+I totally get Jesus losing it in the temple.
This Christianity business is tough work---we're to love everyone, everywhere, no exceptions. We're to clothe the naked, feed the hungry, welcome the lonely and visit those in prison. We're to seek and serve Christ in all whom we encounter. That's the Christian way…
But so often it's not the church way.
Which is why it's BRILIIANT that the lectionary designers-the folks who determine what bible readings we hear each Sunday---paired the reading of Jesus Losing it in the Temple (our Gospel) with The Ten Best Ways to Live a Healthy and Moral Life (the Ten Commandments in our reading from Exodus).
You see, the Ten Commandments are a great guide---one could even say they're civilization's first Self Help Book (or tablet!)!
They help us keep our side of the street clean.
They help us maintain our focus…
That's the real link between today's readings.
Jesus was cleansing the temple---ridding his Father's, our Creator's, house of trash. Clearing the way so the focus of the worshippers would be on God instead of on stuff, on worry, on pettiness, on all the things of this world that distract and destroy our love for God, our neighbor and ourselves. Jesus was furious because Jesus knew the ten commandments-he followed them, he added to them---and he knew that the money changers and the sacrificial animal vendors were thinking about their bottom line instead of God's ten best ways to live. He knew that the sacred festival of Passover had become a commercial debacle, distracting people from love of God.
Which brings us back to the Ten Commandments. Following these guidelines keep us focused on the things of God instead of on those things that are NOT of God.
1. Love God and Love people. People are God's creation, so loving people is loving God. And that is good.
2.God Loves us beyond all reason, so don't worship other gods and don't confuse stuff with God. [This is a big one because we easily confuse stuff with God.] Seeking happiness and security, a sense of worth from the stuff we have (or the stuff we want) instead of seeking our joy, our contentment in the one who is always ready to give us that security: God.
3. And speaking of God: Be serious when you say God's name. Don't toss it around as an expletive or in exasperation.
4. Keep the Sabbath holy…make one day solely for those whom you love, including God. These relationships need nurturing, our relationship with God, with all our loved ones: devote one day a week to this nurture.
5. Honor your parents and all who raise you. There is no more important job than raising children. We must always honor those who devoted themselves to our growth, our health, our well-being.
And now we get into the don'ts. But these don'ts seem pretty reasonable:
6. Don't kill. And don't stand for the killing of others! (yes this means standing up and speaking out against the greed of our politicians taking precedence over the safety of our children. More on that in a moment.)
7. Don't break your commitment to your spouse, your partner, your husband, your wife!
8. Don't steal.
9.Don't lie.
10. Don't want what others have, be happy for them and be content with you and what you have.
These are GREAT guidelines. We really can't go wrong if we follow them. Of course, we often confuse everything, complicating things. It really is as simple (not easy, but simple) as these best ways to live: keep our focus on God and on all those things in life which are God-given: love of family and friends, respect for creation, respect for each other. The Ten Commandments, if taken seriously, keep us from getting too self-absorbed, keep us from getting too distracted, keep us from getting off track.
And sometimes? Sometimes when we take them seriously, when we maintain a commitment to them, we will get angry. Just like Jesus.
We, followers of Jesus in the 21st century, better get angry at Christians---ourselves included--- who don't have the courage to take the action needed to DO SOMETHING about these mass shootings that have so infected our country. How can Christians, people who profess to follow Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior let people with ill intent so easily acquire rifles adapted to kill quickly and massively? How can we, as followers of Jesus, the Prince of Peace, as followers of the Creator who is the source of all Love stand off to the side? We can't. We musn't. We shouldn't.
Look back at the ten best ways to live, take a good long look at our baptismal covenant where we promise to respect the dignity of every single person, where we proclaim Jesus as our Savior, where we commit ourselves to lives of light and love---we cannot stand by why the safety and security of children in school, party-goers in a nightclub, concert-goers, college students and church goers is at risk.
Jesus believed in the ten commandments. Jesus followed the ten commandments and Jesus made a bit of a scene when he found his father's, our creator's honor being violated.
As followers of that same Jesus, as lovers of that same God, shouldn't we, too? Shouldn't we scream and yell until our children can go to school without being murdered in cold blood? Shouldn't we rant and rave until we have quality mental health care available to all of God's children? Shouldn't we stomp our feet and yell our heads off in the face of politicians who would rather maintain a flow of money into their campaign coffers rather than protecting the people they've been elected to serve?
I think the Commandments of God, the teachings of Jesus leave us no choice. Our faith, our creeds, our very belief system demands that we must. Because if we don't, who will?
Amen.
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