Lenten Sermon Series--The Last Week
Monday: Turning the Tables
Rev. Marti Zimmerman
Smoky Hill UMC

Mark 11:12-19 (New International Version)

 The next day as they were leaving Bethany, Jesus was hungry. Seeing in the distance a fig tree in leaf, he went to find out if it had any fruit. When he reached it, he found nothing but leaves, because it was not the season for figs. 14 Then he said to the tree, "May no one ever eat fruit from you again." And his disciples heard him say it.

 15 On reaching Jerusalem, Jesus entered the temple area and began driving out those who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves, 16 and would not allow anyone to carry merchandise through the temple courts. 17 And as he taught them, he said,

"Is it not written:
   " 'My house will be called
      a house of prayer for all nations'[a]?

But you have made it 'a den of robbers.'[b]"

 18The chief priests and the teachers of the law heard this and began looking for a way to kill him, for they feared him, because the whole crowd was amazed at his teaching.19When evening came, they[c] went out of the city.

 Mark11: 12-19  The Message

As they left Bethany the next day, he was hungry. Off in the distance he saw a fig tree in full leaf. He came up to it expecting to find something for breakfast, but found nothing but fig leaves. (It wasn't yet the season for figs.) He addressed the tree: "No one is going to eat fruit from you again—ever!" And his disciples overheard him.

15-17They arrived at Jerusalem. Immediately on entering the Temple Jesus started throwing out everyone who had set up shop there, buying and selling. He kicked over the tables of the bankers and the stalls of the pigeon merchants. He didn't let anyone even carry a basket through the Temple. And then he taught them, quoting this text:

My house was designated a house of prayer for the nations; You've turned it into a hangout for thieves. The high priests and religion scholars heard what was going on and plotted how they might get rid of him.

They panicked, for the entire crowd was carried away by his teaching. At evening, Jesus and his disciples left the city

NRSV     Mark 11:12-19

On the following day, when they came from Bethany, he was hungry. Seeing in the distance a fig tree in leaf, he went to see whether perhaps he would find anything on it. When he came to it, he found nothing but leaves,

for it was not the season for figs.

He said to it, ‘May no one ever eat fruit from you again.’

And his disciples heard it.

 Then they came to Jerusalem.

And he entered the temple and

began to drive out those who were selling

and those who were buying in the temple,

and he overturned the tables of the money-changers

and the seats of those who sold doves;

and he would not allow anyone to carry anything through the temple.

He was teaching and saying,

‘Is it not written,
“My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations”?
   But you have made it a den of robbers.’
And when the chief priests and the scribes heard it,

they kept looking for a way to kill him;

for they were afraid of him,

because the whole crowd was spellbound by his teaching.

And when evening came,

Jesus and his disciples went out of the city

PRAYER –

Someday I hope to walk up the steps

that lead to the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. 

I’ve walked up the steps of the Colorado State House 

and up the steps of the United States Capitol, in DC, 

I’ve walked the steps up to St. John the Divine in New York City

and up the stairs to the Vatican. 

In each place,

you feel the pilgrim feet gone before

in the places where the steps have been carved out by the faithful.

And walking up those stairs, 

I have been lifted up by the symbols of political and spiritual ideals enshrined in these buildings. 

Their architecture speaks to the soul.

I imagine Jesus walking up the Temple stairs at age twelve,

feeling the power of God’s presence in such a a holy space

as he spoke with the learned scholars.

Now years later

he is back with his disciples.

It’s the Last Week.

Last Sunday as our 40 day Lenten preparation began, 

we learned how the week started with two parades.

On one side of town,

the Roman Governor, Pontius Pilate

riding a stallion into Jerusalem, 

the center of religious and political power

leading battalions of well fed and muscular soldiers.

Swords, spears and shields

reminded the Hebrew people that Rome ruled and this year

there would be no Passover reenactment of a Moses

leading a suffering people out from Roman bondage.

Liberation was a fine memory, just don’t act on it.

On the other side of Jerusalem,

Jesus rode a donkey in a counter-parade. 

His humble steed proclaimed another kind of power,

the Kingdom of God,

to those who had lost their lands and self-respect

to Roman occupation forces. 

The Jesus parade

spoke promises of a place of hope,  and justice and peace.   

It was to be a week of choices. 

Which parade would the people join?

Today we find Jesus headed back into the city, hungry.

Off in the distance is a fig tree but there is no fruit, 

nor should there be the text tells us.

It’s like looking for apples in March. 

Wrong season.

Yet Jesus is mad and curses the tree

just before he heads up the great Temple staircase. 

It’s Passover week. 

Thousands of Jewish pilgrims have finally made it

from all over the Roman world

to Jerusalem for Passover. 

It is a life-long dream, even part of the Passover meal, 

“next year in Jerusalem”

much like modern Muslims making the Hajj to Mecca

at least once in a lifetime.

  The Temple was for 1st century Jews

the center of religious and political life.

It was the center of prayer. 

God was known to dwell in the Temple

so forgiveness was assured if they made the required sacrifice.

At the heart of Jewish law was animal sacrifice.

Jews were instructed

according to the regulations found in Deuteronomy

to bring  pure animals to the Temple  

in an effort to reconcile their relationship with God.

Some brought animals from their flocks, 

but those who traveled far

needed to purchase doves, oxen and lambs upon arrival.

Around the Temple courtyard,  

sellers offered the appropriate wares.  

There were those who promised acceptable animals at “special rates,” 

those who would make inspections --for a fee, 

and the priests who worshipers needed to pay for the ceremony.  

The priests lived in the Temple courts, 

leading prayer and study and performing the sacrifices.

 

The High Priests served the Temple in religious duties

but they also served as agents of the government, 

like I do when I perform a wedding on behalf of the state of Colorado. 

High priests like Caiaphas

were appointed by the king or the Roman emperor, 

usually chosen from among the wealthy

who could be counted on to remain loyal

because they had so much wealth and land at stake.

A modern comparison might be the battle between

the Vatican and the government of China

to choose Catholic bishops.    

The Temple was a place of financial power. 

When pilgrims entered the Temple, 

each paid a tax in temple currency necessary for its upkeep.

Since they came from all over the Empire, 

moneychangers were necessary. 

And since money-changing was a business,  

they took their share. 

Along with the Temple tax,

all taxes collected for Rome were kept there. 

Tax collectors sent the required fees on to Rome

while keeping the excess to enrich themselves. 

Along with taxes,

the Temple also housed all debt records. 

Today you get your credit score online. 

In Jesus day, you went to the Temple.  

Perhaps that is why when the Jewish rebels rose up against Rome

in 66 AD,  the first thing they did was purify the Temple

by burning all the debt records.  

“The Temple was the center of oppression

as the wealthy used debt as leverage

to take lands away from peasants,

subjugating them in a form of economic slavery.” 

Forgiveness had become a racket at the Temple.

Up the steps comes Jesus and his disciples. 

He’s still mad and begins to turn over tables, 

releasing the doves and lambs from their cages. 

He scatters money from all over the world all over the floor.

He shouts,  “you have made this House of Prayer a den of thieves.”

 

Would he be mad at the Cradle Care Team

as they sell store script and coupons

whose profits will build a new nursery for infants? 

Would he turn over the tables of youth collecting money for those starving around the world? 

Would he empty out the boxes of food or undies collected

for those in need?

There are those who believe

that we should never sell things in church, 

folks who don’t see how money and religion go together. 

But Jesus did. 

Jesus understood that moneychangers and animal sales

were required for Temple worship. 

Even his folks had made the trip and the sacrifice of doves at his birth.

Buying and selling wasn’t what made Jesus mad, 

economic exploitation was what got under his skin.

A den of thieves is what he saw. 

A den is the place thieves go to rest,  to relax, to enjoy the fruits of their theft. 

The holiest place of worship,

described by Isaiah 56:7 “as a house of prayer for all peoples,” 

had become a symbol of injustice and exploitation. 

Jesus knew what the prophet Jeremiah had declared

to the Hebrew people in times past. Jeremiah 7:5-11,  

"For if you truly amend your ways and your doings,

if you truly act justly one with another,  

if you do not oppress the alien,

the orphan, and the widow,

or shed innocent blood in this place,

and if you do not go after other gods to your own hurt, 7 then I will dwell with you in this place, in the land that I gave of old to your ancestors forever and ever. 8 Here you are, trusting in deceptive words to no avail. 9

Will you steal, murder, commit adultery, swear falsely, make offerings to Baal, and go after other gods that you have not known, 10 and then come and stand before me in this house, which is called by my name, and say, “We are safe!”—only to go on doing all these abominations? 11

Has this house, which is called by my name, become a den of robbers in your sight? You know, I too am watching, says the LORD."

In other words,  worship without justice for the poor and the weak

was no worship at all.

The prophet Micah reminds us, 

“What does the Lord require,  to do justice, and love mercy

and walk humbly with your God.”

No matter how well we sing, 

or how often we prayer, 

no matter if others think we are good people, 

authentic worship depends on how we treat the least of God’s people.

In Matthew 25 Jesus divides up the nations, 

not individuals, but nations,

on how they treated the hungry and the foreigners, 

the homeless and the imprisoned.

“As you did it to the least of these my brethren, 

you did it to me.”

 

If the worship space has become a den of robbers, 

its is because that’s where those who exploit others gather

when the dirty work is done. 

Last week,  we were asked, 

which parade will you choose, 

the one that follows the Prince of Peace

or the one that depends on military might and economic exploitation? 

This week,  I wonder what Jesus might do to disrupt our worship? 

I think he would bless our youth

as they seek donations for those dying of hunger, 

but he would disrupt our prayers

until we did something to change why children are still

dying of malnutrition

in a world that can overfeed pets.   

He would disrupt our worship

until we do something about the new forms of economic slavery, 

the credit card debt rates of 25% and more, 

the fees charged to those who can least afford them, 

the predatory lenders who stole homes

from those without skills to understand

what kind of trouble they were in. 

He is mad at a church that worships

without doing anything to stop the system that breed injustice.

Our kids along with about 130 others

will be fasting this weekend for 30 hours,

praying for those kids whose hunger will not go away at 6 PM on Saturday.

And they will learn about the economic forces like debt,

simple things that can make a world of difference like malaria nets for $10

and the importance of clean water. 

They will worship while working for justice and change.

And Jesus will be in their midst, 

helping to turn the tables back into a house of prayer for all nations,

where all are welcome and

where all are fed, nourishing both spiritual and physical hungers.

Our youth will act to change the world. 

We are invited to join them, 

fasting,  giving,  serving, 

writing letters, 

calling congress

to make changes to our world.

Jesus will see that our faith doesn’t use worship to hide behind, 

but our worship strengthens our faith

to create God’s kingdom on earth

as it is in heaven. 

And sometimes we have to stop the status quo. 

Jesus did and it lead to his death, 

yet he went ahead and challenged injustice, 

offering instead a new vision of a place where peace and justice are the norm. 

Lent reminds us we must be more than nice people who worship. 

We are called to create the world that we pray for during worship. 

We are called to offer the fruits of justice to a hungry world.

Join me as we climb the stairs to God in prayer….

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