The straightforward answer is that Jesus was insisting the merchants move outside the temple area. Vendors hawking their wares is often a noisy and manipulative affair. And with Passover so near, the numbers of pilgrims, moneychangers and sellers would all have been much larger than normal. So it is certainly possible that Jesus could not hear himself think, much less worship is such a chaotic environment. The simple solution would be to move the whole scene off of the Temple grounds.
Of course, no one then or now believes that Jesus just wanted a little less noise. Who else might He have targeted? In hindsight, there is much to be said for Jesus sending a challenge to the Pharisees and priests of Israel. These folks established the rules for the Temple and gave permission for merchants to set up their booths. Naturally, this was a business enterprise and the Temple made lots of money on these activities at Passover. Disruptions in the flow of commerce would instantly be the top priority item of the Temple managers.
Or perhaps Jesus was making a scene to draw the attention of the Roman occupiers. They made money on commerce in the district and so long as there was peace, whatever it took to keep that going was fine with them. Creating a disturbance was a challenge to the Roman ability to keep things orderly, in addition to making it harder to collect taxes.
Under either of these two scenarios, Jesus provokes the established order in a way that must be addressed immediately. He sets up a deciding confrontation that forces the powerful into a corner. They have no choice but to deal with Him, the Romans in their heavy-handed way or the Temple rulers in a way that resolves the conflict permanently.
Given the events that followed that week, not to mention the decades of political and religious oppression that would follow Jesus' death, this Gospel viewpoint is natural and a necessary part of the narrative. But that day must have been chaotic and confusing and it's hard to believe that Jesus was acting entirely in the moment. So it is within reason to wonder if this event can speak to modern Christianity. Simple translation of rich and poor, of disenfranchised and elite, of spiritual and commercial, changing then to now would caution against letting commercial interests into the sanctuary. But is this all that can be said?
Is Jesus against the use of money by the church? That is hard to believe. Any advanced society must have the ability to exchange services for goods and to maintain structures that adjust for varying rhythms of production. Dating back to the twelve tribes of Israel, a priestly class existed that relied on farmers and shepherds for support. Jesus grew up understanding the necessity of these relationships. His actions cannot be interpreted as a rebellion against the infrastructure of society.
What instruction, then, are we to take from this central Holy Week event? Like so much else, this event has a personal dimension. Perhaps Jesus was trying to bring the focus of Passover back to the original meaning. In Passover, God was present with His chosen people in Egypt. For any family that was willing to risk identity as a follower of Yahweh, the Hebrew God, God prevented death from entering that house. It was as personal as a divine bodyguard stationed at each door and window. And God went with them out of Egypt, making His proximity known on a regular basis. But almost from the night of Passover on, the Hebrew people drifted further and further from that personal God known by Abraham, the God that had saved them on that fateful night.
Jesus was God returned to an intimate presence, visible and within reach. And having come into their midst, right into the Jerusalem Temple, they still could not understand. Faced with a God that dared them to return to an individual relationship, a friendship that would cherish every opportunity to get to know and serve Him better, they refused, preferring their rituals and self-justifications to the boldness of a life lived for others. Jesus was trying to separate people from their crutches, to take away material dependencies, so that they might know better the way, the truth and the life.
Not a whole lot has changed in 2,000 years. Jesus is still calling for us to repent from our man-made idols and to adopt His life-changing way of relating to God and to others. He will continue to reach out for us, to turn over the tables we depend on, for He is faithful. It remains very difficult for us to accept His love, in spite of our best Lenten efforts. Only through His Easter sacrifice is there any hope.
May God upset the routines that stand in the way of your true service to Him.
No comments:
Post a Comment