Our Passion: Psalm 19: 7-14; John 2: 13-22
The disciples remembered, “Passion for God’s house will consume me.” Years ago, a church I was a member of had a renovation decision to make (not this church). An interior designer and long-time member had seen what the committee had come up with. Perturbed by their trendy choices, and likely miffed that she wasn’t included in the committee, she set about organizing her own committee and coming up with a second proposal. Foolishly, the board decided to let the congregation vote between the proposals.
The debate in the congregational meeting raged for two hours: taupe or gray, pattern or solid curtains in the baptistry, cool gray or heather gray paint, oak or the other oak on the hardwood floor. The votes for proposal one or proposal two were counted to loud cheers and boos placed in two piles, right on Christ’s communion table, right on top of the leftover communion they had forgotten to put away in their haste to fight with one another over paint and fabric. I imagine this was not the zeal or passion that Jesus particularly wanted to consume his followers. Today, in our series, This Faith Is Ours, we look at our passion for God’s holy congregation, the church. There are two troubles which damage: distraction and disharmony, and one remedy: discipleship.
When Jesus enters the Temple for Passover in our Gospel lesson, he encounters a strong distraction from worship. The Temple courtyard had been covered by people selling birds, cattle, and sheep for sacrifices. There were also money changers, who for a fee, would give you the right currency to give into the Temple dues and coffers. The people were no longer coming to the Father’s house for worship. Instead, they were coming to run by the first century Walmart in the yard and handle the formalities before getting back to what was really important in their lives. They were distracted both by the sideshow in the yard and by all the other things of life to truly have passion for the temple and their worship.
We cannot become distracted by the idols of life from our worship to and service for God. Too many of our churches have become as overwhelmed by politics and control as our whole lives have been in the past few years. The church is the place we come to find our common mission, to rekindle our zeal or passion for God’s work, and to refocus on the Savior who loves and redeems us. Instead of coming with a heart to critique, come with a heart to be immersed in God’s presence. When you approach worship with “I want, I wish, I prefer…” you come already filled with distractions. How can God’s Spirit and Word enter into that muck and transform your life to live stronger and better each day for God, through the power of Christ?
But there was another issue lurking around the Temple that day. As Jesus attempted to rekindle the passion of the worshippers, the Temple leaders sought to create disharmony in Christ’s work. I Corinthians 14:33 reminds us, “For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all the churches of the saints.” I can guarantee you that where there is chaos, strife, and disharmony, God has been shut out, for our God is not a God of chaos. We see too many examples of this. Disagreements, power struggles, and internal discord will likely rip our churches apart faster than any outside, secular plot ever will. A friend of mine once sat through a church meeting where over and over people said, “This is my church! I grew up here! I’ve been here all my life.” At the end of the tumultuous meeting, my friend, the pastor, stood up and said, “This is not your church, nor my church. This is God’s church, and when we come here, we would do well to remember that.”
That said, we are not going to agree on everything. You cannot assemble 40-50, or more people and expect total, 100% agreement. Life doesn’t work that way. When such troubles arise, the Psalm has a powerful reminder in verse 14, “May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing to you, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.” Having taken mediation classes and pastored for ten years now, I have found some universal truths. We won’t always agree, and that’s okay. We can sit down and calmly talk through where we don’t agree and how the scripture speaks to it. We may then agree, and that’s good. We may still not agree, and that’s fine too, because even when we don’t agree in one thing, we agree in thousands of others. Furthermore, we agree on the foundation: our faith in Christ as Savior, and our desire to share that love and grace with all.
So, what is the cure for all this strife? Discipleship is the answer. Being good disciples means we work in all things and in all ways to be faithful to Christ’s teaching and example. It is faith that saves us, but is discipleship which teaches us how to live as Christians in this world. This starts with understanding the work of Christ. In the Gospel, the disciples are said to have remembered the words and prophecies. Later on, after the resurrection, the disciples remembered what Jesus said and believed both him and the scriptures, according to verse 22. Discipleship requires us to understand what Jesus is saying to us. The Psalm reminds us that “the instructions of the Lord are perfect, reviving the soul; the decrees of the Lord are trustworthy, making wise the simple.”
But this understanding in the disciples elicited a powerful, Spirit-filled response. We read in Acts 2 that they devoted them to the apostles’ teachings—sharing meals including the Lord’s Supper, performing miracles, meeting together to share everything they had, selling their property to help those in need amongst their fellowship, and worshipping together. They became the church, not the Temple with the money changers, black market, and fake worship and rituals, but the church of God. Discipleship tells us that we become the body of Christ together, from many different places, walks, and ideas, to this place of one in the mission of Christ.
Therefore, may we never let distractions and disharmony pull us from the word we have in Christ. May we never find ourselves or our idols in a place and position over the church. May we never be filled with the wrong type of zeal. May we ever be passionate about our work, our mission, and our family of faith together on this road. The church was built on those who shared in the love and grace of Christ, the church grows through those who understand discipleship and our common mission to go into the world, teaching, helping, and proclaiming the Good News of redeeming love. May we find our passion for God’s holy church committing together, ready and willing, Lord, here am I.
Worship Video: https://www.facebook.com/fccmacon/videos/151495870062105
Bonus Video—Hymn Singing: https://www.facebook.com/fccmacon/videos/445106260135364