Jesus and the Temple Moneychangers - Unnecessary Burdens

Jesus' action in the temple according to the film Jesus Christ Superstar

Today we looked at the story, found in all four Gospels, of Jesus' action against the temple moneychangers.    The reading from John's Gospel can be found here.   After we had heard the story as it might have been told by one of the dove sellers who were there (here) accompanied by some images showing another side of the story (here) 

We then spent some time sharing thoughts and ideas and about ways in which (we as) the church can place unnecessary burdens on people ...  Thank you to all of you who shared your thoughts with us.   Please do make a comment below to continue the discussion.

We finished with a quote from the film Chocolat.

I'm not sure what the theme of my homily today ought to be.

Do I want to speak of the miracle of our Lord's divine transformation?  Not really, no.

I don't want to talk about His divinity.

I'd rather talk about His humanity.

I mean, you know, how he lived his life here on Earth.

His kindness. His tolerance.

Listen, here's what I think:

I think we can't go around...measuring our goodness by what we don't do...  by what we deny ourselves...  what we resist...  and who we exclude.

I think we've got to measure goodness...  by what we embrace...  what we create... and who we include.

Pere Henri in "Chocolat" (2000)

What inclusive actions might we take this Lent ?

Peter King

  

 Pieter Breugel, "The Fight Between Carnival & Lent" (1559)

Read more about the painting here
Click on the picture above to see a larger version 

We heard today Jesus’ words about the cost of discipleship. His words are tough and uncompromising; He makes it clear that Christianity is not an escape route or a pleasant hobby to fill the hours. Like a lot of things in this life though, if it’s truly worthwhile, it comes at a cost. There’s a saying that there’s no such thing as a free meal/ticket/gift. How true is that! It’s not just cost in cash though, although that has to be worked for. There are costs to be considered in time, effort, and energy. If studying on a course, there are probably tuition fees, fees for books etc. but they do not guarantee a successful outcome that comes through hard work alone. The painting the ‘Fight between Carnival and Lent’ by Brueghel shows that we can be motivated by such things as greed and self seeking. However, we need to move away from these things if we are to follow Christ’s cross and His way.

It cost Jesus everything to win forgiveness for us and as disciples we can expect life to be tough at times, but it is in coming through difficulty, and hardship we recognise that the effort was worth enduring. However we can trust in God, and His love will be with us in our darkest moments, for He will not forsake us. His perfect love will remove even our deepest fears. 

Rev Frances