John 2:13-22

(The best bits of this are the Rene Girard quotes at the end)

Jesus arrived in Jerusalem and headed to the Temple (as one would on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem for the Passover). What does the story of Jesus making a whip and driving out all the cattle and sheep and people involved in selling them out of the Temple mean? In John’s Gospel Jesus goes to Jerusalem three times in his ministry whereas the other three Gospels only mention one visit and that visit was just before he was crucified. Why did Jesus go to Jerusalem? He got stuck into those who were in the Temple and into the religious leaders but there was no political attack on the injustice of the Romans, nothing directed at Pontius Pilate or towards Herod and yet he was put to death for being a possible threat. Jesus only attacks the religious practices and the injustice at the heart of it. Has he come to clean up religion? Are we in the church to be more concerned with cleaning up our own act and our unjust practices rather than telling politicians to clean up their act? Are we acting justly within the church? Is there discrimination? Is there exploitation? How are we treating people who are poorer? Do we show favouritism to the wealthier people? How is our religion relating to people in society who are poorer in society, in the world?

Some see his visit to the Temple and especially the words where he said, ‘Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up’ as Jesus replacing the sacrificial system and worship centred in the temple to a religious system focused on Christ as the supreme sacrifice and worship centred in Christ.  Was it coincidental to Jesus’ death that he was killed during the Passover? Our theology suggests that it wasn’t but that it was all God’s sacrificial plan or are we just reading that into it with hindsight?  The first Corinthians reading (1 Corinthians 1:18-25) seems to confirm that. Some see this as Jesus replacing Judaism with Christianity. There is a reference here to the destruction of the temple but then it is translated to mean the resurrection of Christ’s body. The Temple of his body is more important. Perhaps he was saying when you are exploiting people you are destroying the real temple, where God really resides, in the lives of people. Your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:19).

Was what was going on in the temple but outer evidence of the real religion and motives of people?  In order to clean up our religion do we need to clean up our own motives, our own souls, our own beings?

I was glad to see that even though Jesus himself physically drove the sheep and cattle out he told those who were selling the doves to take them out. They weren’t hurt.  Jesus liberates animals and birds from certain death. The accusation is that they have made his Father’s house into a marketplace. What I see here is passion - passion for something different. Exploitation was taking place in the very space that was deemed to be the holiest place in Judaism, the place where God resided. Here the good is being tainted. Those selling cattle, sheep and doves are profiting from the people who have come a long way, days and weeks away, to the Temple to offer sacrifice.

I am fascinated by the mention of the doves. A dove is an internationally known symbol for peace. Noah sent out a dove and it came back to him with an olive leaf -another symbol of peace (Genesis 8:11). As Jesus was being baptised, ‘just as he was coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens torn apart and the Spirit descended like a dove on him’ (Mark 1:10). I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it remained in him (John 1:32). The metaphorical imagery surrounding Jesus is of a person of peace. It seems ironic to me that here Jesus throws out the symbols of peace from the Temple.

All of this seems like scratching the surface of what Jesus was doing on the way to the cross. A deeper insight for me is hinted in the words ‘But Jesus on his part would not entrust himself to them, because he knew all people… for he knew himself what was in everyone’(v24, 25). For me this is our thirst for power and our justification of violence in order to get what we want –even peace. Some see Jesus’ anger and actions in the Temple as justification for the use of force and violence in order to bring about change.

I want to finish with some thoughts from Rene Girard for further reflection which call us to look forward towards the cross. For me the cross is not about a blood sacrifice as articulated by the doctrines of ‘Sacrificial atonement and substitution’. Nor is it simply believing in these things. The cross invites participation in a non-violent path. The cross is about revealing a path for all humans to follow if we hope to see real peace and real transformative change. In the cross Jesus reveals a mystery that I cannot but partially grasp but which excites me greatly. Jesus may have driven out the cattle, sheep and doves out of the Temple but I think he was only demonstrating that the religious leaders had already driven God out of the Temple and that they would drive Jesus out from the world too.

Rene Girard - ‘A non-violent deity can only signal his existence to mankind by having himself driven out by violence – by demonstrating that he is not able to establish himself in the Kingdom of Violence. (p219)

But this very demonstration is bound to remain ambiguous for a very long time, and it is not capable of achieving a decisive result, since it looks like total impotence to those who live under the regime of violence. That is why at first it can only have some effect under a guise, deceptive through the admixture of some sacrificial elements, through the surreptitious re-insertion of some violence into the conception of the divine. (p220)

Behaving in a truly divine manner, on an earth still in the clutches of violence, means not dominating humans, not overwhelming them with supernatural power, it means not terrifying and astonishing them in turn, through the sufferings and blessings one can confer; it means not creating difference between doubles and not taking part in their disputes.(p234)

(Quotes courtesy of Brian McLaren from the Book ‘Things hidden since the foundation of the world’ by Rene Girard)

Mark 8:31-38

“If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.” Mark 1:34

What did Jesus mean?

What do we think he meant?

What is the common or dominant view?

Could it mean something else?

Before we take up our cross we have to deny ourselves. What could this mean? Some have interpreted this to mean that they have to give up their right to everything in life, to even hate themselves, to put up with everything.

We have to lay something aside. What could we be asked to lay aside? Perhaps a certain way of thinking or certain ways of thinking, perhaps lay them down in order to take up another.

  

Peter confesses to Jesus that he believes that Jesus is the Messiah. Jesus again warns his disciples not to tell anyone about him. When Jesus starts to speak about the future and the suffering he will endure, Peter takes him aside to stop Jesus talking such nonsense. This cannot happen to the Messiah. It’s going to be all up, up, up to glory from here on. But Jesus rebukes Peter, saying, “Get behind me Satan.”

Rather than up, up, up is it more about down, down, down?  Rather than inviting us on an upwardly journey Jesus seems to be inviting us to grow down to a way of being, a way of being that he models. Not a godlike way of being but a human way of being – to real humanness. To be the best human being. We are to follow his example, that is to lay down our life, set it aside, and take up our cross and follow Jesus.

As I reflect on the words “Get behind me Satan” I wonder whether Satan could be a name for all that is bad about humanity?  Could Satan stand for the down ward pull of humanity? All that robs us of living together in harmony, peace, equitably?

Do we then need to lay aside the ways of Satan and then follow Jesus by taking up the cross?

What the cross meant for Jesus illuminates what the cross means for us. Jesus dramatically changes the story. Deepak Chopra says that, ‘With the death of Jesus comes the death of the old way of thinking. With the resurrection comes the birth of the new way of thinking.’ The old way of thinking and acting killed Jesus but was unable to stop him from rising to life again. Being born again does entail a death.

First of all we determine to lay aside the old way of thinking and then taking up the cross each of us is involved in putting to death that old thinking. So that human beings can discover a much richer level of humanity to live by. Deepak Chopra suggests that in these days it may mean a shift from consumption to relationship, from valuing my life over yours to valuing that which gives life to you and not just thinking of myself.

Sarah Dylan Breuer http://www.sarahlaughed.net/lectionary/2006/03/second_sunday_i.html - In being called to follow Jesus, as his disciples, we are called to let go our power, recognise our power, our privilege and let it go- the way to abundant life leads to the cross.

We are taught to be strong, to be tough, to protect ourselves, to defend ourselves, to arm ourselves but the way of the cross is about becoming defenceless

Jesus doesn’t say take up your weapons as in arm yourself, but take up your cross, disarm yourself. Usually we have to put others down in order to elevate ourselves but with Jesus it is not that way.

Christianity is a religion for the poor but it has become a religion of the rich and controlled by the rich and powerful and what is left of value is trickled down to the poor but that is not the way it should be.

I wonder if the Christian churches have got their theology wrong regarding their theology of the cross? So often ‘the cross’ refers to the suffering and death of Jesus and is interpreted in purely sacrificial language. An execution is turned metaphorically into a sacrifice. Is there more to the meaning of the cross than this? Is there a meaning or meanings that are not so otherworldly, something done on a spiritual unseen level but rather something that we can actually participate in rather than something done on our behalf. If Jesus is the only worthy sacrifice why do we need to take up our cross?

In inviting all who want to be Jesus' followers to take up their cross he is inviting us to identify with a God who longs for a transformed world, a world of justice and non-violence.

In lent we contemplate a pre-Easter human Jesus (Borg)

Jesus doesn’t say if you want to be my disciples you need to believe certain things, but take up something, join me in something, be willing to sacrifice your life for a better world, be willing to sacrifice your life so that this becomes a better world for those marginalised and impoverished in society.