Early in Jesus’ ministry, according to John’s Gospel, he and his
disciples head to Jerusalem for the Passover celebration. Jesus encounters
people in the temple selling animals for sacrifice and changing money into the
“coin of the realm.”(See John 2:13-22) Neither
of these activities was inherently evil, and in fact, was necessary for worship
in the Temple for people travelling long distances and from different countries
with different currencies. Nonetheless, Jesus was not very happy. I suspect he
saw that the commercial enterprise had overshadowed the importance of worship.
Scripture tells us that Jesus was so upset that he wove a whip of cords and
drove the sheep and cattle out of the temple, turned over the tables of the
Money Changers and poured out their coins. The House of Prayer for all nations
had become a Marketplace.
When we ask ourselves, “What would Jesus do, (WWJD)?” we must
realize that the answer just might involve turning over tables and driving
injustice out of the Temple. It might involve fighting injustice in the world
and working for the peace and mercy of God’s Kingdom.
By placing this episode at the beginning of Jesus’ ministry, John
sets the theme of Jesus’ entire life and mission. Mark, Matthew and Luke place
it at the end of Jesus’ life and here it leads directly to his execution.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a German pastor, also faced evil in the world
and like Jesus, chose to “turn over tables and fight injustice.” In the late
1930’s Bonhoeffer had a teaching fellowship at Union Seminary in New York.
Instead of staying in America where he was safe, he went back to Germany to
work against the evil that was raising its head in his native land. He was
arrested and imprisoned for his involvement in a plot to bring down the supreme
leader, Adolph Hitler, who was destroying the German Nation and the world. In
1945, a few days before the prison was liberated, Bonhoeffer was hanged. He was
39 years old.
Bonhoeffer’s words reflect the life and the words of Jesus:
“Silence in the face of evil is in itself evil: God will not hold us guiltless.
Not to speak is to speak, not to act is to act.”
Now to another episode in Jesus’ life, recorded in Luke 4:17-21:
“The scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to Jesus and he read: ‘the Spirit
of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the
poor, He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight
to the blind, and to let the oppressed go free—to proclaim the year of the
Lord’s favor.’”
If Jesus had just stopped there, sat down and kept his mouth shut
everything would have been fine. But no, he had to say something—“today, this
scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” Most of you know the story, the
people take Jesus out of the village to the brow of the cliff and attempt to
throw him off and kill him.
Jesus, Bonhoeffer and many others have demonstrated by their lives
and their deaths that proclaiming truth to power, fighting against injustice
and for peace, and proclaiming the year of the Lord’s favor do not often turn
out well for those engaged in these enterprises.
We are called by God to be like Jesus, to be like Bonhoeffer: WWJD?
He might just turn over some tables—he might just replace the temple with the
Kingdom of God—and he might just be killed for doing it.
WWJHUSD (What Would Jesus Have Us Do)? He might just ask us to
turn over a few tables—he might just ask us to replace the status quo with the
Kingdom of God. And yes, we too might just be killed for doing it.
“Come Holy Spirit, fill
the hearts of your faithful and kindle in us the fire of your love. Send forth
your Spirit and we shall be created; and so you shall renew the face of the
Earth. Amen.”
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