Introduction

Last week we began our series on the Gospel of John.

John begins by telling us that Jesus is the logos, thedivine word of God, present in the very act of creation itself.

The story continues with a series of signs. Last week thewedding at Cana. Water into wine. A sense of the celebration of this newcreation that Jesus, the word made flesh, was bringing into being. 

Today we hear the second sign. Jesus enters the Temple. Andwe find that this word of God, this Good News can be comforting and reassuring,but also deeply troubling. 

John 2:13-22

13 The Passover of the Jews was near, and Jesus went up toJerusalem. 14 In the temple he found people selling cattle, sheep, and doves,and the money changers seated at their tables. 15 Making a whip of cords, hedrove all of them out of the temple, both the sheep and the cattle. He alsopoured out the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables. 16 Hetold those who were selling the doves "Take these things out of here! Stopmaking my Father's house a marketplace!" 17 His disciples remembered thatit was written, "Zeal for your house will consume me." 18 The Jewsthen said to him, "What sign can you show us for doing this?" 19Jesus answered them, "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raiseit up." 20 The Jews then said, "This temple has been underconstruction for forty-six years, and will you raise it up in three days?"21 But he was speaking of the temple of his body. 22 After he was raised fromthe dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this; and they believed thescripture and the word that Jesus had spoken.

Anger is a strange thing isn’t it? I imagine that there arepeople here this morning that get angry pretty quickly, and on the other end ofthe scale there would be people here who would find it hard to remember thelast time they got angry.  We get behinda car doing 40 km an hour down North Road, the person who speeds up when we tryto overtake.  Phil Goff said a couple ofweeks ago how angry he was - he used a different word - at the dumping ofrubbish. We all feel good and angry about that.   It may not be that hard to feel angry becausesomeone has done something that’s annoyed us personally.  Annoyed that someone has done somethingwrong.  And for some of us this anger canget out of control and we need to get help with that.

But how often do we feel anger on behalf of another? Not forour benefit, but because another has being subject to some kind of unfairnessor injustice?  Our scriptures are muchmore interested in this prophetic anger. People who get motivated to act, sometimes in quite dramatic ways asthey respond to the mistreatment or the inequalities they see around them. Areport last week on the news tells us that the richest 1% own 30% of NZ wealthand that our country has one of the fastest growing inequality among OECDcountries. Not many of us get angry about those details – and why not? Isaiahwould, Jeremiah would. Hosea would. Jesus too.

We can hear a story like this today, Jesus, and the anger,and whip in the temple, and, as I have done many times, jumped to conclusions.Good Jesus, righteous anger, all these animals for sale -  bad money changers. It’s easy to judge thispassage. To place ourselves on Jesus’ side and admire his courage, andunderstand his anger. Pictures in our minds, maybe formed by Sunday schoolbooks or movies.

But the actual story, and Jesus exercising this prophet actis more difficult for us perhaps, than might be obvious.  I want to give you an example of what ishappening here. And don’t want to annoy everyone, but Jesus is actually atroubling presence in this story for everyone.

Last Saturday I was invited by some friends to look at houses. Open homes. Looking for a home whichthey might like to buy.

We visited a number of houses within I guess 5 to 10 kmradius from down town Auckland.

There were other people attending the open homes. There wasa sense more one of anxiety perhaps that joy or excitement.

What you get for what you pay - I found to be quite analarming experience. The agents all dressed up in the 30 degree heat. Thefamilies and individuals looking. The people selling the houses, instructed tomake things look just so.  I actuallyknow a young woman whose job it is to provide props for houses going on the market.She provides an extra pot plant here, a comfortable looking couch over there.Maybe a bit of art on the wall.

All these peopleplaying their part. We know that for many Aucklanders with the new valuationsthey have done okay. Their worth has increased simply by virtue of owning ahouse.   Except on Great barrier I haveto say.

So we can identify with each player in this. A good agent isa huge asset.  A person selling a houseobviously wants the best price they can get. That’s fair enough isn’t it?  And the buyer is wondering about this becomingtheir home. What kind of mortgage they can afford. The school zones. The commutingtime.

All these things working together.  And it’s not just the people we see, is it.There are the banks and their lending regulations. There are the economists andtheir commentaries.

And Jesus turns up angry. And says to every one there, ‘butthere are homeless just 200 m from here on Dominion road. The Australian lendingbanks are showing record profits and paying their chief executives millions of dollarsa year. The decile 10 schools nearby are all churning out kids who have nograsp of what most families are facing. Even to consider buying this house youforget, Jesus says, than you must be in the top one percent of globalwealth.  And despite the capital gainsand good jobs that enable you to consider even buying a house like this, youdon’t look especially happy or secure of satisfied. You just look anxious andbothered.

And Jesus says these things last Saturday afternoon, and noone walks away feeling that good at what he has said, and maybe it’s a relief thatwe realise that he is on his own , we can dismiss that,  maybe a couple of his followers off somewhereto the side.  In fact maybe we can domore than dismiss that. We get a strong sense in the Gospels that Jesus actionled to a cascade event that would seem him arrested and finally executed.

No wonder. Jesus says something even more troubling. He saysthis whole thing, the mixture of things working together, the money, the houseprices the banks,  the regulations those whoare left out, he says a huge upheaval is coming. This whole edifice that hasbeen built over the years, this whole thing is going to crash down, and immediatelyafterwards I will embody myself,  a newway of seeing things. A new way of being. After he was raised from the dead,his disciples remembered that he had said this; and they believed the scriptureand the word that Jesus had spoken.

This temple we hear about was by all historic accountsabuilding of profound beauty. It was still in the later stages of being built.It would still be being built for another 30 years after Jesus words. Thefinishing touches, and then just 6 years after completion it was utterlydestroyed, with a huge loss of life, by the Romans.

I am not sure we have anything quite like the temple today.It was more than a cathedral. It was the embodiment of God’s presence andpromise to the Hebrew people. The embodiment of history, faith and beliefs. Andwe remember too that the money changers and animals being provided for sacrificewere part of it. Pilgrims had to change their foreign money in order to pay foranimals – it was prescribed in Jewish law for sacrifice. The sheep and cattlewere sacrificed by the priests on behalf of wealthy who made their pilgrimageto the temple. And the doves were bought by poorer people.  These animal sacrifices were made by Bible believingfaithful people who wanted to honour the teachings in scripture in Deuteronomy.

So, even though as modern people we stand some distance fromthis, the money changing the animals these was part of the machinery of properreligious observation.

John Calvin described Jesus as prophet priest and king. 

The priest and king bit, being brought into relations withGod, sovereign, we can like those bits. But prophet.

If we had an ancient memory of other prophets we may not betoo surprised today.

Through Isaiah God says what to me is the multitude of yoursacrifices?     Says the Lord; I have had enough ofburnt-offerings of rams  and the fat of fed beasts; I do not delightin the blood of bulls,  or of lambs, or of goats. 16 Washyourselves; make yourselves clean;    remove the evil ofyour doings  from before my eyes; cease to do evil, 17  learnto do good; seek justice,  rescue the oppressed, defend the orphan,  pleadfor the widow.

We speak often about loving Jesus, but it can be very hardto like a prophet. We’ve been faithful all these years. Walked all the way fromAlexandra, this pilgrimage of a life time to make our sacrifice to God at God’stemple. We’ve got our money to change so that we can buy a couple of doves, forthe priest to sacrifice on our behalf. And then there is Jesus and this whip and money and tables and animalsand this chaos.  You and I loving thisJesus as prophet – what is that going to mean today?

The unblemished sheep and cattle the doves. The faithfulpilgrims coming each year, and especially right now, we are told that Passoveris coming, the most important celebration in the Jewish year. This is the timeto be in Jerusalem.

And in the midst. Disruption to the order. The good newsthat Jesus brings.

It is hard not to look at times of change and upheaval,personally socially, as times that we upsetting or fearful or the source ofworry or fear or loss. Disruption though can be part of the Good News.

The promise of the resurrection of Jesus that helps us understandor get through the times of disruption where God may even be working. Areassurance that what doesn’t make sense now may be understood later as weunderstand more about what faith in the risen Jesus really means for us.  And the challenge today. To look critically atthe things we have accepted for maybe too long and remember words spoken by oneof ancient prophets. I desire steadfast love says the Lord in Hosea, for Idesire steadfast love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God rather than burnt-offerings.

AMEN