Loving God, renew us in your love this day, as we seek to live out the covenant of our baptism.  Empower us by your Holy Spirit, that others might see Christ in us, through the same Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

            In today’s readings, we once again have a covenant that is lifted up for us to ponder, as well as a foray into John’s gospel that points us to Jesus’ death and resurrection.  There is a cleansing and clearing away of things that get in the way of worship, as well as a reminder of the covenant of our baptism.  In other words, we are still in the midst of Lent – on our journey to the cross with Jesus.

         Those of you who are astute probably recognized the 10 Commandments in our reading from Exodus today.  These are the main commandments –referred to in Hebrew as the ten words (Dt. 4:13) – that are part of the covenant between God and the Israelites that was initiated at Mt Sinai.  Ultimately, these commandments are all about living in relationship – both with God and with the people we encounter from day to day.  Jesus’ summary of these commandments went something like this:

“’You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength,’…[and] ‘you shall love your neighbour as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these” (Mk. 12:30-31).

         In pointing to these particular commandments, Jesus has put all of the emphasis on love – love for God, and loving both others and ourselves.  Were we to manage this, it would be enough.  However, the 10 Commandments continue to be one of the things that parents promise to teach their children when they are baptized.  They are also one of the things included in the Small Catechism – things that every Christian should know.  Perhaps they help us in figuring out what loving God with our whole heart and loving our neighbours as ourselves actually looks like.

         Still, the commandments are not the only part of the covenant.  As in today’s reading from Exodus, the covenant is initiated by God and begins with what God has already done for us.  “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery” (Ex. 20:2).  I am the Lord your God, who has freed you from the power of sin and death and given you new life through your baptism into Christ.  Perhaps this is more like what God says to each of us when we are baptized.  Living in love, then, is our response to what God has already done for us – not a rigid following the rules in order to earn God’s favour.

         Oddly enough, the money changers and the people selling animals at the Temple probably thought that they were following all of the rules.  Offerings of animals and grain were supposed to be pure – so they were providing pure offerings that people could purchase.  The Temple tax had to be paid – something that couldn’t be done with filthy Roman currency – and so they were providing a place to exchange the Roman coins for shekels.  However, what Jesus saw was greed, and barriers to the poor, and a marketplace that had become more important than worship and prayer.

         When he overturns those tables and sends the animals away, Jesus is clearing away things that were getting in the way of worship.  It is also prophetic action, in a way, since, by the time the gospel of John was written, the Temple in Jerusalem had been destroyed.  In pointing to the temple of Jesus’ body, John is seeking to comfort those who had been traumatized by the loss of the Temple.  They were forced to find new ways to worship, and being able to see themselves as the body of Christ and as God’s dwelling place was important in this new reality without a Temple building.

         As we reflect on this gospel in which Jesus points people towards worshiping God above all else, a number of questions come to mind for us today.  For example, are there things that need to be cleared away in order for us to be able to worship and to pray?  Are there worship practices that still put up barriers for those who do not have enough to live on?  Are there things in our lives or even in this congregation that Jesus would want to overturn – things that get in the way of loving God with our whole heart and soul and mind and loving our neighbours as ourselves?  Are we as a congregation more interested in market share or in mission? (sundaysandseasons.com)

         None of these are particularly easy questions, but they are certainly worth pondering.  After all, it is us, now (and others), who are the body of Christ – God’s house of living stones – where Jesus continues to live among us, and in us, and through us.  May God renew us in the covenant of our baptism, and lead us into abundant life, through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

Lent 3(B)                                           John 2:13-22

March 3, 2024                                  Exodus 20:1-17

St. Luke’s Zion Lutheran Church

Pastor Lynne Hutchison

© 2024 Lynne Hutchison  All Rights Reserved