Lent
March 3, 2018
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. He told those who were selling the doves, ‘Take these things out of here! Stop making my Father’s house a market-place!’ His disciples remembered that it was written, ‘Zeal for your house will consume me.’ –John 2:12-17
The story of Jesus clearing the temple appears near the end of the other gospels serving in some ways as the straw that broke the camels back. Religious leaders had had enough of Jesus’ teaching and this assault on the temple gave them a reason to bring him down.
John’s placing the temple clearing at the beginning of Jesus’ ministry seems to mark a first act that brought him to the attention of religious leaders. John was written about 20 years after the other three. He was dealing with a different generation who had other issues of concern. We need to remind ourselves routinely that the Bible is not chronological history per se, but theology illustrated with stories. This story tells of Jesus confronting head on one of our most pervasive sins, greed. The theme of greed’s impact on society as well as faith is scattered throughout our faith history up to and including today. The 1987 movie Wall Street added the phrase Greed is Good to our vocabulary since our society has normalized the acquisition of more.
As we individually examine ourselves throughout lent we must evaluate our relationship with money in all its aspects. What is enough* for me and my family? Finding through faith our answer to that question forms the foundation for our use of money. Setting out a plan to get our financial house in order is the best way to keep the tiger of greed away.
For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, and in their eagerness to be rich some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pains. (1 Timothy 6:10)
We must also take the time to evaluate our communal response to greed as the church. How do we set our priorities in church? If we have investments to manage, do we oversee them ethically in support of justice?
Prayer: Lord, we are challenged at every turn in our lives by greed. Grant us the discipline to use our resources wisely in your service. Amen.
*A good resource for exploring the idea of enough is Adam Hamilton’s book Enough: Discovering Joy through Simplicity and Generosity and study by the same name. Other equally accessible resources are also available.