March 19, 2006 Third Sunday in Lent

Pastor Gary E. Benson

Zumbro Lutheran Church, Rochester, Minnesota

 

Temple, Tantrum, and Transition

Even though it is Sunday at Zumbro Lutheran Church in Rochester, and it is 2006, for whatever reason, during the Lenten season my mind often goes back to worship at my home congregation of Our Savior’s in Stanley, Wisconsin.  Not only am I mindful of the midweek Lenten services there, but also of what was I think it could be called a tradition at our Sunday worship.  Immediately before the worship was to begin, Lorraine Kalk, would motion for those of us in the balcony in the choir to stand, and then this would be heard, “The Lord is in his Holy Temple, the Lord is in His Holy Temple, let all the earth be silent.”  Why do I remember that? Probably because, as a high schooler sitting in the balcony in the choir, we were not always so quiet, but when Mrs. Kalk motioned to stand to sing, “The Lord is in His Holy Temple,” that meant something.  It meant more than simply it is time to behave, or quiet down. It meant it was time to worship.  To let go of all the distractions around us, all the distractions within -- our thoughts and minds. It was time to focus on God, and God’s Word, and God’s gifts for us.  Even in the best environment, true and honest worship is never easy.

 

In our gospel lesson for this Third Sunday in Lent, “the temple” is a place of ferocious activity.  It was the time of the Passover. The “normal” order of life and faith was to get your cattle, doves, sheep for sacrifice, and, as the text spells out, there were plenty of those persons who were looking to sell, peddle and profit from their goats -- make some noise, make a few bucks off those preparing for worship was standard manner.  You know well the response of Jesus to all those “well intended” retailers crowding in on the Temple gates.  I’d say Jesus had a tantrum. He was not the cool, calm, and collected Jesus many were used too.  Rather when he saw what was going on, his tantrum meant making a whip of cords, driving out the sellers of animals, tipping over the tables filled with coins, and voicing loudly, “Take these things out of here! Stop making my Father’s house (the Temple) a marketplace.”  Without question he derailed the action of some well intended retailers.

 

Furthermore, and most importantly, as scholars remind us, the actions of Jesus portray clearly that God is made known in Jesus Christ, not in the activities/traditions surrounding the temple.  With the quote “tantrum,” Jesus challenges a religious system so embedded in its own rules and practices that it was no longer open to fresh revelations from God --- a temptation that certainly is not absent today.

 

That is to say, we can become so wrapped up in our current ”temple” activities, traditions, practices, programs, liturgies, and music that we create barriers to fresh revelations of God’s presence. Today’s gospel teaches we ought never become so absolute that we are closed to reformation, change, and renewal.  I like to preach, “we worship a living God, a vibrant Spirit that in new, fresh, and engaging ways seeks to engage God’s people with energy and conviction for a life in unfolding missions enveloped in grace.”

In that regard, a few weeks ago Sara and I were invited to a home we had never been to. I noticed some Lutheran hymnals on the piano, and I quickly noted, “How many “colors” of Lutheran hymnals do you have?” The response was “I have the black, the red, the green. And then there is the maroon, and the blue With One Voice. Oh, and I think the one coming soon is red, again!”

 

How many of us threw a mental tantrum when “new styles and manners of worship” were suggested or introduced over the years?  Oh, I know, “we don’t like or deal well with change.”  Truth is, however, it isn’t change that we don’t like, it is losing. As the saying goes, “People do not fear change, they fear losing.” (familiar, comfortable hymns, songs, manners of doing things)

 

The question then becomes do we storm around the church if everything isn’t as absolute as it once was? Or do we celebrate that we worship a living and vibrant Lord who desires to be made known in the familiar, but also in fresh and creative manners through the gifts, talents, and resourcefulness of God’s people today?

 

Change is risky, but it can bring about new revelations, interest, excitement to be the People of God we are called to be.  Think of the first time you heard we were going to have “bluegrass worship.” Many bristled, and yet, because it was and is done so well, it brings vitality, interest, and a freshness to worship for many.

 

Or, I think of the young people today, our fifth graders participating in the Sacrament of Holy Communion. Oh, yes, I can remember when many good Lutherans thought moving the communion age from 9^th to 5^th grade was “outrageous” and, yes, many threw tantrums.  Now, after discovering that the roof will not fall in, that God’s grace is still sufficient, many congregations are moving to even younger ages for the Blessed Sacrament – and the love of God in Jesus is touching and reaching young people in a most special manner.

 

I believe God’s grace was in his Holy Temple two thousand years ago, when Jesus had a tantrum, or decades ago when I was growing up at Our Savior’s, and today whether we worship using pipe organ, piano, fiddles or French horns. The question is can we transition/enter into a quiet place to pray, to celebrate, and to be mindful that God incarnate, Jesus Christ, is not simply in this building, “where two or three are gathered in His name.”  No, God is here, in your heart, in your spirit, stirring alive and vibrant.

 

Know well, it is God’s outrageous love that pours His spirit within us overturning lives of sinfulness and selfishness, creating temples, each designed to give God praise and worship through all we are and all we do. “The Lord is in His Holy Temple,” in you, in me — but let us not keep silent. To do so would be outrageous!