Flippin' Tables

The Third Sunday In Lent

John 2:13-22

Flippin’ Tables

The Rev. Brett P. Backus

            Alright, here we go friends!  Today, we are flipping tables!  Yup, you heard me right, just like Jesus in the Gospel today, this morning we are all going to be flipping tables.  Flipping tables, breaking barriers, tearing down walls.  You know I have to say, in a sort of confessional kind of way, that I often have this nagging frustration with myself.  I do a lot of talking, a lot of teaching, a lot of preaching about awakening folks to the God that lives within us all, and about how to tap into and be guided by the constant presence of God in each of our lives.  It is really kind of the heart of my ministry and what I do, but I get frustrated with myself though.  I get frustrated with myself, you see, because I have been there.

I have experienced that sort of deep abiding connection to God in my own spiritual life, in my own waking life.  I know how to achieve that sort of connection and relationship.  I know how to get back there.  I know the steps to take.  I know the practices to use, and yet, I don’t do it.  I know how, and yet, some part of who I am, a part of me, deep inside, resists that intimate connection with my Creator. 

So, I live in this sort of tension between two parts of who I am, one that deeply and only desires to be in communion with God, and one that resists or attempts to block such a communion at every given moment.  It is frustrating.  It is troubling.  One thing that I have learned though, over several years of ministry and walking with others on their spiritual journey, is that such an internal tension is actually quite common in most, if not all of us…….which makes me feel a little bit better.  So I find myself wanting to paraphrase and edit the Apostle Paul in his letter to the Romans and say, “for we do not do what we want, but we do the very thing we hate.”  I find myself thinking about all this quite often.  This week, while praying with our Gospel for today, I found myself wondering.  I found myself wondering if this struggle, this resistant part of who I am, could actually be my table, my own table in the temple, blocking me from God.

            Today, we get to hear about that time when Jesus lost His cool, when He actually got angry and cleansed the temple, at least that’s the interpretation that sticks in our heads thanks to great masterpieces like Jesus Christ Superstar…...haha!  Man, you know aside from the blue eyes and light skin, that Ted Neeley guy really made a great Jesus didn’t he?.....haha!  Aside from this instance in Scripture often being used out of context to make us feel better about our own anger, we also tend to see this story as being strictly and quite literally a teaching against financial interactions, against dirty money changing hands, against things being bought or sold or…...auctioned off?.... within the walls of a sanctuary or a church in general.  Boy, I guess we really messed that one up the time we held a poker tournament as a fundraiser in the parish hall!  Hahaha!  But is this really the point or the motivation behind Jesus’ anger?  What if Jesus’ actions in this scene are actually telling us much, much more?

            You see the religious authorities of the day desired a sign, and Jesus certainly delivered one in this seriously symbolic action.  Yet, I do not hear this as just simply a sign, a demonstration of Jesus’ divinity and authority, or only a message that the messianic age is at hand.  What I hear in the reading of this Gospel, is a call for each of us to cleanse our own temples, both this place our temple, and this place, our temple, where God certainly dwells.  For just as, the temple, in the days of Jesus, was seen as the actual and only place where God dwelt, so too today are each of you the place where God actually dwells.  However, also, just as the temple in the days of Jesus, the miracle of God dwelling among the people, was absolutely ruined by the restrictions and rules of the religious authorities of the day, so too are our temples, US, restricted from the Love and Light and Presence of God, because of the many many tables or barriers or walls or rules that we constantly put in place to block us.  So, it is a sign, a sign of a different kind of cleansing that hits our hearts today as well. 

My question for you all today is simple: What are the tables in your life that need flipping?  What are the those things in your life that are actively working to block you from experiencing the Love of God, from experiencing God’s presence?  Really, it could be anything I suppose.  I mean maybe it’s your work?  Maybe the general busyness of your life is a table that needs flipping? 

I mean, I’m just going out on a limb here and guessing that for many of you, a table that probably needs flipping in your life is your relationship with social media, your marriage to your cell phone, or to technology in general.  Or maybe, maybe it’s your favorite news channel or columnist.  Or maybe it’s something just a little bit more sneaky, more subtle than that.  Maybe it’s those things which on the surface seem good, positive, justified and necessary, like your political party or the stances and issues you choose to champion.  Or maybe it’s your anger, your money, your ambition, your envy?  Could those be the things in your life that are blocking you from God?  Could those be the things that are distracting you from God, like tables in the temple, tempting you to look the other way, requiring you to pass an extra step, to earn or to deserve getting any closer to the most Holy?

Perhaps a harder question, is how?  How are we as individuals, how are we as a community actually being, God forbid, stumbling blocks on the faith journey of others?  How are we actually being those tables in the temple, which are blocking the way, to growth, to acceptance, to Love, to God?  Yup, God is here, all are welcome, but you better look a certain way, you best act a certain way, best believe certain things, worship right, think right, check this box, fill this requirement, join.  Tables.  I don’t know, maybe Jesus cleansing the temple was really a great thing?  Maybe we should be praying for Jesus to come and to flip, or clear out of the way, whatever is standing between us and God?  Maybe one of the most important things we as Christians, we as the Church, need to be praying for, is Jesus to come and to get us out of the way.  So, what are your tables?  What do you need Jesus to come and cleanse from your life?                                                              Amen.