Sacred Mundane: The Blog

Tuesday’s Reading: Matthew 21:23 – 26:3, Mark 11:27 – 13:37, Luke 20 – 21:36 (today’s are longer than the rest, perhaps break up into two sittings…)

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“Then the Pharisees went and plotted how to entangle Him in His talk.”

Matthew 22:15

Last night at prayer meeting, a friend was sharing about a recent experience–a young woman with a hard past, checking out this Christianity thing. She came to her asking questions, and my friend observed, “What’s so awesome is, she really wants to know the truth. She isn’t just asking questions to try to justify her own behavior.”

Immediately I wanted to meet this girl! Someone who asks questions because they genuinely want to know truth is, to me, someone I want to know! No matter what they’ve done or what their past is or where they currently are, someone who displays this truth-seeking spirit shows me that humility is at their core and Jesus always reveals Himself to the humble.

I’d much rather hang out with “sinners” who are seeking truth than religious people who think they already have a corner on it. 

As you read through these passages you see Tuesday’s common thread: The religious leaders were testing Jesus. They challenged His authority, they “plotted how to entangle Him in His talk,” they came up with complicated scenarios regarding Old Testament law in order to test His knowledge. Over and over and over in these passages the Scribes, Pharisees, chief priests and Sadducees approached Him with “questions.” But their questions had nothing to do with wanting to gain knowledge, wisdom or understanding, their questions were challenges of authority. 

Their questions were just a thinly veiled attempt to justify themselves. To validate their own self-righteousness. 

One in particular stands out, because it’s so sharply contrasted with another story in this same passage. The chief priests and scribes ask Jesus about paying taxes, crafting their question in a way that might easily entangle a lesser man than Christ. But Jesus cuts to the heart of the issue:

“Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s and to God the things that are God’s.”

Done. The response: “Marveling at his answer, they became silent.” 

Our world is full of people who are “questioning” the faith. Often these questions are nothing more than an attempt to be let off the hook of worshiping Christ and bowing before Him in humble obedience.  There is absolutely a place for humble, honest, sincere questions–but we are wise to recognize when our “questioning” is nothing more than an attempt to justify ourselves and get out of doing the hard work of obedience.

Right after this story, a woman comes on the scene.  She does no questioning. In fact, she doesn’t even speak:

“And Jesus looked up and saw … a poor widow put in two small copper coins. And He said, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all of them. For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on.”

She easily couldn’t have questioned the tithe. She could have tried some similarly-slippery Scribe-like reasoning to weasel her way out of worship:

“Jesus, do I really have to tithe? I mean technically it’s impossible to tithe off of two coins, an amount that can’t be divided by 10, right?”

She saves her words and just worships instead. She gives all she had. Instead of arguing, questioning, and trying to “figure it out” she just goes ahead and gives all she has. No calculating or scheming, no sounding trumpets.

She comes, not to question, just to bow. 

Oh I ache to have a heart like that. I am too often the questioning and calculating scribe or Pharisee. I am asking Jesus a thousand questions instead of reaching into my pocket and just taking out all that I have.

Worship, really, is simple. 

Whatever it is you have, just give to Him today. Your loaves, your fish, your time, your heart, your trust, your two tiny copper coins. 

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{No need to question or figure it out. Just worship Him right now, today. Thanks for reading. }

*Focusing on Christ this week. Begin here and join us …

Monday’s Reading: Matthew 21:12-22, Mark 11:12-19, Luke 19:45-46, Luke 21:37-38

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Jesus entered the temple.

Matthew 21:12

Jesus arrived in Jerusalem and entered the temple. It is not a sweet and peaceful scene. Contrary to popular belief, Jesus is not “nice.” He’s ferociously loving. He’s viciously jealous. And in this scene He’s enraged, overturning tables and chairs, driving out the peddlers, refusing to let anyone carry anything through the temple. Why? Because, as He said, “My house shall be called a house of prayer, but you make it a den of robbers.” God intended the temple to be a place where man and God commune. Where they interact. Jesus is quoting from Isaiah 56:7 where the prophet speaks for God and says,

“I will … make [my people] joyful in my house of prayer; their burnt offerings and their sacrifices will be accepted on my altar; for my house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples.”

Do remember Leviticus 6 and the altar always burning? The temple was the physical place where that always-burning altar would be kept. This “house of prayer” would house their burnt offerings and sacrifices, would house all that was laid upon the altar. The purpose of the temple was to provide a place to offer the continual sacrifices and interact with God.

Our bodies now provide this place.

Since the once-and-for-all sacrifice was paid by Christ we now live the continual sacrifice, the living sacrifice. And what exactly are we to give to God as our living sacrifice? Romans 12:1 says,

“Present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.”

Your body is the holy temple and the holy sacrifice. A sacred space to worship and commune with God.

But instead of worshiping and communing with God, Jesus found that people had defiled the holy temple seeking selfish gain. What was meant for worship was marred by mercenaries. Jesus says they made it a “den of robbers.” What’s that all about? He’s referring to Jeremiah 7, where the prophet speaks sharply for God:

 “Will you steal, murder, commit adultery, swear falsely, make offerings to Baal, and go after other gods that you have not known, and then come and stand before me in this house, which is called by My name, and say, ‘We are delivered!’–only to go on doing all these abominations? Has this house, which is called by My name, become a den of robbers in your eyes?”

Do you see why Christ was indignant? Here He had a sacred temple, called by His name, where His heart and eyes would always be, and the people were filling it with filth.

So Christ came and cleansed.

This is what happens when Christ comes on the scene in our lives, and why we so often battle with our bodies. They were created to be the holy temple of God, the sacred space to commune with Him, but we still struggle with the sinful flesh, the money-changer in us which clutters our body with filth. But gratefully, Christ comes in and cleanses. Sometimes it feels like He’s overturning tables and chairs, driving out sinful habits and destructive patterns. Many of us have faced some battle with our bodies and left feeling beaten and bruised. Allowing God to cleanse our bodies isn’t easy business, but as He continually consecrates them we will experience, in ever-increasing measure, the glory of His presence filling our lives.

The next time you feel like everything inside is overturned, perhaps ask Christ if He’s doing some cleansing? He wants to be sure His glorious temple is clean.

{Excerpt from Sacred Mundane (forthcoming). Letting Christ cleanse me today … you too? Thanks for reading.}

This week He’s sitting quietly among the Peeps and pastels. Can you see Him? We have to really focus, don’t we? My life is cluttered too. It’s busy. The kids are always talking–it’s 6:28am and one just crawled into my bed as I typed that sentence–the needs are never-ending. When do we really focus? 

I’m inviting you to focus this week. To slow. This week let’s simply read through the short passages in the gospels that correspond with Christ’s activity for each of the days of Passion Week. I’ll do the same. We’ll focus each day on Jesus Christ, His journey to the grave–then to glory–and what it means for us. Will you join me?

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Sunday’s reading: Matthew 21:1-9, Mark 11:1-11, Luke 19:29-38, John 12:12-15.

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Hosanna simply means “Save now!” 

The disciples and the multitudes were expecting Jesus to establish an earthly reign.  They wanted an earthly Kingdom. They wanted freedom from the oppression of the Romans. They wanted Jesus to forcefully seize control of the political realm and establish an earthly reign in Jerusalem.  And this kick-off event of the Passion Week reveals their anticipation that Jesus would indeed be their new king.  They wave the branches and lay down their clothes, getting ready for Jesus to take over and reign.

But then He goes and dies instead. 

All along Jesus kept emphasizing that His Kingdom was not an earthly one. He kept upsetting their expectations.  Kept turning everything upside down. The least is the greatest. Humble yourself to be exalted.  When asked by Pilate if He is king of the Jews, Jesus responds plainly: “My Kingdom is not of this world.”  But no one seemed to understand all this.

Do we?

His purpose all along was to reach down to earth that He might bring deliverance to His people and populate The Kingdom of Heaven.  We know all this right? The Kingdom of Heaven is here, yes–already not yet–but often how mixed up I become!

How often I seek the wrong kind of salvation. How often I forget that Jesus didn’t save me in order to set up a glorious happy Kingdom here in this life, on this earth, for me.  This earth and everything in it is passing away–merely a breath.  I spend probably 90% of my life and time and energy praying and thinking and asking for blessings here on earth. And don’t get me wrong, I want to receive them!

But how much better to pray, ”Thy Kingdom come, my kingdom go.”

Yes, God loves to do miracles such as provide houses, give jobs, heal sickness, and answer the multitudes of prayers that we offer up to Him. He loves to bless His kids with good gifts.  But I need to be reminded that I’m not on this earth to be special, I’m here to be useful.  It’s fun to be God’s chosen princess, to believe in Him and be the recipient of amazing blessings, but I’m not here on this earth to experience earthly deliverance from hardship, I’m not here to sit with my hands open and just receive His treasures and sit around and look at them and celebrate how fun they are. I’m here to bring Him glory!

When I cry, “Hosanna–Lord save now!”  what does that really mean? If I were really to spell out what that often means in my heart it’s probably,

“Hosanna–Lord save me by giving me good sleep and by making my husband really happy all the time and by making him always do the things which please me and by making my children behave all the time and become really smart, and by blessing us financially and by keeping every day exciting and fun and by always giving me success.  Yes, Lord! Save now!”

Christ really came to save us from sin. He came to set us free from ourselves. What if our Hosanna! meant:

“Lord, save me from my pride, my greed. Save me from making choices that lead toward destruction. Save me from hoarding my resources, from grabbing and insisting things are mine. Save me from my ego which always wants more praise and glory. Save me from despair and hopelessness which discounts Your power and faithful provision. Save me from my moodiness and touchiness that makes me easily hurt. Save me from impatience with my kids, save me from unkindness toward my  husband. Oh Savior, save me from myself. Your kingdom come, my kingdom go.”

Reflection for today:  When I pray “Save now!” what do I really mean? Am I asking for earthly comfort or the Kingdom of heaven? What sin do I need to be saved from today? Let’s ask Him specifically, and keep our eyes focused on Him this week.

{Thanks for reading; see you tomorrow.}