March 4, 2018 Sunday

“Now the Passover of the Jews was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. And He found in the temple those who sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the moneychangers doing business. When He had made a whip of cords, He drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and the oxen, and poured out the changers’ money and overturned the tables. And He said to those who sold doves, “Take these things away! Do not make My Father’s house a house of merchandise!” Then His disciples remembered that it was written, “Zeal for Your house has eaten Me up.” So the Jews answered and said to Him, “What sign do You show to us, since You do these things?” Jesus answered and said to them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” Then the Jews said, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and will You raise it up in three days?” But He was speaking of the temple of His body. Therefore, when He had risen from the dead, His disciples remembered that He had said this to them; and they believed the Scripture and the word which Jesus had said.” (John 2:13-22 NKJV)

            It is so easy to see this passage as about the zeal of Jesus to cleanse the temple building in Jerusalem of all of its shallowness and corruption.  And in truth the temple did need a lot of cleaning out!

            It is too easy to miss the transition that Jesus is revealing to humanity that will happen through the offering of the body and blood of Jesus.  One of the outcomes of the death and resurrection of Jesus is that we receive the Holy Spirit.

            Through the Holy Spirit we are given guidance and power to become more like Jesus and more like the person we were created to be.  As the Holy Spirit is in us we are in direct communication and contact with God.

            The word for Holy Spirit is the same word we see used for when God breathed life into us.  This picture is so amazing that God breathed life into us in what had to be the first CPR ever done!  If you have been trained or done CPR you understand how personal it is and almost intimate.

            The presence of the Holy Spirit changes us so much that we actually become the dwelling place of God and we are the temple of God.  In the passage above Jesus shows us this transition.

“What sign do You show to us, since You do these things?” Jesus answered and said to them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.”

            The Jews understood even as they misunderstood that the temple would take decades to rebuild!  But Jesus was referring to His resurrection and one outcome was all who place their lives in Jesus become the new temple and the dwelling place of God!

            Perhaps that is why God allowed the temple to be destroyed and not rebuilt?

          Today was like the Tale of Two Cities, the best of times and the worst of times.  I was able to go to worship and see Mary McDonald.  Her music was amazing and the choir sang the best I had ever heard them.  I was so excited to be able to receive Communion for the first time in months.  But Reverend Ashley got ill during the service and had to leave.  It was sad that she was ill and had to miss this special service.  The laity stepped up and filled in without warning and did a magnificent job!  Then they came and told me Ashley could not return and would I serve Communion. 

            It was an awesome moment for me to serve Communion for the first time in almost a year.  It was even more amazing that many I served were the ones who I had served Communion to 20 years ago!  But it still was so sad to get that opportunity because Ashley was sick.  But when I texted her later she was doing better and thanked me for being there to help.  Thank you My Lord for the opportunity to serve.