Where do you feel at most at home with God? Is it in a beautiful building, in bed at night, in a garden or by the sea, or none of these places? Maybe the place doesn’t matter. Do we need church buildings to worship God? Our little church building is nothing like a vast temple, but it is an oasis of calm, a beautiful jewel in a stunning location, a place where God has been worshipped for a thousand years. Those of us who worship there feel connected to those who have gone before us and feel the presence of God in a special way when there. Prayer has seeped into the brickwork. Many church buildings are in a poor state of repair and we cannot afford the present number of buildings and clergy. Whatever happens won’t be as traumatic as the events which led to the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem. There is no building today that functions like the temple did. It was the most holy Jewish place. All male Jews were expected to visit in their lifetime, and those living within a radius of fifteen miles were expected to attend at all festivals. Sacrifices for sin were made in obedience to the law so Jewish people could meet with God. People from all over the known world came to celebrate the festivals swelling the population of Jerusalem at Passover to over two and a half million. They would sing psalms as they journeyed and see the temple shining in the sun from many miles away, beautiful, grand and covered with gold and marble. Because Passover, the most important feast of the Jewish calendar was near, Jesus went to Jerusalem with his disciples to celebrate the feast. In the temple as expected, he found people selling cattle, sheep, and doves, and the money-changers seated at their tables. He drove all of them out. He also poured out the coins of the money-changers and overturned their tables. Jesus expressed his anger in a way we would find unacceptable. He was not having a temper tantrum. He planned his action using a whip of cords. Why? The reconstruction of the temple was begun by Herod the Great, the king of Judea who tried to kill all the male babies at the time Jesus was born, who slaughtered many members of his own family. The Ark of the Covenant representing the presence of God no longer dwelt there. By the time Jesus ministered it had been under construction for forty six years and wasn't complete. The long Western Wall of the Temple Mount was the length of about 4.5 football fields. It stood 10 to 16 storeys tall, having many rooms. At the back was the Holy of Holies, cut off from the rest of the building by a heavy curtain. Only the high priest could enter with the blood of an animal once a year on the Day of Atonement to make an offering for the sins of the people. Next to the Holy of Holies was the Sanctuary with its golden altar. Only selected priests could go there about once in their lifetime to burn incense and worship at the golden altar. Next to the altar was the bread of presence and lamp stand. Only chosen priests, were allowed anywhere near it. The inner courtyard of the Israelites was where the men gathered. In the outer courtyard there was the court of women, the farthest point that women were allowed to go. Within it stood four massive lamp stands, each 86 feet tall and 13 collection boxes where the rich made a show of giving their offerings. As you entered the complex, there was the court of Gentiles, the only place they were allowed. It was far from a place where they could worship. The money changers, unlike our own volunteers were paid to maintain and finance worship. The upkeep of the temple and payment of priests was costly. Heavy financial and physical burdens were placed on worshippers. Each Jew over the age of nineteen had to pay a temple tax on top of their taxes to Romans of half a shekel, the equivalent of two days wages. It could only be paid in shekels as other currencies were considered unclean. Many different currencies were used in Jerusalem but they couldn’t be used in the temple. The money changers exchanged other currencies to shekels. They would charge for this service and often made another day’s pay out of the worshipper on top of their tax. The wealth the temple was bringing in was immense, far more than was needed. This was unjust. Pilgrims seeking God were being fleeced and they couldn’t afford it. The Jews were expected to sacrifice animals either in thanksgiving or as a way of making atonement for their wrong doing. It made sense, since the sacrifices took place in the temple which was often awash with blood, for the animals to be sold there too. The atmosphere of the temple was smelly, noisy and smoky. The animals had to be examined before being killed to see if they were without spot and blemish. If worshippers bought the animal outside the temple precincts, faults would be found. Worshippers were trapped into buying the most expensive animals available. The inspectors took their fee and the cost of animals within the temple might be as much as eighteen times more than the cost of an animal bought outside. The only place the Gentiles could worship in was in this marketplace. The temple was meant to be a house for all nations. All the people of the earth were supposed to be blessed through Israel. Instead they were excluded and distanced from the place where Jews believed God resided. Jesus may have been angry because temple worship was a sham. The temple was not reconstructed to reflect the glory of God but to increase Herod’s power, enabling him to control the Jews. It privileged the priestly elite. It was hierarchical and socially unjust Jesus ordered, “Stop making my Father’s house a market-place!’ because it provided the opportunity for many employees and entrepreneurs to fleece the people. More importantly Jesus cleared the temple to show sacrifices of animals were no longer needed. Centuries before, Isaiah, Jeremiah and Hosea proclaimed that God had no delight in burnt offerings. According to Matthew, Mark and Luke, Jesus’ act of vandalism took place just after he had rode into Jerusalem on a donkey and been hailed as King. It was direct provocation before his crucifixion and death. John places this incident at the beginning of his ministry. This doesn’t mean it happened twice. It was sandwiched between Jesus turning water into wine and teaching on being born again, a sign that Jesus was the new place, the temple where we can find God. The old covenant where animals were sacrificed had come to an end. Jesus was giving his life, as the sacrifice for everyone’s sin and though his body would be destroyed on a hill outside the temple precincts, in three days he would rise from the dead. Jesus, the life giver is the temple we go to for forgiveness and new life. Like Jesus we need to be angry and speak out when we see injustice both in our society and church. Profiteering from our congregations is unacceptable. The temple was finally completed around 63 AD. Just seven years later in 70 AD, the temple and much of its surroundings were totally destroyed by the Romans. All the money put into it was wasted. Jewish and early Christian communities were dispersed and worshipped wherever they were able, in people’s homes, and in catacombs. New life in Christ became available for all. As Christians placed Jesus at the centre of their worship and served the poor they grew together in love and faith. Do we need church buildings, priests and temples to worship God? No! We can feel at home with God whenever we reach out to him in prayer. We become the temple the Holy Spirit fills with himself, full of love, praise, power and glory, both when we meet together, in a home or online and when as individuals we pray alone. Eternal God, give us insight to discern your will for us, to give up what harms us, and to seek the perfection we are promised in Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen
Peter had just proclaimed that Jesus was the Messiah, but not surprisingly he had the wrong idea of what that Messiah would be like and Jesus had to explain. Instead of forming an army of his many followers to march against Rome and defeat the scribes and Pharisees who were persecuting him, Jesus was going to undergo great suffering and be rejected by the chief priests and scribes, be killed and after three days rise again A Messiah who would suffer was something Peter could not accept. If Jesus had power over nature, then surely he could defeat Israel’s enemies. Jesus had been speaking openly so Peter took Jesus aside to rebuke him and got a stern, almost cruel response from Jesus. Jesus had power to crush Israel’s enemies but war wasn’t the divine way. Jesus didn’t want to suffer pain and death anymore than any of us do but suffering love was the only way that Jesus could win the world back to God. It was the only way he could fully identify with us and obey the will of his heavenly Father. Doing what he wanted to do instead of what God wanted was a temptation Jesus needed to avoid. He therefore said to Peter publicly, “Get behind me Satan.” Peter, who wanted to save the life of his friend, must have been confused and hurt. The teaching Jesus then gave was designed to separate those who would follow Jesus to the end of their lives from those who were part of the crowd because they wanted something from him. I guess there were those following him for political reasons, who wanted to be on the right side when the new government came into being, those who needed healing, those who wanted the power Jesus had and those who wanted to get rich quick by following the one who multiplied food. There are still those who follow Jesus for all those reasons and sometimes Jesus answers their prayers. The most important thing Jesus did; however, was to die on the cross and rise again for us. This is the central teaching of this gospel and from this time forward Jesus’ face is set towards Jerusalem and was not focused on performing miracles in Galilee. What had been good news now appears to be bad news for the disciples. They all knew that if Jesus was going up to Jerusalem to die, they would be at risk of dying with him. Jesus made this perfectly clear in his next words, “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.” These people had seen the hideous crosses that surrounded Jerusalem with those nailed to them dying hideous, painful deaths. They had watched those about to be killed carry their crosses to the place of execution. The cross was feared, and Jesus appeared to be saying they had to prepare to die the same way he would if they followed him. Instead of all the lovely things they wanted from life and from Jesus, they were to deny themselves and follow him. They were called to do what God wanted them to do and not what they wanted. It is to the credit of the twelve disciples that they all actually followed Jesus to Jerusalem, only running away when things got bloody and they didn’t know how to help Jesus any longer. “Those who want to save their life,” Jesus said “will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake, and for the sake of the gospel, will save it. <sup>36 </sup>For what will it profit a person to gain the whole world and forfeit their life?” <sup></sup> If we want to live life to the full, Jesus is saying, we need to risk and spend our lives in serving others and not save and hoard them. It is better to burn out than rust out. We cannot keep or protect our lives. Jim Elliott, a modern missionary said this before being martyred by the Auca Indians. “He is no fool he gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose.” Our passage ends triumphantly. Jesus asserts himself as both God and man. Jesus will suffer but he will rise from the dead three days later and heaven and glory awaits him as it will for us if we are not ashamed and follow him. The Son of Man will come for each of us with his holy angels. The way of suffering love wins. Almighty God, you see that we have no power of ourselves to help ourselves: keep us both outwardly in our bodies, and inwardly in our souls; that we may be defended from all adversities which may happen to the body, and from all evil thoughts which may assault and hurt the soul; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen
Peter had just proclaimed that Jesus was the Messiah, but not surprisingly he had the wrong idea of what that Messiah would be like and Jesus had to explain. Instead of forming an army of his many followers to march against Rome and defeat the scribes and Pharisees who were persecuting him, Jesus was going to undergo great suffering and be rejected by the chief priests and scribes, be killed and after three days rise again A Messiah who would suffer was something Peter could not accept. If Jesus had power over nature, then surely he could defeat Israel’s enemies. Jesus had been speaking openly so Peter took Jesus aside to rebuke him and got a stern, almost cruel response from Jesus. Jesus had power to crush Israel’s enemies but war wasn’t the divine way. Jesus didn’t want to suffer pain and death anymore than any of us do but suffering love was the only way that Jesus could win the world back to God. It was the only way he could fully identify with us and obey the will of his heavenly Father. Doing what he wanted to do instead of what God wanted was a temptation Jesus needed to avoid. He therefore said to Peter publicly, “Get behind me Satan.” Peter, who wanted to save the life of his friend, must have been confused and hurt. The teaching Jesus then gave was designed to separate those who would follow Jesus to the end of their lives from those who were part of the crowd because they wanted something from him. I guess there were those following him for political reasons, who wanted to be on the right side when the new government came into being, those who needed healing, those who wanted the power Jesus had and those who wanted to get rich quick by following the one who multiplied food. There are still those who follow Jesus for all those reasons and sometimes Jesus answers their prayers. The most important thing Jesus did; however, was to die on the cross and rise again for us. This is the central teaching of this gospel and from this time forward Jesus’ face is set towards Jerusalem and was not focused on performing miracles in Galilee. What had been good news now appears to be bad news for the disciples. They all knew that if Jesus was going up to Jerusalem to die, they would be at risk of dying with him. Jesus made this perfectly clear in his next words, “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.” These people had seen the hideous crosses that surrounded Jerusalem with those nailed to them dying hideous, painful deaths. They had watched those about to be killed carry their crosses to the place of execution. The cross was feared, and Jesus appeared to be saying they had to prepare to die the same way he would if they followed him. Instead of all the lovely things they wanted from life and from Jesus, they were to deny themselves and follow him. They were called to do what God wanted them to do and not what they wanted. It is to the credit of the twelve disciples that they all actually followed Jesus to Jerusalem, only running away when things got bloody and they didn’t know how to help Jesus any longer. “Those who want to save their life,” Jesus said “will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake, and for the sake of the gospel, will save it. <sup>36 </sup>For what will it profit a person to gain the whole world and forfeit their life?” <sup></sup> If we want to live life to the full, Jesus is saying, we need to risk and spend our lives in serving others and not save and hoard them. It is better to burn out than rust out. We cannot keep or protect our lives. Jim Elliott, a modern missionary said this before being martyred by the Auca Indians. “He is no fool he gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose.” Our passage ends triumphantly. Jesus asserts himself as both God and man. Jesus will suffer but he will rise from the dead three days later and heaven and glory awaits him as it will for us if we are not ashamed and follow him. The Son of Man will come for each of us with his holy angels. The way of suffering love wins. Almighty God, you see that we have no power of ourselves to help ourselves: keep us both outwardly in our bodies, and inwardly in our souls; that we may be defended from all adversities which may happen to the body, and from all evil thoughts which may assault and hurt the soul; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen
Last week Ash Wednesday signified the beginning of Lent. Traditionally we have ash placed on our foreheads and remember we are dust and that to dust we shall return. This year we are particularly aware of this truth. Some of us have never felt so vulnerable and alone as we have during this pandemic. On Wednesday there is another burial of ashes in the churchyard of a person who has died in their mid forties. I haven’t felt the need to take up David Walker’s suggestions in his cartoon on how to ash during a pandemic. He suggests a potato print at the end of a fork, an ash postcard, sprinkling from a great height, using a long stick through the letterbox or self imposition. There are better ideas on the Church of England Birmingham you tube and face book channels. This year has felt like a long lent with fasting from hugs, going on trips, meals out, singing together, holidays and seeing friends and family. I don’t need ash to remind me I am mortal. Ioften feel tired. Concentrating on prayer particularly when there have been so many changes, so much loss and lots of administration has felt difficult. When we come out of lockdown and it’s safe to do so I am going to enjoy the freedoms we will be given, lent or no lent and live life to the full. Jesus came to set us free and give us life in all its fullness. Whilst Jesus didn’t need to repent of personal sin, he chose to undergo a baptism for the repentance of sins and identify with the sins of his community and the institutional sins of his time. He identified fully with human beings. We have never been so aware of the sins of our time which have led us to the praecipe of climate change and this pandemic. We are aware that disaster looms unless we change our ways. The nations of the world, particularly the richer ones cannot go back to behaving as they were. We are drawn together by our suffering and recognise that if we don’t change our ways we will all perish. Jesus entered into our predicament and our suffering. When he was baptised he made a public commitment to be obedient to his heavenly Father. He knew that way would lead to suffering and death on the cross. When talking to his closest friends who had forgotten they were called to serve and wanted to be rulers in the coming Kingdom, he compared baptism to being immersed in suffering. He asked them the question, “Are you able to be baptised with the baptism I am baptised with?” A few days later when Jesus was arrested and his friends ran away, it became clear that they couldn’t. We feel helpless when faced with the sickness, suffering and death of others. It is important we do what we can to bring healing but ultimately we all die and cannot choose the way it will happen. In our weakness we struggle to bear the weight of sin and suffering. Thankfully, we don’t have to. “Christ”, 1Peter reminds us, “suffered for sins once and for all;” for our sins and those of the whole world, “for the righteous and the unrighteous in order to bring us to God.” Peter was speaking to a church suffering unfairly. They were providing the social services of their time, caring for the sick and feeding the hungry. Instead of the authorities being grateful for what they did, they were torturing and executing their members for proclaiming the good news of Jesus and were having to respond in love to their persecutors. Their situation was dire and they couldn’t be faithful without the hope they had in Christ. They had a relationship with God because Jesus had died for them. The baptism of Jesus shows us what that relationship looks like. Jesus didn’t face his time of testing in the wilderness, before his heavenly father had poured out the Holy Spirit upon him and given him his blessing. He could never have sustained forty days in the desert without food or drink and without God’s help. As Jesus came out of the water after being baptised, he saw the heavens torn apart. The word for 'torn apart' is a strangely violent word to describe such a happy occasion. It's also the word used to describe the moment Jesus dies when the curtain of the temple was torn in two. It's a word with resonances in the prophecies of Isaiah, particularly when he cries out to God, "O that you would tear open the heavens and come down." (Isaiah 63:19). In Jesus, God has torn open the heavens and come down. God cannot stand the separation between what happens in heaven and what happens on earth any longer any longer. When we repent of our sin and receive Jesus into our lives, God comes in and dwells within us and we are changed as we become more and more like Jesus. The Spirit descended like a dove on Jesus. The Spirit also descends on our lives, gently, enabling us to live the life of Christ, bringing love and healing to a broken world. God’s words to Jesus are personal, and powerful. “You are my beloved son. With you I am well pleased.” Wrapped in these words of acceptance are the blessings of identity, worth, and unwavering regard We need to hear those words from the Father. He says them to us before we are ready to receive them, when we receive Jesus and are born again, when we are baptized in water and throughout our lives as we live in Christ. Christ identified himself with us so that we might take on his identity. He didn’t just suffer and die for the sins of the world. He rose again and ascended into heaven. Joy followed the suffering. When we are suffering we need to remember that death is not the end. We will receive new resurrection bodies. Baptism is a symbol of this. The water of baptism doesn’t save us. Jesus does! It does however remind us that we are united with Jesus in our death and resurrection. It also, Peter tells us, appeals to our consciences prompting us to behave like Christ and live in the power of his Holy Spirit. It also pushes us to proclaim and share what Jesus has done wherever we find ourselves. Jesus, Peter tells us, proclaimed God’s love to the spirits in prison who did not obey or accept God’s way of salvation in the days of Noah. Peter compares the flood in Noah’s day to water baptism in our day. It’s a strange comparison. Noah and his family didn’t get wet while everyone else drowned. There are many interpretations of these verses. Perhaps the Spirit of Jesus was in Noah as he pointed to the ark as God’s way of escape for Noah’s generation. Maybe Jesus went to the prison where fallen angels were incarcerated in the gap between his death and resurrection and preached to them. Perhaps he went to the place of the dead and preached to Noah’s wicked contemporaries. I cannot envisage Jesus preaching to anyone in prison without him giving them the opportunity to be set free through the power of God’s love. I believe Jesus was giving these prisoners the opportunity to be saved through identifying themselves with him through baptism. They had already suffered the terrifying flood and drowned. That is one side of our baptismal experience. Unlike us they hadn’t faced death with a relationship with God through our Lord Jesus Christ so they remained imprisoned in their sin. When Jesus proclaimed what he had done by dying for them, they had the opportunity to be set free and experience resurrection life with Christ and in Christ forever. Jesus is our place of safety. As we continue to look forward to being set free from our pandemic imprisonment lets enjoy our relationship with Jesus by spending time with him and not be too hard on ourselves. We are his beloved children equipped through his Spirit for whatever happens in the future. Suffering and death will one day come to an end when we are released from our earthly bodies and receive new, resurrected, spiritual bodies as we walk united with Christ into eternity. Holy God, our lives are laid open before you: rescue us from the chaos of sin and through the death of your Son bring us healing and make us whole in Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen
