REFLECTION ON THE READINGS
Third Sunday of Lent
Revd Patricia
I wonder what is the most shocking thing you have ever witnessed? Maybe something comes readily to mind or maybe it is difficult to identify one thing in particular because so often we are immersed in the shocking through media coverage of world events. The pandemic has produced some shocking statistics, numbers which we know represent real lives, real livelihoods and great sadness and distress for individuals and families.
Because of this we are urged to stick to the rules – at the moment the main one being to stay at home, which is why we are worshipping together via Zoom this morning.
The 10 commandments, the covenant between God and his people established thousands of years ago form the basis of the wider law set out in the Pentateuch and what devout Jews aspired to live by. They also form the basis of our judicial system and what as a society has formed our view of what is morally right over many centuries.
Unfortunately, over the years these rules, regulations and rituals had been further developed by Jewish elders and leaders. Temple worship had become a very elaborate affair and there were positions and practises which were seen as important to be upheld. God’s people had moved away from God’s intentions and worked out their own ways of doing things far from truly following God. It wasn’t so much that it was wrong to buy and sell within the temple courts. Rather, Judaism had lost its way – its focus had moved from God’s original intention for the Jewish people and the purpose of temple worship.
“Stop making my Father’s house a market-place!”. The Jewish leaders would have been shocked by what happened that day because they realised that it had been predicted that the Messiah would do this when he came. So they wanted a sign to prove that Jesus is the Messiah.
Jesus is a stumbling block to Jews because they believe that the Messiah could not die a criminal’s death because of the verse “cursed is he who hangs on a tree” (Deut 21 v 23); they also wanted to see signs of strength and marvellous deeds – such as stopping the river Jordan flowing so that people could cross on dry ground – they saw the opposite in Jesus who was meek, who took a lowly position and served others. For them this could not be the Messiah.
The Temple stood on the temple mount and it would have been a magnificent sight as people travelled towards the holy city, not only drawing the eye in but drawing people in to enter it. There was a court for Gentiles within the temple precincts, all were supposed to be welcome to come into God’s house, but Gentiles were not allowed, on pain of death, to go beyond that area and further into the temple – a ruling put in place by leaders who wanted to reserve this beautiful building for their own people; leaders who saw outsiders as unwelcome, impure simply because they were not God’s chosen nation, so unable to come close to God. These leaders were doing the very opposite of what God had intended – they were putting barriers in the way of people coming to God (even for many of their own people too) rather than the Temple being a house of prayer for all nations and pointing the way for Gentiles to come into that special relationship. The ways in which the Jewish people exercised their religion had become merely ceremonial, they were following tradition but it wasn’t reaching down into the depths of their being, they had lost their way and were not following God’s will.
In his act of cleansing the Temple Jesus was showing that because he had come the sacrifices (and so the selling of cattle, sheep and doves) would no longer be necessary. He is the Lamb of God the sacrifice made once for all upon the cross for the forgiveness of sins and to bring us close to the Father. There was to be no more need for these acts of religious obligation and indeed by AD70 temple worship ended. The demonstration of God’s love culminated in the offering of his Son in Gods new covenant with mankind which built on the original covenant recorded in Exodus. Jesus broke down the barriers once and for all.
The result of this is that we can worship God anywhere in the world, anywhere in the world we can know God’s presence with us. The Jews loved their temple – it was indeed a magnificent building but because Jesus died and rose again, he can be present everywhere making the whole world a temple. There is a wonderful truth here – that truth is that we can approach God and enter his presence at anytime and anywhere – even via Zoom. Wherever we find ourselves the presence of Jesus Christ our risen saviour is with us because Jesus is the true temple.
However, God still calls us to obey his commandments – the summary of the law – love God and your neighbour. But into in a legalistic way but part of loving God is to answer his call to witness to him in and through our daily lives.
Jesus was a great storyteller – if you have been reading the daily reflections from #LiveLent you will have picked up on this recently. We are called to express his love to those around us through our daily lives, through living the gospel; demonstrating God’s love in our actions just as Jesus did and telling our own stories of God’s love as we experience it.
Despite the miracles he performed, the Jewish leaders wanted authentication that Jesus was the Messiah – for them that would have been a sign. People still want authentication today.
Hannah Steele in her book “Living His Story” which forms that basis of #LiveLent, writes “Our story becomes more authentic to people when they see that it really does impact the way we live our lives. It is often through our daily lives that we demonstrate the topsy-turvy way of the kingdom of God. In a culture where people are more interested in whether things work than whether things are true, our lived experience becomes a potent advocate in our everyday witness.”
And yes, it is possible, even during lockdown with a stay-at-home order to obey Christ’s call to live our lives in witness to God’s love for the world.
Loving Lord, please fill us with your love to such an extent that it overflows from each of us and touches other people, drawing them to you. Amen.
Revd Patricia
I wonder what is the most shocking thing you have ever witnessed? Maybe something comes readily to mind or maybe it is difficult to identify one thing in particular because so often we are immersed in the shocking through media coverage of world events. The pandemic has produced some shocking statistics, numbers which we know represent real lives, real livelihoods and great sadness and distress for individuals and families.
Because of this we are urged to stick to the rules – at the moment the main one being to stay at home, which is why we are worshipping together via Zoom this morning.
The 10 commandments, the covenant between God and his people established thousands of years ago form the basis of the wider law set out in the Pentateuch and what devout Jews aspired to live by. They also form the basis of our judicial system and what as a society has formed our view of what is morally right over many centuries.
Unfortunately, over the years these rules, regulations and rituals had been further developed by Jewish elders and leaders. Temple worship had become a very elaborate affair and there were positions and practises which were seen as important to be upheld. God’s people had moved away from God’s intentions and worked out their own ways of doing things far from truly following God. It wasn’t so much that it was wrong to buy and sell within the temple courts. Rather, Judaism had lost its way – its focus had moved from God’s original intention for the Jewish people and the purpose of temple worship.
“Stop making my Father’s house a market-place!”. The Jewish leaders would have been shocked by what happened that day because they realised that it had been predicted that the Messiah would do this when he came. So they wanted a sign to prove that Jesus is the Messiah.
Jesus is a stumbling block to Jews because they believe that the Messiah could not die a criminal’s death because of the verse “cursed is he who hangs on a tree” (Deut 21 v 23); they also wanted to see signs of strength and marvellous deeds – such as stopping the river Jordan flowing so that people could cross on dry ground – they saw the opposite in Jesus who was meek, who took a lowly position and served others. For them this could not be the Messiah.
The Temple stood on the temple mount and it would have been a magnificent sight as people travelled towards the holy city, not only drawing the eye in but drawing people in to enter it. There was a court for Gentiles within the temple precincts, all were supposed to be welcome to come into God’s house, but Gentiles were not allowed, on pain of death, to go beyond that area and further into the temple – a ruling put in place by leaders who wanted to reserve this beautiful building for their own people; leaders who saw outsiders as unwelcome, impure simply because they were not God’s chosen nation, so unable to come close to God. These leaders were doing the very opposite of what God had intended – they were putting barriers in the way of people coming to God (even for many of their own people too) rather than the Temple being a house of prayer for all nations and pointing the way for Gentiles to come into that special relationship. The ways in which the Jewish people exercised their religion had become merely ceremonial, they were following tradition but it wasn’t reaching down into the depths of their being, they had lost their way and were not following God’s will.
In his act of cleansing the Temple Jesus was showing that because he had come the sacrifices (and so the selling of cattle, sheep and doves) would no longer be necessary. He is the Lamb of God the sacrifice made once for all upon the cross for the forgiveness of sins and to bring us close to the Father. There was to be no more need for these acts of religious obligation and indeed by AD70 temple worship ended. The demonstration of God’s love culminated in the offering of his Son in Gods new covenant with mankind which built on the original covenant recorded in Exodus. Jesus broke down the barriers once and for all.
The result of this is that we can worship God anywhere in the world, anywhere in the world we can know God’s presence with us. The Jews loved their temple – it was indeed a magnificent building but because Jesus died and rose again, he can be present everywhere making the whole world a temple. There is a wonderful truth here – that truth is that we can approach God and enter his presence at anytime and anywhere – even via Zoom. Wherever we find ourselves the presence of Jesus Christ our risen saviour is with us because Jesus is the true temple.
However, God still calls us to obey his commandments – the summary of the law – love God and your neighbour. But into in a legalistic way but part of loving God is to answer his call to witness to him in and through our daily lives.
Jesus was a great storyteller – if you have been reading the daily reflections from #LiveLent you will have picked up on this recently. We are called to express his love to those around us through our daily lives, through living the gospel; demonstrating God’s love in our actions just as Jesus did and telling our own stories of God’s love as we experience it.
Despite the miracles he performed, the Jewish leaders wanted authentication that Jesus was the Messiah – for them that would have been a sign. People still want authentication today.
Hannah Steele in her book “Living His Story” which forms that basis of #LiveLent, writes “Our story becomes more authentic to people when they see that it really does impact the way we live our lives. It is often through our daily lives that we demonstrate the topsy-turvy way of the kingdom of God. In a culture where people are more interested in whether things work than whether things are true, our lived experience becomes a potent advocate in our everyday witness.”
And yes, it is possible, even during lockdown with a stay-at-home order to obey Christ’s call to live our lives in witness to God’s love for the world.
Loving Lord, please fill us with your love to such an extent that it overflows from each of us and touches other people, drawing them to you. Amen.
