Everything's Upside Down

 

Gospel: John 2:13-22

13The Passover of the Jews was near, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. 14In the temple he found people selling cattle, sheep, and doves, and the money changers seated at their tables. 15Making 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. 16He told those who were selling the doves, “Take these things out of here! Stop making my Father’s house a marketplace!” 17His disciples remembered that it was written, “Zeal for your house will consume me.” 18The Jews then said to him, “What sign can you show us for doing this?” 19Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” 20The Jews then said, “This temple has been under construction for forty-six years, and will you raise it up in three days?” 21But he was speaking of the temple of his body. 22 After he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this; and they believed the scripture and the word that Jesus had spoken.

William Butler Yeats’ poem, The Second Coming, says,

“Things fall apart, the center cannot hold….

The best lack all conviction,

While the worst are full of passionate intensity.”

But that not only applies to this gospel text but also to the situation in our own world today. It certainly fits our theme this week, Altered by Disruption. An interesting comment on this text from sundaysandseasons.com says, “In the midst of a seemingly stable religious center, Jesus suggests that the center itself has changed.” We may feel that way today.

This is Jesus’ first prediction of his death and resurrection in John’s gospel. That would definitely shake things to the core in Judaism, the temple, and everything else. The center will be Christ. 

The center of the organization is what it's all about: us, as a whole. Is the center of our lives Christ and his love? If so, we can weather the changing systems in our world. 

In our own lives, church and the ELCA, what systems are chugging along, doing what they were created to do? What tables might need to be flipped in our community? How might we find ourselves responding?

To work our way through such systemic change, we need to answer another question: “What encroaches on the holy space in our lives, that which belongs to God alone?” Lent is a time to look at our lives, to examine ourselves in the light of God's word and will, in the shadow of the cross. Jesus' presence and actions throughout the gospels challenge all those around him to make a decision about who he is. The disciples identified Jesus positively, while his enemies questioned Jesus' actions. What is our response to Jesus? 

 

By your word, eternal God, your creation sprang forth, and we were given the breath of life. By your word, eternal God, death is overcome, Christ is raised from the tomb, and we are given new life in the power of your Spirit. May we boldly proclaim this good news in our words and our deeds, rejoicing always in your powerful presence; through Jesus Christ, our risen Lord. Amen. (Evangelical Lutheran Worship)

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