MARCH 19, 2006 PASTOR SCOTT FULLER
Exodus 20:1-17; Psalm 19; I Cor. 1:18-25; John 2:13-22
Prepare our hearts, Lord, to receive your Word. Silence in us any voice but your own that in hearing we may believe and in believing we may obey your will revealed to us in Jesus Christ. Amen.
Dear friends in Christ: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
Good intentions. Tell me: what are some of the most popular ones?
-lose weight -forgive somebody who has caused us pain
-read the Bible -feed people who are hungry
-pray more -make some lifestyle changes
-stop: smoking/drinking -start helping a neighbor in neeed
Believe it or not, our Gospel lesson for today is all about good intentions… And as they say…the road to hell is paved with good intentions. I’ve always understood that as a warning for the holder of those good intentions, that the one who failed to accomplish those honorable actions was paving their own way toward hell. Is that the way you understood it too?
But after reading the texts for today, it came to me that there’s another way to interpret this saying. It’s not pretty - in fact, it’s worse even than us causing our own descent into the horrible halls of Hades.
Think about that…what could be worse than sending ourselves to be slaves of Satan? Yeah, sending someone else…causing another person to fall into that fiery pit, especially those people we’ve hoped to help into heaven. I wonder if that’s true, that it’s not our own journey to hell whose way we pave when we fail to do the good we intend, but those who need our help. So, let’s take a look at the Gospel lesson – then maybe you can tell me if I’m on to something or if I’ve just got a bad case of cabin fever and it’ll all go away once it warms up outside???
Let’s start with this question: How would you sum up God’s goal for us? What has God wanted us to hear through Abraham and Sarah, Moses and Elijah, Mary and Jesus, Luther and…Mother Theresa? That God loves us, and that we, in turn, are to love God and our neighbors. This is, says Jesus, the first and best commandment: You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind… And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets (MT 22:37-40).
Hold on to that as I give you a brief history lesson. The way people experienced God’s blessing in the 1st Cent. was through rites of sacrifice, often the killing of an animal. That’s no problem for those who live out in the valley with their flocks of sheep and herds of cattle. But what about us city folk…where would we find the perfect animal for the required kill?
Well, that’s where the Temple folks decided to get into the business. The outer most area surrounding the Temple was called the Court of Gentiles. It was in that less-than-holy-place where business deals were conducted. Let’s say I needed a spotless lamb and a turtledove for my family’s sacrifice. I’d come to the Court of Gentiles with my Roman coins…and have to pay a fee to exchange them for Temple Shekels. Then I’d have to pay another fee to buy my lamb and still another to buy my dove…only then could I make my sacrifice and feel assured of God’s love.
Here’s the problem. I’m guessing that those Temple top-hats started out with tip-top intentions. I can picture them asking, How can we help the travelers and townies find animals to offer to God? Then someone says, I’ve got it! We’ll sell them here at the Temple! What a blessing for those who travel and for those who don’t have animals of their own! A blessing indeed…for people with money. But what about those with none? What about that woman who’s life savings was two copper coins? How would she get a lamb or a dove…to know God’s grace, God’s promise of love?
See what I mean? I’m sure that the Temple worship was organized with very good intentions. But whom did they bless…and whom did they push down a path to pain? That’s my insight. This outburst in the Temple, when Jesus drives out the money-changers, is the only episode of Jesus’ anger that is recorded. And I can’t think of any other reason why the Lord would lash out like that, unless it posed a serious threat to God’s goal for us all.
So what do you think? It’s bad enough that our failed good intentions might send us to hell…but how appalling is it to think that others may be headed there because of us? Does that make sense?...Are you feeling kinda lousy about yourselves right now?
Well, don’t despair: there is some good news to share. First of all, we always have to start with and return to the basics. God’s goal is to love us: individually and collectively, unconditionally and absolutely. Secondly, God always forgives us for being less-than-perfect, for having lots of good intentions and sometimes little follow-through. Like parents with children, we ask them to be perfect, know that they won’t, and love them anyway
And the third bit of Good News is that Jesus’ episode in the Temple reminds us that God’s ears are particularly sensitive to people who are in need… which, in the end, is great news for all of us for those times when the bottom drops out of life and we feel betrayed, abandoned or abused….
So what can we do about those good intentions we never get to? Well, the best advice in a strange sort of way is, simply, to stop trying. Stop, and pause, and pray – asking God to get those burdens off our backs. Then, once we’ve left them at the foot of the Cross, entrusted them to God’s tender care, often, then, we’re strangely free to pick one or two that would be good to do, and we can have fun getting them done. May God bless you as you cross those burdens off your list, and help pave the way to heaven for your family, neighbors and friends. Your way has already been paid and paved. Amen.