3rd Sunday in Lent

My grandfather is a pretty fancy guy.
And he’s kind of picky about which restaurants he’ll eat at.
Especially if it’s an evening meal.

He likes good food and good wine.
But more than anything he likes a restaurant that’s quiet.
A restaurant where he can enjoy a meal without TV’s blaring,
Or people shouting.
Or kitchen dishes clanging.
Buffalo Wild Wings is not a place for grandpa.

But it’s not just about fancy food.
Because that guy will eat anything.
He’d be happy with some Buffalo Wild Wings fried pickles.
He’d be happy with a frozen pizza at home.
(As long as he could have a glass of cabernet with it!)

What’s really important to him:
Is being free to truly enjoy a meal with the people that he loves.
A place quiet enough to hear one another:
To listen to one another:
And to enjoy some quiet conversation while eating:

Without the blaring distractions that are all around us through the rest of the day.

Grandpa considers such a meal to be a special:
Holy time.
A time set apart from the rest.
A time to focus, enjoy, and savor.

This kind of holy restaurant space:
This kind of quiet enjoyment of each other is why Jesus is so mad in today’s
Gospel story.
Because, a bit like my grandpa:
Jesus is looking for the temple:
To provide a special, holy, time and place.
A time and place that’s set apart from the rest.

And the temple doesn’t come anywhere close to what Jesus is looking for.
Instead, Jesus finds a wild, clamorous scene:
Loud exchanges between buyers and sellers:
Shouting and screaming.
Animals brawling in chaos.

The temple that was supposed to be a steady place of prayer,
Worship, and holiness,
Has become something quite different.
(And, let me be clear:

It’s not just that the temple was noisy.
Because there are times that prayer can be noisy!)

The problem is that with all that’s going on in the temple,
Prayer seems to be the farthest thing from anyone’s mind.
Actually,
GOD seems to be the farthest thing from anyone’s mind.
The temple seemed to have lost its holiness,
And become something else entirely.

And Jesus: The Son of God:
Gets pretty angry.
This is not the sweet, cute, shepherd Jesus that we sometimes picture.

Instead, Jesus pours out the coins, he tosses over tables,
He causes a huge disturbance:
Even amid the chaos that’s already going on.

He shouts: telling everybody that this chaotic temple must be destroyed
And replaced by something that nobody would imagine:
Replaced by Jesus himself.

He tells everybody something really shocking:
That after his death and resurrection:

Jesus himself will become the temple.

And it’s important to note what the temple meant for Jews at that time.
The temple, was meant to be the place where God dwells:
Like, where God actually LIVES.

That’s why we hear that funny line about the disciples remembering that it was
written,
“Zeal for your house will consume me.”

It’s a reference to Psalm 69:
And it turns it on its head:
Suggesting that the Zeal or Extreme Passion that Jesus has for God’s temple,
Will consume him:
Actually ultimately KILL him,
Before he becomes the new temple.

So Jesus,
Saying that the temple building will be destroyed,
That he himself will become the temple,
Is also saying that he will be the place where God dwells.

And that’s not even all.
It’s crazier than that,
Because at the same time:

Everybody in the world will have the opportunity to become Jesus’ body:
Become the temple:
Become the place where God dwells.
The set a part place.
The place of holiness.

On this third Sunday of Lent,
We hear this story about Jesus foretelling his own death and resurrection.
And along with it,
The story points to the real reason that Jesus has come:

To bring the heavenly kingdom near.
To be for us the temple.
And to transform us into temples ourselves.

And that’s exactly what we are.
We are temples:
We are the place where God dwells.
And Lent is a great time for us to remember that.

It’s a great time to remember that in being the Temple:
We hold within ourselves the heavenly reality.

And Lent is traditionally a time of fasting and prayer in preparation for Easter.

A time of quieting.
A time of pulling away from the noisy clamor of the world.
A time to pause:
To pray.

Knowing that Jesus is the Temple,
Coming to Church: to this temple space:
Is coming to Jesus.

And maybe:
As we eat our Sunday meals together:
As we ingest the body and blood of Christ into our own physical temple bodies:
We can create that special, holy, relationship building, restaurant space: right
here.

We might also be able to do it as we share hospitality together after worship.
We might even do it in our own homes,
Or at dinner with friends,

Because in the new holy temple,
It doesn’t really matter what we eat.
Whether it’s bread and wine,
Or crackers and cheese,
Cookies and brownies.

Whether it’s the finest steak,
Or a frozen pizza,
The space and the food is holy because God dwells there.

For the next three weeks of Lent,
We can build a bit more of temple space:
Away from the distracting noise and chaos in the world.
Where we can eat the holy meal together:
In quiet conversation:
Enjoying every moment with those that we love.

And continuing our exploration of Cultivating something new:
We can consider how we might cultivate this temple space in this church,
And in our own lives:
Cultivating our own holy temples where God is dwelling.

Because God indeed dwells here.
In this Holy restaurant of a church,
And also within you,
As the Holy Body of Christ in the world.

Amen.

Announcements: Happy Birthday Cheryl!  Vestry Meeting 3/10 immediately after service. See home page for Holy Week Service information