Lent
March 7, 2015

Scripture Reading: John 2:13-22

The Passover of the Jews was near, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. In the temple he found people selling cattle, sheep, and doves, and the money-changers seated at their tables. Making a whip of cords, he drove all of them out of the temple, both the sheep and the cattle. He also poured out the coins of the money-changers and overturned their tables. — John 2:13-15 

It has been fascinating to me to observe over the past several years, how people, particularly politicians, have attributed to Jesus ideas and teachings that he is never quoted as addressing at all. Yet the same people rarely mention the sins about which he seems the most concerned: greed and misuse of power. Perhaps they recognized quickly the unpopularity of dealing with the sins we all commit.

John tells the story of the clearing of the temple very early in his book. The synoptic gospels mention it much later. The subject of power and its interconnection to money was apparently as unpopular in the first century as it is now. John may have been drawing attention to the cleansing of the temple early as he traces the path to Jesus’ eventual death from the beginning of his book. The event seems to have been a turning point in Jesus’ life.

During this Lenten season we would do well to ponder the place of power and greed in our lives. They are insidious, creeping into our everyday way of being without our even suspecting it. Greed is taking the walk across the line of healthy gain to wanting more and more until our lives are eaten up with collecting and hoarding. Misuse of power leads to oppression. Combined they are lethal.

Prayer: Lord, forgive us of our sins that are so much a part of our lives we rarely notice that they are separating us from you and from our call to serve you. Convict us of what is keeping us from having full communion with you and give us the courage to let those sins go. Amen.

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of American. Used by permission. All rights reserved.