JOHN 2:13-22

[13] The Passover of the Jews was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.

[14] In the temple he found those who were selling oxen and sheep and pigeons, and the money-changers sitting there.

[15] And making a whip of cords, he drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and oxen. And he poured out the coins of the money-changers and overturned their tables.

[16] And he told those who sold the pigeons, “Take these things away; do not make my Father's house a house of trade.”

[17] His disciples remembered that it was written, “Zeal for your house will consume me.”

[18] So the Jews said to him, “What sign do you show us for doing these things?”

[19] Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.”

[20] The Jews then said, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple,[f1] and will you raise it up in three days?”

[21] But he was speaking about the temple of his body.

[22] When therefore 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.

Did you hear about the woman up in Methuen who found Jesus in her iron?  This actually happened a few years ago.  Mary Jo Coady was going through a difficult time in her life.  She and her husband were heading for a divorce and she didn’t have enough money to pay her bills.  One morning she walked into her kitchen and saw something that caught her attention. In the brownish residue on the bottom of her iron she saw an image of a man with long hair.  It looked just like Jesus. Mary Jo told The Lawrence Eagle-Tribune that the iron reassured her that Jesus was listening and that everything was going to be okay. What’s really amazing is that 14,000 people who read that story in the newspaper then went to a website to look at a picture of the iron.  The majority said that the image did look like Jesus.

Something similar to that happened many years ago in Guatemala.  People became very excited when an image of Jesus appeared on the outside wall of a church in Guatemala City.  There were even claims of miraculous healings.  The excitement quickly disappeared though when it was discovered that the image of Jesus was actually a whitewashed poster of singer Willie Nelson.

Whether miracles like these are real or not one thing is clear.  People want to believe in miracles.  People want to believe in heavenly signs.  Why?  Because they’re starving.  They desperately want to believe that there’s more to life than the bills that need to be paid and the laundry that’s piling up in front of the washing machine.  They desperately want to believe that there’s more to life than the deadlines at work and that there is life after you loose the Super Bowl.   People today are feeling alienated, isolated and inundated and they desperately want to know that there is a God who loves you and is going to help you find the life that is truly abundant. 

So, if all of that is true why are so many church’s struggling?  Why are so many churches closing their doors?  You would think that people would be banging on the doors to get in on Sunday morning.  Unfortunately the reality for a lot of churches is reflected in a conversation that took place one day between a minister and one of his parishioners.  “Nigel,” the minister said, “I understand that you weren’t in church this week because you were out playing golf.”  The parishioner was horrified. “Reverend,” he said. “That not true.  Honest.  It’s not true and I can show you the fish to prove it.”

When you look at what’s happening today it makes you wonder.  What would Jesus do if he walked into our churches today?   Would he smile and say well done good and faithful servants? Or would he get angry and knock over a few tables?   That’s what he did that day in Jerusalem.  When Jesus saw what was going on in the Temple he lost his temper.  He flew into a rage and after he knocked over the tables he said, “Take these things away; do not make my Father’s house a house of trade.”  In Matthew’s Gospel Jesus says, “It is written, ‘My house shall be a house of prayer,’ but you have made it into a den of robbers.”

Why was Jesus so angry?   Jesus was angry because the moneychangers were running a big scam and this is how it worked.  Each year there were three holy days where you had to go to the Temple and make an offering to the LORD.  You couldn’t use your everyday Roman coins however to make that offering.  You had to use special religious coins that you could only get from the moneychangers. So you went to the money changers and in exchange for a $5 Roman coin they gave you a $1 religious coin. The gouging didn’t stop there either. In order to make the required sacrifices in the Temple you also had to buy an overpriced animal that you could only get from the moneychangers.

Jesus was angry because the moneychangers taking advantage of people.  They had forgotten what it really means to be a community of faithful followers.  The attitude of the moneychangers was simple.  It went something like this:  “You have something.  W want it.  Come in here and give it to us.”   Unfortunately, you can also find that attitude in some churches today and it’s usually the ones that are struggling.

You could call it the sin of selfish evangelism. Selfish evangelism basically says, “You’ve got something we want it.  Come in and give it to us.”  We need your money to balance our budget.  We need warm bodies to teach Sunday School.  We need young people to sing in our choir.

The problem with selfish evangelism is that it uses people and you end up loosing sight of what it really means to be a community of faithful followers. Instead of focusing on people and helping them celebrate the Good News you end up focusing on the building and budgets, committees and quorums. A crowd saw that sad reality one day when a man collapsed in the middle of a crowded intersection.   The man started gasping for air. “Help me,” he groaned.  “I think I’m dying. Someone get a priest.” Unfortunately, there wasn’t a priest in the crowd to be found.  That didn’t stop one Good Samaritan however from stepping forward and offering to help.  The Good Samaritan knelt down and held the fallen man’s hand.  “I’m not a priest,” he said, “but I’ve lived my entire life next to a church and I hear their rituals all the time.  If you want, I think I can remember some of the words for you now.”   The fallen man whispered a faint “Thank you.” The Good Samaritan then leaned forward and gently said the ritual that he had heard many times.  “B-12, N-39, G-52….”

Selfish evangelism says, “You’ve got something I want it.  Come in and give it to me.”  Faithful evangelism is completely different.  Faithful evangelism basically says, “I’ve experienced something wonderful.  It’s made a big difference in my life and I think it could make a big difference in your life too which is why I’d like to share it with you.”

Jesus knew that the people who went to the Temple that day were searching for love and acceptance.  They were searching for hope and a peace that passes all understanding.  They were searching for the God who could give their lives a sense of meaning and direction.   Faithful evangelism understands that people today are also searching for love and acceptance, hope and peace.  They’ll searching for the God who can give their lives a sense of meaning and direction.

One of the biggest reasons why this Body of Christ is thriving instead of just surviving is because the emphasis is on sharing the Good News with people around the corner and people around the world.  We do it by pounding nails for Habitat for Humanity.  We do it when our young people distribute warm hats and gloves to homeless people on the Boston Common.  You do it every time you turn and welcome someone sitting next to you in the pew.  You do it whenever you go to someone who’s having a hard time and invite them to come and be embraced by the Good News.

The world is full of people like the teenager who went to the movies one evening with his family.  The teenager decided to get some popcorn for the movie. So while he was waiting in line the rest of the family when into the theater and sat down.  By the time the teenager walked into the theater the lights had been turned down.  So the teenager couldn’t see where his family was sitting.  He wandered up and down the aisle squinting and searching for them. Finally as the movie was about to start the frustrated teenager walked to the front of the theater and whimpered, “Excuse me but does anyone in here recognize me?”

When something like that happens you can do one of two things. You could say, “No.  I don’t recognize you but can I have your popcorn?”  Or you could say, “I don’t recognize you put let me see if I can help you find your family.”  Faithful evangelism goes a step further.  Faithful evangelism says, “Yes.  I recognize you.  You’re a child of the living God who created you and loves you. Therefore you are my brother.  You are my sister.  So, take my hand and let us walk together in the light of God’s grace and glory.”   When you do that you can be sure that your Body of Christ will be bang free.   Amen.

Rev. Dr. Richard A. Hughes

March 4, 2012