San Juan, 2: 13-25
Love is ignited within us. We become more and more sensitive to the needs of other people. We find that, genuinely, we care about the care of other people.
And, one of the ways, that we express this love, is through compassion. When we see someone, who is suffering, we come to them and do everything we can to alleviate their wounds. This is a beautiful and good thing, when it begins with the members of our family, with the church, and reaches beyond everything.
There is a story, about a family, that had been forced to live in a very restricted place for a long time. Good fortune arrived and they were able to move to a very large house. Someone, I ask the ten-year-old child in the family, how he liked the new house. He said, "I like it a lot. Now, I have a room for myself.
Each of my sisters has her own room. "Then he stopped for a moment and said," But, poor mom. She still has to stay with my dad. "Even though he seemed not to have understood the situation, it was clear that the little boy was expressing a feeling of compassion for his mother.
It is important for us to talk about the Christian's compassion, because, unless we are people with compassion, the love of God is not running in us and through us. Compasion is the mark of a Christian person.
There is another dimension of love; however, we need to talk about it. This dimension of the Christian life is clearly revealed in today's Gospel lesson, in which Jesus cleans the temple of dishonest money changers. This is a difficult passage. Scholars have debated it extensively. But, in all the confusion about this passage, there is something, which emerges very clearly, as we shall see.
Imagine the temple, as the center of the religious life of the people. It is the Holy Temple. It is the place, where people go to worship God deeply, in one of the best ways. Imagine the peasants, the shepherds, the fishermen coming from all over on a pilgrimage to the holy city and the holy temple. Imagine them doing this, at the cost of a great personal sacrifice, not only in time, but also in money.
Many of them are extremely poor, living day by day. But, when they arrive around the temple, they are required to change their currency, in a very special currency, to pay the temple tax. Imagine the officers - the Sadducees and their helpers - trying to get what they can from these people, when they change their money.
They are deceiving. In addition, people are required to bring their animals for sacrifice; but they have to be certain animals. And the only place, where those who come to worship can buy these animals, is in the courtyards outside the temple, where prices are exorbitant. Again, people are deceived.
Now, we see Jesus, entering this scene. He looks around people, who have made long and arduous journeys, to come to worship God. He sees the religious authorities, of all people, exploiting them, taking their money, ruining their experience of worship. Imagine, then, the gentle Jesus, this compassionate Jesus, took some ropes and made a whip and said "No! This is a prayer house and they have turned it into a place of thieves." (Lk 19-46) and "I throw them all out of the temple, along with their sheep and their oxen.
To those who exchanged money I throw the coins on the ground and turn over the tables. "(John 2:15) This is Jesus - an angry Jesus Jesus is furious Jesus is outraged Jesus is angry and rightly so However, we need to understand clearly, that it is still a Jesus that is expressing love, it is love, what motivates Jesus in this situation.
He loves these poor people, who are being exploited and deceived. Because he cares so much for them, his love takes the form of a voice of protest. In this sense, he rises in the great tradition of the prophets of the Old Testament: Isaiah, Jeremias, Hosea, Ezekiel, Amos, Micah - from there to below.
There are some moments when the love of Christians demands that we show compassion for those who have been harmed. And also, there are moments when Christian love demands that we speak in protest against those who are causing the suffering.
It is important, for those of us who live in a comfortable society, to understand this side of Christian love. In the great tradition of the prophets and of Jesus himself, there are some moments, when we are called, as Christians, to shout: "No! In the name of God, No!", Against what is causing the pain and exploitation. This requires, a great courage.
It takes courage, to accept the consequences, when love leads us to shout in protest. Jesus accepted the consequences of the cleansing of the temple. He was killed for it. Scholars, they agree, that this one event, more than any other, convinced the Sadducees, that they had to destroy it, as soon as possible. He had hurt them, not only in their prestige, but also in their pockets.
I believe that the Christian voice of protest must take a certain style. It requires the will to see things through, but always, with a view to reconciliation. Jesus, of course, is the supreme example of what he means.
Remember, the people against whom I raise your voice and your whip, in protest, were the same, who were responsible for its execution! However, He transferred all kinds of bitter feelings, saying, "Father, forgive them."
The effective voice of the Christian protest, is not carried away by the anger of the moment. Follow, creatively and lovingly, not trying to overwhelm, but to resolve, always trusting that the power of love will ultimately prevail.
A pastor tells us about a visit he made to an old man who was dying. He says: "the old man wanted to die, but he could not." Years ago, he had been beaten by a young man, who almost killed him, who was supposed to take care of him.
And, he had been filled with bitterness and hatred for that young man since then. He confessed that, since the day he was attacked, he had not been able to pray and had completely departed from the church. He recited the verse in the Psalm that says, 'I hate him with a perfect hatred.'
It was an incredible case of fury, which continued to grow in intensity over the years. In the following visits, I spoke to the old man, of a man, called Jesus, who had been beaten to death. But, instead of feeling hatred against those who had victimized him, He forgave them. After several visits, I went into the old man's room one morning and before I could say hello, he said, 'Last night, I did it. Last night I forgive him, and for the first time, I pray. ' And, the next morning, he died in peace.
The angry voice of protest has its place in our Christian Ministry, as Jesus demonstrates in today's lesson. There are some times, when it means more love to raise the voice of protest, than just wait. But when the angry voice in protest is raised with hatred, it is nothing less than a murderer, according to the words of Jesus himself in the Sermon on the Mount.
"He took a lash of ropes" and "I throw them out of the temple" and "I throw the coins to those who exchanged money and turn over the tables," not because he hated them, but because he cared about people. Jesus, I trust in the power of love that would ultimately prevail. This is why, in the end, he could say "Father forgive them." And he died peacefully.
I was talking to some tourists from Texas, who were asking me directions to the Holocaust Museum. I told them, that they planned to be at least four hours and that they would leave this experience, with a great sense of regret.
It reminds me, of how many people, who had survived the holocaust, had to resolve the issue of anger and forgiveness. A Jewish writer, named Sholem Asch in "What I Believe," wrote: "We are intertwined with one another, through the clothing of life, which we weave in common." We contract debts with each other.
We must help each other, and we must accept help from one and the other. Because we are children of a Father. And then, when we leave, we pay our debts with a simple, weak and human word: "Sorry."
Let's develop a style of affirming love, when a prophetic voice needs to be heard. In the New Testament, this is called "speaking the truth in love." Let's look for reconciliation with love in everything we do. Amen.