Looking

Excerpt from John 2.13-25 (CEB)

He made a whip from ropes and chased them all out of the temple, including the cattle and the sheep. He scattered the coins and overturned the tables of those who exchanged currency.

    The image of Jesus “taking-names” has always been a troubling image for me. When Jesus comes into the Temple and turns over tables, grabs cords to make a whip, and generally makes a mess of the place is not something I readily get my head around.

    What if, though, Jesus was showing humanity that there are good things that can get turned upside down in our lives? By looking carefully at ourselves we might discover the ways that unintentionally that we have turned our reverence into triviality, our devotion into monotony, or our joy into dullness.

    Now I’m not saying that we start dumping the proverbial tables and coins just yet, I think it might be helpful for us to look at ourselves through the eyes of Christ whether that is the church gathered or our lives individually. This Christian life we confess will have us looking outward and living differently in this world. Motivated by love of God and love of neighbor means that we know what love looks like and are willing to share it with all.

    By looking and living differently, we become the sign and hope of God’s kingdom coming nearer and nearer every day. You and me, as we reorient ourselves to God, learning to see with God eyes will begin in little ways to be part of God’s transforming presence.

Sunday, we will be “Feasting on Compassion” and how God has shown it to us. See you then…


Grace and peace,
Rev. Brian