Lent 3 09 Exodus 20:1-17; Psalm 19; 1 Corinthians 1:18-25; John 2:13-22
March 15, 2009
Cross-Examination
Examining our lives to see if what is most important is most important. Lent is a time to be self-critical. To see where we are falling short, missing the mark. To see what is keeping us from loving the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, and mind, and our neighbor as ourself. It’s about looking at our lives through God’s eyes. To help us with this process, today we have the Ten Commandments. Looking through them, we can each identify where we are struggling. And so, today’s sermon presents a series of questions based on the Ten Commandments. What are you trusting? Right now it’s easy to be grasping at things for security, rather than trusting God.In difficult days, it’s all the more important to strengthen our relationship of trust with God. Do your words reflect the One who made and saved you? ”Every time we open our mouths, whether in conversation with one another or in prayer to our Lord, Christian truth and community are on the line. And so, high on the agenda of the Christian community in every generation is that we diligently develop a voice that speaks in consonance with the God who speaks, that we speak in such a way that truth is told and community is formed, and that we pray to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ and not to some golden calf idol that has been fashioned by one of the numerous descendants of Aaron. p. 2-3, Eugene Peterson Tell it Slant Are you taking time for God? Each day, each week? Have you taken up the Lenten challenge? How has it been? What have you experienced? Learned? Do you respect and love those who are your family? Have you said (or done something) that not only killed, but simply hurt another person? Have you been cruel to another person? Have you ignored the humanity of another person? Have you been faithful – in thoughts as well as action – to your spouse, your friends? Have you taken something – an object, an idea – from another person without permission? Without acknowledging? Have you gossiped, or said something false about another person? Have you failed to speak when you should have? Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter. - Martin Luther King Jr.
Have you been jealous – coveted another person’s home? Another person’s life?
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Asking these questions of ourselves – experiencing discomfort -- is part of Lent. Lent is an opportunity for us to be honest about our lives before God. We can be honest about things we have done (and left undone). It is only in seeing them that they can be cleared away. When Jesus walked into the temple – he saw moneychangers and merchants. They were fulfilling a need, perhaps, but he also saw people taking advantage of others. He saw people trying to keep their covenant promises being taken advantage of. And Jesus cleared it out. He cleared out the things getting in the way of that which was most important: things getting between God and people. His justification for doing so? His own body; his own life. Jan Richardson, “ Jesus has taken into his own self the purpose of the temple. (Jesus became the) meeting place between God and God's people. The justification for Jesus’ action came through the cross. His faithfulness, his obedience, his relationship with God whom he knew as ‘Father’ provided the call -- impelled him -- to sweep the manipulators out of the temple. In the prayer of the day, there were several phrases that shape our Lenten journey this week. “We are called to live faithfully and act courageously”. Such bold action can only happen when we are honest. “Keep us steadfast in your covenant of grace”. Only God can do that. Our call is to trust God to do this. May we keep our eyes fixed on Jesus, our hope and source of life, as we continue this Lenten journey. amen ++++
