"Out of the Temple" - John 2:13-22

It’s a Communion week this week, don’t forget to prepare juice and bread (or whatever substitutes you have at home) for worship.  I like to think of Communion as that time each month where I can plan on encountering the risen Christ.  At the table, the presence of God comes near in a way that can strengthen us for the days to come and it reminds me to look for that spirit elsewhere.

 This week we will be encountering Jesus as he overturns the tables in the temple.  For the Jewish people, the temple was the dwelling place of God on earth.  It was there that they completed sacrifice to God and lived out the commands of their faith.  When Jesus sees that this holy space has been overtaken with the business of religion, selling animals and exchanging money, he becomes enraged.  This is how they think they are supposed to encounter God?  By making his home a market?  In the midst of his anger, Jesus claims that the presence of God is not to be found in a temple or building, but in him.  Ritual is fine, but they had allowed it to distract from the very presence of God.  It had become a stumbling block and Jesus is calling us to seek God elsewhere.

 As we gather and take Communion, let us meditate on where the spirit of God is moving in our lives.  Is there anything distracting you from seeing the Holy standing beside you?  Where have you seen the Holy at work?  What new way of seeing things is Jesus inviting you to?  I’m excited to worship with you all this Sunday and to encounter the risen Christ once again at his table.

 Peace, Pastor Shannon