“Jesus Cleanses the Temple” John 2:13-25

 Often when folks want to show that Jesus had a full range of emotions there are three text that they lift up - that Jesus wept tears in the Garden of Gesthmane, that Jesus wept when Lazarus died and that Jesus was angry when he cleansed the temple. 

While it is certainly the case that Jesus was fully human and fully divine, and as a result did have emotions, we short change this text when that is all that we lift up about it. See this text isn’t just about Jesus’s feelings, its about another sign that took place. 

A sign like that which happened earlier in this chapter of the Gospel of John when Jesus created wine out of water. However, while that was a sign filled with joy, celebration and abundance, this sign - this sign is about something different. 

John writes that the Passover was near and Jesus was going to Jerusalem. Remember that this is a high holy day for the Jewish people and folks traveled from far and wide to come and celebrate that God had freed his people in Egypt and brought them into the Promised Land. Part of that celebration was a meal of remembrance around the table. But another part of that celebration was worshipping God in the temple with sacrifices. 

Enter Jesus. 

Jesus and his disciples have traveled to Jerusalem for the Passover as well. But when he comes to the temple to worship, what should have been a time of praise had been replaced by the feeling of animals for sacrifice. In and of itself, this wasn’t the problem. It would have been unrealistic that folks would travel so many miles with animals with them. The problem is that the folks selling the animals wouldn’t accept Roman or Greek coins. So before you even bought the animal you had to go through this process of exchanging currency, for a price.

If you have ever traveled outside of the United States, you may be familiar with this process. In other countries, they use their own currency and prices - so as soon as you set foot on their soil you need to exchange money - often for a hefty fee.

But here, the people would have had Roman or Greek money, because that’s whose land they were in. Yet, to bump up the profit, the temple courts had become this place of commerce through a Temple Tax and exchanging money - not about lifting up the mighty name of Jesus. 

So Jesus decides to take care of the problem. And, friends, it really was a decision. This was not an impulsive act, fueled by anger. No, Jesus took time to bring cords together to make a whip. And then he used that whip to drive out all that was happening in the temple that wasn’t of God, his Father. 

And of course the religious leaders are none to happy. Who is Jesus that he can enter this place and create such a mess? Such disruption? What sign did he have to justify that this wasn’t a complete disaster? 

To which Jesus replied “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.”

Of course with his words, more chaos broke loose. Doesn’t Jesus know how long it took to make this temple? How can it be destroyed and rebuilt that quickly? 

But of course they misunderstood. Jesus wasn’t speaking about the building, the place in which they were standing, but instead his resurrected body that will replace the temple. 

Oh friends. This text often gets brushed right over, perhaps because it makes us uncomfortable or perhaps because it demands so much of us. If we only focus on the act of what happened, we miss the heart. The why. The reasoning that led Jesus to this act in the first place. 

See Jesus didn’t have an objection to worshipping God, and even worshipping God through sacrifices. But what Jesus did object to was what the folks had made it. They had made it about meeting their own needs and understandings instead of actually focusing on God. 

What about us, friends? What in our worship is about us? Or meeting our needs? And is actually not what God is asking of us at all?

I’ve asked this question before with congregations and the answer often comes back through a list of everything that folks would be okay getting rid of because someone else isn’t really focusing on God because of that aspect of worship, all the while not examining their own hearts or practices. 

A few years ago, I was a part of a fellowship program for young clergy from around the United States. We would travel to different churches who were engaging in ministry and get to speak to the pastors and staff, learning from them. I still remember meeting the senior pastor in a church in Washington DC that was going through the process of really making sure that the church was fulfilling the mission that God had given them. They were doing this by praying over their church calendar - asking God if all of the things that they did - the studies, the fundraisers, the flower sales, etc - were what God was asking of them for such a moment. If the answer was ‘yes’, they kept it. If the answer was ‘no’, they blessed it - thanking God for what it once was and letting it go.

Friends, the pastor was telling us of the deep pain and freedom that this process brought. 

And that is true for us as well. There is both pain in letting go and freedom in truly following the way of God - even if it means giving up something that we hold dearly.

Because when we gather together as the body of Christ, it isn’t about what individuals enjoy the most. It is about gathering together in the presence of God. It’s about remembering just whose body this is, just like in John 2 Jesus was calling the people to remember who was the true owner of this place of worship.

When we misunderstand that or forget it all together, we can quickly slip into the place of the moneychangers in the temple. Creating a system that meets our needs, but all the while leaving out who matters most - Christ. Or worse, slapping Christ’s name on something that he would not approve of just to make ourselves feel more holy. 

The sign here was not a miracle or healing. Instead, it was a prophetic moment of tension that invited the people to be transformed. Unfortunately, the text doesn’t tell us that happened. While the heading in many Bibles, and even the title for this sermon is “Jesus Cleanses the Temple”, we have no indication that the behavior of exchanging money and selling animals stopped. Probably folks were right back at it as soon as they could be. 

Yet, there is still a powerful cause for reflection for each of us in today’s text. Where do we stand in need of transformation and are we really willing to be cleansed or given the chance will we go right back to things as normal? And what are some of the things that we engage in that are not of God - even if we put God’s name to them? In what ways has our discipleship shifted to look more like the world around us and less like the transformation we are offered in Christ? Let us take this sign and let it work in our hearts and lives in new ways. Amen. 

“Wedding at Cana” John 2:1-11

  When folks approach me about being married, there is a traditional pattern that I follow. We meet together for five sessions, four of which focus on pre-marital concerns, looking towards the marriage, and the last session we talk about the actual wedding. At that time, I generally shock the couple by telling them that I have yet to be part of a wedding that was “perfect”. There is almost always something that goes wrong. The ceremony doesn’t start on time. The bridge forgets something important. Groomsmen pass out. You name it, there is a way for the wedding to go differently then what you have planned in your head.

After the disciples are called and gathered together in the Gospel of John, the first thing that we are told that Jesus does is goes to a wedding for an unnamed couple. He brings some of his disciples along with him. But he does this absolutely normal thing - attending the binding of hearts in marriage.

Only something goes very wrong at the reception. As the guests are dining and enjoying themselves, the wine runs out. This would have been a social disgrace for the couple and those hosting the reception. And in a society where social disgraces were a big deal - this was not something that would be acceptable. It would bring shame upon the family and probably be what folks would remember and talk about from this particular wedding for years to come. 

Enter Mary, the mother of Jesus. Mary knows what her son is capable of, but she also knows that he has not yet made his glory known in a public way. But she still comes looking for him anyway. 

What happens next seems to be a tense conversation between mother and son. “Women why do you involve me? My hour has not yet come.” But while we may read this as a tense conversation, thousands of years removed, we actually don’t know if Jesus said this with a slight smile on his face. Or if we was upset. We read our own reactions into the text. But we do know the actions of what take place.

For Mary leaves, simply telling the attendants to “Do whatever he tells you.” And the odd parts of the story continues. For Jesus has them fill six, 20-30 gallon jars, with water. Enough to provide, but also enough to have no mistaken assumptions about what is to take place. When the jars were filled to the absolute brim, Jesus had them take some of the water to the host of the banquet. Only it was now wine. 

Friends, Jesus essentially produced the equivalent of 605 bottles of the very best wine. A truly generous gift.

On its face it seems like such a quiet first miracle, does it not? The same quiet glory that we see at the beginning of the Gospel of Luke with Jesus’s humble birth. But there is so much more for us to uncover, just under the surface.

Let’s start with the fact that Jesus and his disciples did not come to that wedding expecting to perform a miracle. They just came as guests. Not even honored guests. Yet, when faced with the delimma of the day, Jesus chose to honor ordinary individuals. He chose to honor those in need, knowing what disgrace could come to them if he did not act. He chose to honor his mother’s wishes, even if he didn’t think that his time had yet come. He chose to honor the simple request made of him, with very few people watching, as he took the most basic of elements, water, and did something absolutely amazing with it. 

But because Jesus was just a guest at the wedding, no one even came seeking him out until there was a problem. Nobody was looking for Jesus, friends, until the wine was gone. 

So I’m curious, what makes us seek out Jesus today? What first led you to the feet of the Savior, brothers and sisters? Because for a lot of us, it was a yearning or emptiness or need. A struggle with finances or relationships. With a job or health. But before we start to chastise the folks at the wedding for not looking for Jesus until their was a need, we need space and time to examine our own hearts and lives as well. For many of us were drawn to Jesus for a similar reason. 

Paul writes to the church in Rome these words: “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” In the context of today’s Gospel text, we will all have needs that we know that we will be unable to meet - which drive us to Jesus. Sometimes they are everyday needs and other times it may be something bigger, something that we cannot even begin to put into words. Mary knew that she would not be able to meet the great problem that faced the host of the wedding banquet. But she also knew who to bring that need to her, her son - God’s own son. 

In Mary we see a beautiful example of how to bring our needs to Christ. For Mary doesn’t start telling Jesus how to meet the need. She simply tells Jesus what the need is and then steps back and makes room for Jesus to respond as he see fits. But she firmly trusts in him, which we see in her words “Do whatever he tells you.”

What about us, friends. When we bring our truest, deepest needs to Jesus are we willing to trust him? Or do we also want to tell him how we want him to respond. Are we willing to do whatever Christ tells us to do or are we less willing then the servants to do anything that may make us seem foolish?

Because, if this miracles doesn’t make sense to us all of these years later, imagine what it must have been like for those attendants long ago. They have not seen anyone turn water into wine before - that’s what makes it a miracle. It’s the work of God. They don’t know that Jesus is the son of God. So the whole thing probably seemed pretty foolish to them, and maybe a little wasteful. What is he going to do with all of this water. These jugs are heavy. The water is sloshing out onto the ground. Doesn’t he know that there is a better use for this then just putting it here in these jugs. Shouldn’t we try thinking of a solution? But they were still willing to do what Jesus said and bring him what he request and in return they got to see water turned into wine. 

So I ask again, what about us? Are we willing to bring to Jesus whatever he asks for or do we let our doubts get in the way? Are we willing to take a risk for the Gospel or do we want to make sure that we have all of the answers and know all of the benefits first? What are we willing to truly bring to Jesus?

Was this an odd first miracle? Absolutely? But if we are honest, all of the miracles of Jesus will be odd in one way or another. The question before us now is if we are willing to respond. And if partnering with Jesus, what just might we get to catch glimpse of in return? Amen. 

“Jesus Says Come and See” John 1: 35-51

  Almost every Sunday evening I am blessed to gather with my family to share a meal, talk and laugh, and play. When I say play, I mean play in the sense that we have beautiful, energetic girls, ages five and three, who invite us to come and see. Sometimes its to come and see their dance party. Other times its to come and see their drive-thru zoo. Other times its to come and see their Lincoln log town. But here’s the thing friend - come and see, does not mean come and sit. When they invite us to come and see, they invite us to come and participate. 

The call for Jesus of his first disciples in the Gospel of John is different than Matthew, Mark, and Luke. It doesn’t start with Jesus walking along the shoreline or calling out to folks to come and follow him. Not yet. Instead it starts with the cry of John the Baptist - “Look! Here is the Lamb of God!”

Remember that John has come to do what? To prepare the way for the Messiah. The Lord. The Savior. So when he tells his disciples to stop and look - to see the Lamb of God - they know exactly what he means. This is the one that they have all been waiting for. So where did Jesus’s first disciples come from according to the Gospel of John? From among those who were already with John. And John would have been glad, my friends, for he was handing them over to be true followers of the pine who he had been doing to. 

But these first disciples are so similar to the way that the disciples are described in the rest of the Gospels. What is the first thing that they ask Jesus - Where are you staying? Which is their response to the question Jesus asked them - what are you looking for? 

Now a generous reading of this text would be that they wanted to know that Jesus was provided for, but more realistically they probably wanted to know where Jesus was staying so they would know where they were staying. 

To be a disciple of a great rabbi or teacher in Jesus’s day, wasn’t just coming to learn from that person from 9-5. No you went everywhere with them. You ate what they ate. You slept where they slept. You traveled the roads that they traveled. One of my favorite descriptions of a disciple comes from Rob Bell who stated that a disciple was one who would be covered with the dirt of the feet of the one they were following. It’s this powerful image of just how close disciples were every. single. day. 

So Jesus, knowing what they were asking was just as much about their provision as it is about his, says something powerful in return - come and see.

The first call of the disciples then wasn’t to follow, as important as that will become, but it is to come and see. To come and see what Jesus and the Kingdom of God are all about. To come and sit at his feet and learn, not for your own sake, but so you can be sent into the world. 

Friends, is that not what discipleship is at its very core? Coming and see. Coming to the feet of Jesus and then being sent forth in the world. If their is a core message to the Gospel of John, which we are going to be journeying through slowly, together over the next several months it is this - it is God who provides. It is God who calls. And it is God who sends. So simple to say, but so hard to claim to live into with our daily lives.

Because when those first disciples actually went with Jesus when he invited them to come and see, well, that was an act of trust. And by doing so they start to catch glimpses of what Jesus is all about - the one who yes, invites them to see, but then sends them out to give testimony about what they have seen. 

Which is exactly what they do! It is not too much later that Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter, comes to him and says Peter! We’ve found him! That one that John has been teaching us about! He’s right here. Come and see the Anointed one!

Philip was just as excited when he went to Nathanael, crying out we’ve found the one that Moses told us about. The one written about in the law and the prophets! But Nathanael asks this question that seems rather rude - can anything good come out of Nazareth - until you remember that the law and the prophets that Philip is talking about - they never said that the Messiah would come from Nazareth. 

So Nathanael is curious but not convinced. Which leads Philip to do this absolutely genius thing. He ushers the same invasion that Jesus did just a few sentences earlier - come and see. I’m not going to try to convince you with my words or argue you into beliefs; instead I’m simply going to invite you to come and see. 

A question and a call. What are you looking for and come and see. Friends, words that we need just as much today as when the Gospel of John was spoken and penned. I’m curious, how would you answer that question of Jesus. What are you looking for? Another way to ask this questions is: what drew you here today? 

If we are honest, I think most of us have an answer and then an answer underneath that answer. What am I looking for? Why did I come here? Well because I always have. Or it is the right thing to do. Or I’ve been raised that way. But what are you really looking for? Peace? Healing? Meaning? Purpose? 

We may not know what we are really looking for, at least not right away. So we go with our surface answer. Just like the first disciples went with their surface response - where are you staying, Jesus? But underneath that they may have been looking for an adventure or new experience. We may come because of what we want to receive as well, but by showing up, by coming and seeing, friends, things start to change. All of a sudden, our priorities start to shift and we realize that we have been looking in all of the wrong places for the answer to that question. And as we shift, our identity as a disciple shifts as well. 

We are no longer the folks just coming and seeing ourselves, but we are the ones inviting others to come and see as well. Like Philip did for Nathaniel. But remember, brothers and sisters, what come and see means at its heart. For John, seeing is linked to trusting and believing. And for us in modern times, seeing isn’t about observing, its about joining in. 

Now I’m not talking about joining a committee or even becoming a church member. I’m talking about participating in the way that the Holy Spirit leads you. To come and not just receive, but to be sent out as well. 

The process of sanctification - of being changed by come and see - its different for each of us. Because as we come and see, we get to soak in the truth that this Jesus, he knows us and loves us. But its not our job to defend Jesus. It’s not our job to argue people into believing. It’s not our job to be threatened by questions they may have. Instead, as disciples, we simply invite people to come and see. Because, everyone is looking for something. And Jesus is where they can find everything they couldn’t even put words behind when it comes to what they were looking for. Amen.