LENT 2016 -GOING TO JERUSALEM

Tuesday,  February 16

Jesus Cleanses the Temple - Matthew 21: 12 – 17

            Many of us really dislike housecleaning. It seems such a bother to drag out the heavy, vacuum cleaner. I wonder if I can get away just dusting around the all the knickknacks without having to move them out of the way. Cleaning the toilet is such a grungy task. When was the last time that I swept behind the fridge?

Jesus was doing some much-needed house-cleaning as he swept through the Temple and overturned the tables of the money-changers and the merchants who were selling their religious wares and services.

Jesus was very angry at the state and condition of the Temple. The Temple had become more about the cost of doing religious business than about being the representative home of God. The spiritual air of the place had gone stale. The dust of hypocrisy had piled up in the corners. The clutter of religious exploitation was crowding out the spirit of worship. Like a homemaker on a mission, with a mop and a broom in hand, no dirt or grime being safe, Jesus strode into the Temple and becomes Mr. Clean.

I suppose that this could, and frankly maybe should, apply to so many of our churches. It alarms me as to how stagnant and stale our churches have become – just doing business as usual. I am sure that there has been many a pastor or others in church leadership whose eyes have lit up when considering Jesus’ audacity and boldness here.

But I am also thinking that if, as Paul says, our bodies are a temple, then maybe each of us should be doing a little, personal house-keeping ourselves. What do we, as individuals, need to do to allow the fresh, clean Spirit of Jesus to blow through our lives, clear out the cobwebs, remove the grit and grime, sweep away the stale sinfulness, and scrub away the persistent stains that infect our lives?

            “Don't you know that you yourselves are God's temple and that God's Spirit lives in you? If anyone destroys God's temple, God will destroy him; for God's temple is sacred, and you are that temple.” (1 Corinthians 3:16)