The Third Sunday in Lent - The Rev. Colette Hammesfahr

 The Third Sunday in Lent – John 2:13-22 

Have you heard of the company, “1-800-Got-Junk?” They are a “fast, efficient junk pick up service.” You make an appointment, they come to our house, and they “make your junk disappear - all you have to do is point.” What a concept!  

I’m scared that one day I am going to come home and see that blue and green truck Got Junk truck in my driveway. That Kurt will have had enough of me because I am a bit of a hoarder. Not the type of hoarder where you have to walk through a maze of newspapers and magazines to get from the front door to the kitchen. I cannot throw things away. Everything I own has sentimental value – or so I think. We have the luxury, or the curse, of having a walk-in attic. That is where I store my junk.  

I probably have every essay, every drawing, and every blue, yellow, and red ribbon from field day that my four children acquired over the years. But I try to organize my junk. I’ve neatly and meticulously organized all of my children’s papers and ribbons by grade level into large brown envelopes, each with their name, their grade, and their teacher’s name written on the front. My other junk is stored in boxes and totes, some of them even labeled with special QR labels so I can quickly see on my phone what junk is in each tote.  

“Junk” can be defined as something that is unnecessary – something that is a distraction. Clutter. Junk can be something that draws us away from what is important.   

Today, Jesus cleared out the junk! Today, Jesus cleaned house! Today, Jesus got rid of the distractions in the temple!   

It’s Passover and that means that people from all over would be traveling to Jerusalem, to celebrate the festival. As part of the tradition, everyone was required to make a sacrifice of an animal. It was also the time that everyone would pay their temple tax. For many, it was quite a long distance to travel so it was not convenient to travel with a large animal for the sacrifice.  

For those who did bring their own animal, there was an animal inspector at the temple, to ensure that your animal was clean and without blemishes. For most who were traveling, it made sense to simply purchase their animal when they got to the temple. Of course, there would be livestock sold at the temple, right? Why wouldn’t there be? And of course, with convenience comes a cost so the animals were sold at a price where the sellers could make a good profit.  

Now, to make things even worse, the temple had its own currency. So, everyone who came to pay their taxes or to purchase an animal had to exchange their money with the “money changers” of the temple, who also charged exorbitant transaction fees. What a great time for the temple! Passover was a festival of making profit, for sure!  

When Jesus showed up at the temple and saw this, he was outraged. These normal practices had moved from the temple garden to inside the temple walls. These normal practices had become a for-profit business. The focus was not on the festival of Passover. The focus was not on the purpose of coming to the temple. The focus was not on worship and the people’s relationship with God. All of this junk in the temple was a distraction. The temple was where you went to pray. The temple is where God had promised to be with God’s people. But now, the purpose was gone. The people turned it into a consumer’s market instead of a place of worship.   

Imagine coming to church today with the scent of animals in the narthex, the noise from the jingling of coins overshadowing any music being played, and the sanctuary being filled with the voices of people bartering over livestock. It would be pretty hard to worship, wouldn’t it?  

Jesus, seeing all of this, cleans that place up. He gets rid of the junk. He throws them all out. He turns over the tables and coins go flying everywhere. He makes a whip out of cords and pushes out the animals. Jesus gets rid of all the distractions.  

I think that in many ways, our lives and relationship with God can become like that temple. Where we once had space to commune with God, our lives quickly become a bustling marketplace. Our lives get cluttered with other concerns, with endless distractions, and with busyness. The noise of our daily lives drowns out our whispers of prayer and reflection and soon the noise wins out. Often, through all of those distractions and all that busyness, we don’t even realize that it is happening.  

Just like I keep throwing more “stuff” in totes, the totes keep piling, and I think I’m ok because it all seems organized. We have to stop, take a step back and realize that we’ve got quite a mess on our hands. And like the temple, and like my attic, we need some cleansing too. We need Jesus to overturn the tables that distract us, and to drive out the noise that keeps us from connecting with God.  

Through Jesus’ overturning of the tables and getting rid of the junk and chaos, he taught us that we can’t lose site of the sacred places and sacred aspects of our lives. We need to take a hold of the distractions and those things that take us away from our spiritual growth. It emphasizes that we should evaluate what occupies our time and attention.  And it shows us that renewal is possible through him.  

After the temple cleansing, the people asked Jesus for a sign to justify his actions. Jesus responded with a reference to his future resurrection. He told the people and the disciples that he is the new temple. No longer are sacrifices of lambs needed at the temple for forgiveness of sins because Jesus, the Lamb of God, gave us that on the cross.  

So, what does that say about this building we are in today? What about the church? Or better yet, what IS church? Is it the pews? It is the music? Is it altar?  

As I’ve been thinking about all the memorabilia in my attic that I need to get rid of, I realize that all those things are just stuff. What matters is the relationship I have with my children. Yes, memories are special but what is more important is how I interact with my children and the bond we have.  

This is true of church as well. It’s not about the “stuff” we have in this building. It’s about our relationship with God. It’s about hearing the Word and partaking in the Meal every Sunday. It’s about community and caring for one another. It’s about going outside of these walls and caring for those who don’t come into our building. Jesus is the living temple in our lives where we find the ultimate source of cleansing and renewal. It’s here that Jesus invites us to experience the divine presence that lives within each of us. As the living temple, Jesus brings renewal and a sacred refuge within our chaos.  

Embracing Jesus as the living temple means inviting sacredness into every corner of our lives. It means acknowledging that his presence brings harmony, purpose, and transformation in everything we do.  

Think about the marketplace of your life. What tables need to be overturned and what junk needs to be thrown away so that you can find a balance between the demands of your daily life without drowning out the sounds of the sacred whispers? 

As we leave here today, may we carry the truth that Jesus is not confined to walls but resides in the open spaces of our hearts. Let his presence transform our daily marketplaces, bringing sacred moments to the busyness.    Amen.