A Scatter of Inklings

A summary of our scripture study this week, John 2:13-22, might be that profanity is not just in words: but can also be in the kind of respect that we treat holy things and places.
Jesus came to the Temple and he discovered it was not the kind of setting which was conducive to true worship......... "Take these things out of here! Stop making my Father's house a marketplace."
The problem with the people in this scripture study was they were guilty of profaning the temple -- of making improper use of a holy place.

Unlike most of us, it took a lot to make Jesus angry; but in this scripture study we find Jesus in an action of angry protest over something precious that was endangered -- true worship.

When I read this scripture, (it’s in all four of the gospels) I asked myself, "What does this have to do with us? Are we guilty of profaning the holy in our midst?" The answer, of course, is "Yes!" We do profane the holy in our midst. I could mention any number of examples and depending on your awareness, perception or discernment I’m pretty sure you can too.

Worship was endangered in the Temple, and I would suggest that true worship may be endangered today as well. Too many people are selling out their worship experience to the dictates and trends of the culture. Religion has become big business in America. Worship has too often been transformed into entertainment events. In all ages, God has warned His people against using religious services to get rich.

Jesus drove out of the Temple those where were taking advantage of such situations.
The Bible tells us that as the chaos erupted, that his disciples remembered the words of the Psalmist, "Zeal for Thy house will consume me." (John 2:15-17........Ps69:9)

True worship allows a time for you to meditate to sit quietly and pray with perhaps soft music playing; this is true worship, especially if Communion is served. Such quiet meditation is a stark contrast to those services where everything is a show and for show.

The temple in Jesus' day had lost its sacred character. It was well attended, and it was a beehive of activity, but there wasn't a lot of reverence and spirituality. And it wasn't necessarily because the priests and the merchants were bad people; but because, perhaps unintentionally, they'd lost sight of the fact that it was, after all, holy ground on which they were standing.

And this is what I hope you'll think about as you review this scripture this week. Lent (any time really) is a time of introspection, of looking within and taking note of the various ways we've strayed from the righteousness of God. It's a time for cleansing our lives, mind, body and soul. In other words, making our own personal temple of self a worthy place for the Spirit of God to dwell.

And that leads to my closing comment. It comes in the form of a question........ What do you think?

Shalom