“Totally out of character?”
By Rev. Michael Stonhouse
Meditation – Sunday, March 3, 2024
John 2:13-22 (Forward, p. 34) CEV p. 1102
Bible students and commentators of various persuasions have long had a problem with this incident in Jesus’ life, the so-called ‘Cleansing of the Temple.’ Some would sincerely wish that it wasn’t found in the Scriptures as it casts Jesus in, to them at least, a very disturbing light. To them, it seems totally out of character, to the loving, gentle Jesus that they have characterized Him as. And yet, seeing as this rather jarring account of Jesus’ actions is found in all four gospels, albeit in differing locations, it must be considered significant—at least to the early church.
Something that, somewhat surprisingly, has given me a different insight on this is several of the police crime/ murder mysteries that I have watched of late. Here one sees such officers as DCI Banks and DI Ray Lennox who are almost literally driven to find and arrest the killer, and not just to satisfy the needs of justice. No, in each case they are possessed by a kind of inner hatred and anger towards the crime and its perpetrator. They simply cannot, and will not, allow such things go unresolved and unpunished. We can certainly understand, and sympathize with, such a motivation.
So, what about Jesus on that fateful day in Jerusalem? Was Jesus also motivated by anger and hatred. Here actor Bruce Marchiano, who portrayed Jesus in the movie The Gospel According to Matthew, provides some great insights. He suggests that Jesus was angry about what the Temple authorities had set up through their crooked scheme in the Temple precepts. And He hated that they were debasing the Temple and its worship, and He hated what they were doing to themselves and others. Not only were they ‘selling their souls to the devil’, or actually, to the pursuit of unsavory gain, but they were also ripping people off by their unfair and questionable sales tactics and were depriving Gentiles of a place where they could freely worship God. And, in all this, He was motivated by love, a love for each one of them. In a sense, He loved each of them too much to let them get away with this, or at very least, without His trying to intervene and correct it.
In a way, it reminds me of a loving parent who, in the name of ‘tough love’, imposes restrictions on a wayward son or daughter. The parent doesn’t
generally do this out of a need for power or control, or out of a need to punish the child, but simply because the parent loves the child too much to just ‘let things be.’ What parent would not run out into traffic to save his or her child, or what not physically restrain the child from being able to do so!
It is the same with God, with Jesus Christ. He loves us too much to just let us go merrily in our wayward ways without attempting some sort of intervention. And how might He do this? By the intervention of disease or infirmity, a loss of a job or loved one, or an issue in one’s community or church: anything that would force us to look at ourselves more closely. And so, what Jesus did there in the Temple was not ‘out of character’ for Him, but a sign of His great and abiding love. So, let us thank God for such loving care towards us. Amen.
Forward notes: “And he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this; and they believed the Scripture and the word that Jesus had spoken” (verse 22).
“Memory can serve as an important tool for building up our spiritual lives. So much of the disciples’ interpretation of Jesus comes from what they remembered about him. The same goes for us, especially when reflected on our faith formation. How many of us had grandparents who shared stories about their respective walks with God? How many of us remember brilliant nuggets of wisdom that our teachers taught us?
“Our memory sustains us and helps us see beyond the original moment. Through memory, we can be drawn into a lifetime of endless possibilities of reflection and wonder. The Living God permeates our intellect and rejoices at our inquiry. We are transported into a realm where our minds are drawn more fully into the mystery of God and God’s wisdom. What our younger minds remembered can now be more fully explored. Our memory propels us to a space where our encounters with Christ transform our souls and make us even more fully alive.”
Moving Forward : “Give thanks for a special memory that has formed you.”