I had an agenda...but that agenda has fallen by the wayside as I prepare to preach what the lectionary has in order. For those who don't know what the lectionary is, it is the 3 year cycle that preachers follow in order to get the full Word of God spoken from the pulpits of churches around the globe. There is the Roman Catholic lectionary and then there is the Protestant one. Often, they coincide.
This week's reading is from the book of John. It is the second chapter, starting with verse 13. It is when Jesus cleansed the temple. Mind you, most folks think this happened only once when he was about to be crucified, but this perspective makes it happen in the first year of Jesus' ministry. Jesus was a troublemaker for the establishment and it appears as if the third year of His ministry it made the power-brokers of the church say...."enough is enough" and they plotted to kill Him. Jesus did, indeed, cleanse the temple.
My sermon this Sunday will go to the issue of whether we're letting trash in our own personal temples of the Holy Spirit interfere with the desire of those wanting to worship God. Just like the gentiles and those wanting to know the personal God of the Jews wanted to worship without disruption (aka the money changer and the sort) God is speaking to us today to rid ourselves of the distractions to true worship. Prejudice, judgmental-ism, and other factors stand in the way of us truly welcoming others into our time of worship. Time to take out that trash and replace it with the love of Jesus. Pray for the message...and for me. Thank you!
