The Temple and Justice

We have a series of interactions between Jesus and religious leaders.

Firstly, Jesus goes to the Temple and upsets the system of buying and selling.

Then there is the question from the scribes and chief priests about authority

The parable of the landowner and tenants, then

the Pharisees and Herodians, an unlikely pairing, ask Jesus about money.

We could look at these stories individually, but I want to look at some patterns.

One thing is that the religious leaders are looking for way to kill Jesus, and to discredit him. These passages come after the entry into Jerusalem that we will hear on Palm Sunday. We are at the pointy end of the story. Jesus is such a pest for the religious leaders that they try and trap or trick him, always looking for a way to kill him without the crowd rioting. If the crowd riots, then the Roman soldiers will be sent in, and the Roman leaders will tighten up on the religious and civic leaders.

In these stories there are lots of references to the Old Testament, references that the original hearers would recognise, from at least Hosea, Isaiah, Jeremiah and Malachi, such as the phrase about the house of prayer being a den of robbers. The early listeners of this first story this morning, about Jesus in the Temple, would have heard the implied condemnation of the religious leaders, from the Old Testament passages that are hinted at.

For me, these stories are all about justice, especially economic justice and leadership. The religious leaders are meant to be shepherds to the people, leading them, caring for them, protecting them. Again, and again, in both the Old and New Testaments we see that is not happening, and the religious leaders are looking after themselves more then the people.

In the Temple scene we find that it is the religious leaders who are involved in, or turning a blind eye to, exploitation of the poor.  Jesus is not attacking the buying and selling in the temple area, it made sense for people who travelled to buy the animals for sacrifice at the temple. Jesus is attacking the ruling class who controlled commercial enterprises in the temple market, including the family of the High Priest[i].   The implication being that people are being robbed.

The parable of the tenants has been interpreted in a number of ways. I struggle with God being the absent Landlord, but many interpret the parable that way.  Israel is often referred to on the Old testament as a Vineyard. Just as in other parables, Jesus tells a story that looks and feels like we know where it is going, then just at the end… a twist. Notice the religious leaders realized that Jesus had told this parable against them, they wanted to arrest him, but they feared the crowd. Jesus tells a story in which the religious leadership, who were in fact the absentee landowning class, appear as tenants of an absent landlord. Mark’s listeners, well aware of the politics of land in Palestine, could revel in the role-reversal that demoted the ruling class to the lowly status of unruly tenants.[ii]

I wonder who you identify with?

·         Landowner

·         Tenants wanting justice against absentee landowners

·         Servants asking for what is due to their master

·         The son come to sort out the mess

And then the question of paying taxes. The question is asked to try and trick Jesus, either he will say pay taxes, and that makes him a Roman sympathiser, or don’t pay taxes and that will cause an uproar. Taxes can be part of the justice economy. Whose coin is it? It is the coin of Empire, the fact you have such a coin means you are part of the system, you enjoy some benefits and privileges, so pay your way[iii]. but remember what comes to you from God.

I was taught that in looking at a Biblical passage, think about what it meant to the people there at the time, then when it was being written down, then in our present time. Mark was written not too long after the death of Jesus, so the people present, and the people or communities Mark wrote these stories for were in a similar culture and time.

We live in a very different culture to the one which Mark was writing for. I wonder what these stories speak to us today.

Where do we see injustice?

Where do we see leaders looking after their own interests ahead of the interests of the people?

What systems or structures keep the poor or marginalised people where they are?

Thinking about the current COVID 19 virus and the follow on effects we have seen. Who misses out when toilet paper, tissues and staples like pasta and rice are stockpiled by some? It is the people who live week to week or pension day to pension day. It is the people who cannot afford to have 2-4 weeks food and groceries in the cupboard.

Who misses out when there are not enough medical resources?

What about other areas of justice, we see people dying from illnesses caused by lack of toilets and handwashing facilities.

We see the lives of girls and women being stunted in countries where education is only available for boys, or boys whose parents can pay.

Even in the USA, a wealthy country, the hospital and health system means people won’t or can’t see a doctor because of cost.

And there are many other areas of injustice we could think about.

The leaders were

to care for

to protect and

to lead

the people,

But they did not.

The leaders

looked after themselves

charging more then they needed to

placing burdens on the poor

What makes for economic justice in our time and place?

who is left out, or let down by, our economic system?

We listen for the spirit speaking to each of us …

---

[i] Myers, Ched; Binding the Strong Man, p 300

[ii] Myers, Ched; Binding the Strong Man, p 308

[iii] Working Preacher podcast

what is worship for?

This is the second in a series following through the book: The Last Week by Marcus Borg and John Dominic Crossan, which follows the Gospel of Mark's narrative from Palm Sunday through to Easter Sunday. I recommend reading this book, rather than relying on my interpretation of it.

I wonder what it would be like if this church wasn't here. What difference would it make to your life, our life, to the people of this area and city.

Some  background on the passage we heard from Mark’s gospel this morning.

Mark uses ‘frames’ or ‘sandwiches’ as a literary device. In this passage, the story of the fig tree ‘frames’ the story of the Temple; that is a hint that they are related stories. This isn’t the only place Mark uses that technique, when you are reading Mark’s gospel, keep an eye out for it.

During this part of Israel’s history, Israel was part of the Roman Empire. The Temple was a significant place for the people of Israel. It was also a place where Roman political power and Jewish religious power intersected.   

Mark places this event the day after the entry into Jerusalem, and during the week leading to the crucifixion.   This was Passover week, remembering the Passover when the people of Israel left slavery in Egypt. Passover was huge, lots of people coming in to town, one person describes it like the Christmas rush. Religious tourism was an important part of the economy of Jerusalem, as pilgrims came for major festivals.

The traders associated with the Temple were in an outer area, and a necessary part of the Temple life. Pilgrims came from all over the Mediterranean region, so buying animals for sacrifice was much more practical than carrying them great distances, also the temple tax was paid in local currency, so money changers were essential.

One part of the Passover celebrations was sacrificing lambs. The sacrificial system was part of life for many ancient cultures for centuries. People maintain relationships with each other in two basic ways – giving of gifts and eating together. Think about the people you are friends with, how often do you meet for a drink or a meal. When people sensed the divine and were looking for ways to relate,  giving gifts and eating together turned into a sacrificial system.  In sacrifice as ‘gift’, the animal or grain is burnt on the altar. The idea was that the smoke rising to God was a gift. In sacrifice as a shared meal, the animal was transferred to God by its blood being poured over the altar, when the animal was eaten, it was divine food in a feast with God, where God was the host.

The so-called ‘cleansing of the Temple’ Jesus quotes from Jeremiah chapter 7. Here Jeremiah is calling people’s attention to their false sense of security in the Temple. ‘den of robbers’ is Jeremiah’s way of saying a hideout for  thieves, thieves who steal people’s life by oppressing them, by acting unjustly and without compassion.

So what does all this mean for suburban NN, in NN in the 21^st Century?

Do you have a place you go when you want you don’t want to accept responsibility? As a child did you have a way of avoiding the consequences of your actions? I have read that studying theology can be a way of avoiding God, I wonder if coming to church is also a way of avoiding God, all the outward signs of faith, but none of the transformation.

The Temple, the place considered to be God’s home on earth, and the priests whose role it was to offer the sacrifices in the holy of holies where ordinary people did not go, had become a refuge for collaborators. Is this church a place for people to come and pretend all is well in the world, to come and ignore inequality, oppression, poverty and injustice? Last week we looked at the difference between the Roman Empire and the Kingdom of God. Does our worship allow us to sit comfortably with the status quo, confident of our own in heaven, comfortable with our place in the world.

Remember I mentioned the framing of this incident with the story of the fig tree. Now it was not the season for figs, so the story of the fig tree, read on its own, doesn’t make a lot of sense. But looking at the Temple story framed by the withering fig tree, helps us make sense of the Temple story.

The Temple without fruit is not worthy of its name; just as a fig tree without fruit is useless.  While the Old Testament includes variety of sacrifices for different occasions, there are also places which talk of the need for justice, compassion and inclusion; because without these things, the sacrifices are meaningless.

Looking at sacrifice as a meal with God, how long can we sit at the table with God, as a guest of God, and not  be changed by that encounter.

Reading the gospels we get a picture of Jesus as someone involved and interested in all of life. It can be easy to spiritualise the stories we read, but that is not the intent of the Gospels. What we do here this morning, is not an end in itself. Worship is not for the sake of worship. That is not to say that worship and worshipping together are not important, but they are not all there is to our Christian faith. We believe that in worship, we encounter Jesus, or maybe we become more aware of the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives. Praising God is good, remembering the life, death and resurrection of Jesus is good, celebrating the coming of the Spirit is good; but they are not ends in themselves.

This morning N was baptised, what will he learn from hanging around with this congregation?

A poem:

Like a well-barnacled ship,
the gospel lumbers through time
encrusted
with layered domestication.
We find it difficult
to think of Jesus
angry.
Love God.
love you neighbour.
love your enemy.
But anger?
Jesus’ anger disturbs
yet reveals
there’s a time for anger.

When we focus on places in which to worship
rather than people to serve
there’s a time for anger.
When we focus on self
and ignore the extreme need of many
there’s a time for anger.
When we accept poverty, injustice, war
as part of the natural order
there’s a time for anger.

There’s a time for anger
that results in action
that
heals the hurting
supports the suffering
relieves the exploited
frees the enslaved
brings God’s love to bear.

There’s a time when it’s wrong
not to be angry.
© Jeff Shrowder, 2012.