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- "Then
Jesus entered the temple and drove out all who were selling and buying in
the temple, and he overturned the tables of the money-changers and the seats
of those who sold doves.He said to them, ‘It is written, “My house shall be
called a house of prayer”; but you are making it a den of robbers."-Matthew
21: 12-13
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Jesus is fed up. He is observing the commercial abuses
taking place outside of the Jerusalem Temple and he is
not going to take it anymore. So he takes action.
Often, I think people tend to imagine Jesus as very
passive, calm and gentle. Not so on this day! He tore
through the courtyard of the gentiles, where the
moneychangers and sellers of animals did their business;
tossing over tables, upsetting chairs and castigating
them for their exploitation of God. He was angry, and
he lashed out. And this is what got Jesus in trouble
back then, and what continues to get his followers in
trouble today; sometimes the status quo is just not
acceptable to those who follow God.
This has happened numerous times in history when we,
Jesus' followers, have become inspired and incensed and
stood up to the powers that be. This insistence on
change led to, among other things, the Reformation, the
end of slavery in America, the end of Apartheid in South
Africa, and many other injustices large and small. But
it does not happen enough. There are things in this
world and in our lives that need to be overturned;
things that have gone on long enough. The large
problems of this world can feel intractable, so think
simply of your own life. You know where the problems
are; where you are falling short. You know what needs
to change. Perhaps today is the day to shout out,
"enough!" Perhaps today is the day to allow Christ to
unsettle the status quo which has fallen upon your life
like a choking fog; preventing you from growing and
evolving as his follower. Today, why don't you allow
Jesus to unsettle you? It is time for change.
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Prayer: Holy God, help me to change. I invite you into
my life to unsettle my life. Please help me to see what I need to
change to better follow you. I thank you and I love you. I pray in
Jesus' name. Amen.
[Phil Blackburn, First Presbyterian Church]
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