In the gospel lesson this week, John tells us the story of Jesus clearing the temple in Jerusalem. The cheating has been happening for years. Jesus has seen it before. On this day, Jesus said, “Stop turning my father’s house into a market!” In today’s words, he’s saying: “Enough is enough! This has to stop.
This month young people in the United States have risen up to yell, “Stop. Get rid of the guns in our society. They’re killing our friends.” They are chanting the phrase, “Enough is enough.”
For a long time, our First Nations people have been shouting, “Stop. Prejudice, disrespect, and hate are killing our people. Suicide, murder have become an epidemic. Enough is enough.”
Within our Christian community, many denominations are looking death in the eye. Congregations are shrinking and ageing. The young seem to have deserted us. Society is chanting, “We’re spiritual not religious. We don’t need the church.”
We don’t know what happened the next day at the temple. Were the money changers, back in business still cheating the people? It seems that way in the U.S. Their government isn’t rushing to pass laws for gun control. Here in Canada, we are no different. We talk lots, and yet in terms of our First Nations people, more rot is revealed in our justice system every day.
My Christian denomination, the United Church of Canada, has been experiencing a clearing of the temple for the last thirty years. We are now facing the fact that our old ways are being wiped away. We are letting go of underused, expensive buildings. We are pruning and grafting new ways for our church government. We’re looking carefully at our mission statements. We’re seeking discernment in how God is calling us to be church in today’s society. It’s scary. We don’t know what lies ahead. This process requires trust in God’s ultimate goodness and love. Who will we be in five or ten years time, only God knows.
My hope, my faith, is that change will truly come. This won’t be a moment, a ground swell that fizzles and everything returns to the status quo. We will become Christians who are relevant, passionate, and faithful to the teachings of Jesus. We will truly love God, love each other and love ourselves in today’s world. We will walk with our First Nations people in a nation where all are truly equal, where healing can happen. God will work through us to bring permanent change. The task is begun. I am grateful.