The House That God Built”

John 2:13-22

It’s not all that unusual for people to get ticked off when they come to church!

I remember a woman, a member of the church where I grew up. She was always upset that our pastor, Rev. Seale, wasn’t really all that biblical in his preaching. At least, as she defined biblical. In fact, Elsie used to sit there in the front pew – a bible in one hand and a notebook in the other. She spent the whole service jotting down the evidence of all the unbiblical things Rev. Seale said. And as I recall, Elsie was always ticked off at church on Sunday morning!

And I recall a Trustee named Jack. A highly opinionated man, Jack was absolutely sure the only way to get rid of the moisture problem in the church basement was by leaving the basement windows open all the time. Now, the specialist who came to help us with the problem said the dampness was caused by leaving the windows open, and the way to fix it was by keeping the windows closed and running dehumidifiers. But Jack disagreed. Every Sunday morning, he swept through the building – opening windows, unplugging dehumidifiers, and using the most colorful biblical language to describe those who disagreed.

Really, it’s not all that unusual for people to get ticked off when they come to church on Sunday!

My good friend Don once objected to my colleague’s sermon about the need for tighter gun control. Don stood up in the middle of the sermon and said, “Ah, Reverend, I respectfully disagree!” And then Don spent the next five minutes explaining why he felt that guns are not the problem and that people are.

Let me tell you, EVERYBODY got ticked off that day!

It’s just not all that unusual for folks to flip out and get mad at church.

Even Jesus flew off the handle once!

The story is recorded in all four Gospels. Jesus went to the Temple in Jerusalem, and there saw the people selling animals for the sacrifices. They were selling them to pilgrims who could not bring sacrifices of their own all the way to Jerusalem. So price-gouging was the order of the day. And, of course, these pilgrims who came from other countries did not have the correct currency to buy these overpriced animals. So enter the money-changers. At very unfavorable rates of exchange, they made sure these visitors had the right currency to buy all those overpriced animals. These poor people, making pilgrimage to the Temple of their faith, got it coming and going.

And when Jesus saw what was going on, he became furious!

You know, we try to soften the story by describing it as the cleansing of the Temple. But that’s not really correct. This was no liturgical cleansing. This was a violent trashing!

Jesus made a whip and flogged away at the animal sellers and money changers, driving them out of the Temple. Then he picked up their tables and turned them upside down! Elsie and Jack and Don combined had nothing on Jesus that day!

I mean, Jesus was mad!

And in all four Gospels, Jesus says something intriguing about why he is so angry. The most descriptive of the reasons is this: “My father’s house is a house of prayer for all nations, but you have turned it into a den of thieves!”

And then one more thing. Jesus equates the cleansing of the Temple with his death on the cross. It’s almost as if Jesus is saying, “Whenever you look at the cross, remember what my Father’s house – the Church - should be!”

So once more, in this Season of Lent, we find ourselves at the cross. And as we gather in its presence today, I want you to take up those words of Jesus that describe what our church is called to be.

First, we are to be a house.

I don’t know how things are at your house, but the Singley family house has a lived-in look. When our children were small, there could be no doubt when you visited our house that this was a place where four very busy, very active, very lively people lived. And it was not just that you might trip over someone’s shoes, or have to move a pair of sweaty socks to find a seat on the couch, but even the wear and tear on the place indicated that people lived there. One of my great claims to fame – I’m embarrassed to say – is that I was watching a golf match on television one day when I noticed something about Fred Couples’ swing that I thought I needed to learn. Well, there just happened to be a 7-iron in the corner of the family room of our lived-in house, so I picked it up, took a swing – and made a divot in the carpet! And it was a good divot! Would’ve been a great shot! Well, Sandy was out, and I tried to cover it up with a pair of shoes…

Yes, ours is a lived-in house. And so is God’s house! God’s house is a setting where a family goes about its task of living and growing and becoming the people we were created to be. God’s house is one of those where there are pencil marks on the doorframes to mark the growing height of the children. God’s house is one of those where the family gathers at mealtime and people talk and kids spill their milk. God’s house is one of those houses where real-life people live real-life lives, loved and supported by each other. God’s house is where God’s family lives, and takes care of each other!

I was bowled over by the generosity expressed by many of you in response to my last newsletter article about how we are beginning a new transportation ministry. I shared with you about a growing number of people in our church family who are unable to drive to worship services or other church events. And I shared my belief that we need to remain committed to caring for all the members of our church family, and to the idea that we will leave no one behind just because they get old or frail. Several people responded by sending notes of encouragement and sizeable checks. Did they do it because they themselves require a bus ministry? No. But they know other members of our family who do. In a family, we don’t throw away grandmothers, or grandfathers just because they get to the point where they need support and help.

And we don’t throw away children either. Someone asked me why in the world we put all the effort we do into having a Sunday School and a Wednesday night Logos program when we have a fairly small population of kids. Well, we do it because that’s what families do. Sandy and I have only one grandchild. But we shower that little boy with all the love we can. Because we’re a family.

So whenever you look at the cross, would you remember? Our church is called to be a house where people help each other live and grow as God’s people through all the times of their lives!

Notice, secondly, that Jesus describes this house that God built as a house of prayer.

Prayer, you know, is our contact point with God. Prayer is what connects the human with the divine. So when Jesus tells us our church is to be a house of prayer, he means that it is to be a place where people are connected to God!

And all around us are people who desperately need the presence of God in their lives

Some need to find God, and to be found by God. There are a lot of lost souls out there, you know. People who are struggling through life without God to sustain them, and guide them, and empower them. Some need to find forgiveness. And all around us are people who need healing of one kind or another.

I was coming home from Cleveland last week, and discovered that you can’t get here from there - unless you fly through Detroit. So over to Detroit I went, and while I was waiting for the flight down to Knoxville, one of our church members walked by! Small world. We chatted a bit, all the while watching the television in the terminal that was reporting some news about how we were moving closer to the prospect of war. And as we watched, it occurred to me that this church member and his wife have a son who is a new naval aviator. He was deployed a while ago to the USS Kitty Hawk, and is one of those who is now flying over Iraq. Well, we talked about the son for a bit, and although he put up a pretty good front, I think I could tell that this dad was suffering. Worrying. Like many of you who have loved ones in harm’s way. We as a church family need to be a source of healing to moms and dads and others who are bearing such great burdens.

And they are not the only ones. Why, I’ll bet that within a ten- yard radius of every person here today, there is someone who is fighting a major illness. And there is someone else who has experienced a great loss. And there is another who is new to our community, and along with the joy of the move comes the experience of separation anxiety from their kids. Within ten-yards of you today is someone who is very lonely – someone who is worried about a family member – someone who is struggling with their faith – someone who is dying. Within ten-yards of you this morning, there are people who need healing.

So Jesus asks us to remember – whenever we look at the Cross – that we are to be a community that puts people in touch with God. We are to be a house of prayer.

And finally, a house of prayer for all nations.

You know, the word Jesus used here is the same word that is used for Gentiles. You remember them, don’t you? In the days of the Temple, the term Gentile referred to everyone who was not Jewish. And while converted Gentiles were allowed to come to the Temple, they were required to remain in the court outside.

That’s one of the things that angered Jesus.

The house that God built is a house of prayer for everyone. No one is excluded! Everyone is included! And that represents a great challenge to you and me as we face our work as a house of prayer for all nations.

As you know, we are in the process of producing a new church pictorial directory. It will be such a wonderful thing when it is completed because it will include photographs of those who are new to our church, and that will enable us to connect names and faces to all those new members of our family. Secondly, it will help us oldtimers see just how much more beautiful we have become since the last directory was completed!

It will be our church family album!

Or will it?

You see, according to Jesus, this house that God built includes more than just the people who’ve already found their way here! The cross tells us that our church is more than just our membership. It is the entire community! It is the entire world!

This family of ours is much larger than you think!

And so when we look at the cross, we are to see the open arms of Christ. And we are to embody those arms that welcome the nations.

You know this is an uncomfortable part of our faith. If we reach out to welcome others, we’ll find it more difficult to find a place to park – just like on Thanksgiving or Christmas when the family gathers and cars are parked all up and down the street, and even on the lawn. We’ll find it more difficult to get everybody a seat – just like at home when we set up kids’ tables and TV trays to accommodate the crowd. And even more importantly, we’ll have to welcome people who we may not understand or even agree with – just like when your kids come home with friends who love rap music, and have earrings, noserings, bellybutton rings, and tattoos!

Yes, to welcome the nations, you have to learn to sacrifice some of your own comfort, and to adjust to the wideness of God’s mercy

“My Father’s house shall be a house of prayer for the nations!” Jesus said on the day he got so ticked off he turned over the tables in the Temple.

You see, it’s easy to forget what the church is supposed to be. And many churches do.

I hope ours won’t. My prayer is that Tellico Village Community Church will more and more become a living expression of the cross of Jesus Christ – more and more like the house that God built!

And I’m asking you to join me in the cause!