Turning Tables

One of the most dramatic moments recorded in the Gospels is when Jesus enters the Temple and turns over the moneychangers’ tables. Standard practice was to prevent anything Roman from such a sacred space, and changing currency kept the temple pure, but the practice of exchanging currency became lucrative business as well. For Jesus, the Temple had become more of a business place than a holy place, and he took decisive, disruptive action. For the Romans, it was a gross violation of the Pax Romana (Roman Peace), and for Jewish leaders, it was an affront to their religious practices. From that moment forward, Jesus’ days were numbered.

I have to confess, like the Romans, I long for life to be peaceful. Like the Jewish leaders, I feel secure in established religious practices and routines. No matter how hard I try, however, it's clear my desire for peace and love of security have produced neither. I've built temples to express my devotion to God, and established practices to suggest a personal relationship to God, but Holy Week reminds us all Jesus will enter our lives like he did the temple long ago, and when he does, all bets are off.

No wonder we love to jump from Palm Sunday to Easter without walking through the rest of the week. As a wise minister recently pointed out, to reach the empty tomb you need to walk by the cross. Today, however, we are reminded how far Jesus will go to awaken us to practices that are not of God, and reveal the places of false security.

Who knows? Maybe he's telling us turning the tables is the way to peace, challenging artificial life is the way to find abundant life?