
D: She loved her
church, she did
E: Came here every
Sunday till she died
F: Do
you remember when we had those chairs made....
Narrator: My house shall be
called....
A: A great part of
Opoho history
B: Always loved
that stained glass window
C: Some where to come
and get your batteries charged
Narrator: My
house shall be called a house of prayer.
A: Great
for weddings and funerals and reunions
B: Why
can’t we sing the hymns I know – to the right tunes!
C: Important to come
at Christmas and Easter of course – that is probably enough
D: Its
good for the children – and for us to see them here
E: We
need to keep our church open –you never know when you might need it
F: Tradition
is the best way – change is too unsettling
Narrator: My
house shall be called a house of prayer for.....
D: Members
E: Sundays
F: When I need
something....
Narrator: My
house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations.
A But
we don’t want the charismatics or the evangelicals or the pentecostals or the
born agains.... (doubtfully) do we?
B: (brightly) open every Sunday morning
from 10-12
C: (questioning) You want to come pray and
sit quiet when you need? Anytime?
Narrator: ...for all nations
D: People
from other countries and cultures are most welcome
E: but
they’ll need to speak English and fit in of course
F: (reflectively) probably easiest for
everyone if they do their own thing....
Narrator: My
house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations.
A: I
know they are the same – but they’re so different
B: Ecumenism
is all good – but once a year, no more
C: and you’ll
understand if we don’t go to theirs....
D: So
what if our money is invested in deep sea drilling – it’s the best return...
E: and
we need the money for the roof, and new sound system – and the minister
F: We
are an inclusive loving congregation who value all people – great statement of purpose
– took us ages to get the words right....
Narrator: Jesus
went to the Temple and drove out all those who were buying and selling
there. He overturned the tables of the
money changers and the stools of those who sold pigeons and said to them: ‘It
is written in scripture that God said: “My temple will be called a house of
prayer for all nations.” But you are making it a hideout for thieves.’
Adapted from Stages on the Way: a Wild Goose Resource
Book p.85
Do you think we
might have, in that dialogue, touched on some of the tables that need
overturning in the church today?
Was it a bit hard
hitting at times, did the odd one kind of resonate, or you might have listened
closely saying ‘unfair, not relevant here’.
However we responded, I believe that John in this gospel passage is
leading us into a big question, a repeated question: What does it mean to be the church of
Jesus? Or perhaps it is the mirror
question: What is it that we do that
stops our church being the house of prayer for all nations?
Some
background: the temple was huge – still
being rebuilt and expanded in Jesus day.
The money changing etc was presumably happening in the court of the
Gentiles – outside the inner sanctums where only Jews could go and taking over
the only place the Gentiles could gather.
To all intents and purposes the temple was fulfilling its purpose –
sacrificial animals without blemish, no use of roman coinage for the temple
tax, meeting the needs of the pilgrims and honouring God. But not in the eyes of Jesus – for him what
was happening was profaning the temple, debasing worship and substituting
ritual for devotion.
And Jesus reacts
in the way of all Prophets, the speakers for God, by a dramatic ‘not to be
forgotten’ act of anger and barely leashed violence. It is interesting that it is only in the
Gospel of John that we have this event so early in Jesus teaching – establishing
his credentials, we might say, for his ministry as the voice and very presence
of God.
What got him so
upset? Well we could pinpoint a few
things.
That those who had
made a career of studying the Word of God lost touch with what God was asking
of them. They were detached from the
reality of what was going on, or perhaps didn’t care that it had taken on a
life of its own. For this market wasn’t
begun with evil intent nor was it a cynical attempt to profit from thievery. No this ‘den of thieves’ had crept in subtly
and over time, and initially was there to fulfil the goals and purpose of the
institution. The concept of providing
appropriate sacrifices for pilgrims to purchase was helpful and well
intentioned in the beginning, sanctioned to enable worship and right devotion
for the pilgrims. Then it somehow
morphed into this corrupt market that fleeced the unwary and the priests did
nothing about it! Blind eye or
convenient – who knows?
But alongside
anger at those who had promised to serve and honour God, there was anger too that
in their failure to serve God, they had failed to serve well the vulnerable,
the innocent, the seeking who were being ripped off. Gentiles with no place to go and pray, the
potential for corruption and deception within and on the part of the traders, exploitation
of the pilgrims, consumerism the path to righteousness – all were happening
under the noses of the priests – and they did nothing.
Lets take those
one by one and consider them for us.
Gentiles with no
place to go – where is it that we say that some people are less important than
others? That their right to worship, to
know God, to be part of community is negotiable extra, not a given. To understand the power this has to deeply
hurt and diminish us, I reckon that is really important for us all to have had
some experience, and recognise it as such, of being in a minority, not catered
for, being treated as superfluous or
surplus to demand. Being a Christian
perhaps?
The potential for corruption
and deception within and on the part of the traders. It is our role as Christ’s body to be
vigilant and aware of anything that we do or enable that has the potential to
lead people astray. It is as simple as
that. Whether it be words, actions or
lack of either, whether 6 degrees removed or right in our back yard, we are
accountable for the choices we make, who we are as the disciples of
Christ. We won’t get it right all the
time but by being aware, we can seek to make right that which we got wrong and
to speak out clearly into situations that cause concern.
Exploitation of
the pilgrims. Where, in a month of
Sundays, do the full on marketed, media savvy, slick and obscenely wealthy mega
churches get to be the gentle, caring and compassionate body of Christ in their
community. In what caring community do
people beggar themselves to give to a church the huge wages to a pastor who
lives in house none of them could ever hope to even visit.
Our righteousness,
our welcome into the house of prayer is not defined or measured by wealth or
expensive ritual or outspoken philanthropy. All are welcome, says Jesus – there
is no sacrificial payment at the door or turning away of those who can offer
only themselves – that is the gift that honours God most. Christ asks for our love and our commitment
to love and serve in his name, and weeps where anyone else puts and entry price
on that welcome.
Jesus tells us
that we as the church are to have neither buildings nor wealth nor judgement
nor self -righteousness as our temple – we have Christ who is our home, our
richness, our wisdom and our teacher constantly and lovingly reforming us and
renewing us to his image. So if our
tables get overturned from time to time, it is so that we might more clearly
see that the God who loves us so is guiding us in the way of life and hope for
all people. Amen.
Margaret Garland
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