From The Pulpit-March 11, 2012

What is it Really About?

John 2:13-22
Psalm 19

Our psalm today celebrates the beauty of nature, just as we can see around us today--like little miracles appearing.  And in the midst of this celebration comes a story that some people love and some people hate because they are unnerved by Jesus' anger and passion for the temple.  In John's passage, we see a story of redemption.



It seems that sometimes Jesus has to get a little angry for us to "clean up our act".  Perhaps today is a perfect day to take a look at all that we are doing in our lives and evaluate it.  It's a little like doing spring cleaning, deciding what to keep and what to give away.  It's a little like spring gardening, turning the soil and trimming away the dead branches to get ready for the blooms.

We are reminded of the garden in The Shack, the book we read as a congregation and discussed in a book talk. This garden was beautiful!! But it was all fake and plastic, the main characters mission was to clean it out and get it back to its natural state.  It was like what is called a "Hollywood house" in real estate. The front is solidly built with brick, but the rest of the house has siding.  It is all a facade.  Many songs sing about lifting up your mask or showing your true colors and being true to yourself, showing that we all have a sense that honesty is the best policy and trying to pretend your something that you are not, just doesn't get you very far. We, at Hebron, have a nice handle on this because we are surrounded by the simplicity of a clean water, red clay mentality.  The benefits of a simpler life are not masked here.

One can compare these thoughts to those of liberation theology that became popular in the 60's and 70's with people like Rev. James Cone, who took liberation ideas into the world of racism and promoted a freedom from it, and Dietrich Bonhoeffer, who explained liberation theology as the ability to find yourself in spite of the world around you (which might have seemed impossible in Nazi Germany).  Jesus' view of liberation theology was one of liberation from the rituals and sacrifice that were becoming the main  focus to focus on prayer and praise in the temple.

This story also uses the temple as a living parable pointing not only to Jesus body that would soon be tormented and destroyed, but also to the readers body and life that may also need resurrection.  Does your focus need to be adjusted? Does your reason for coming to church need to be refocused?  The heart of your temple must be healthy.  You must be doing things for the right reason.

At Hebron, we are lucky at times to not have the worldly distractions.  We are able to keep worship fairly pure here.  We are very willing to welcome all into our services, not just the people who seem to be like us.  Our friendship, fellowship, and faith are extended to all.  For years, we have found God here early in the morning or late at night walking these grounds.  The visitors that come during the week and sign in the visitors book are unseen witnesses of this purity of spirit that can be found here at any time.  Praise and prayer come easily on our campus.  It is a wonderful place to come for "a spring cleaning".  We invite you to bring your "box" of life's experiences, memories, and thoughts to Hebron and go through it.  Take a look at each moment that you have been storing up, each experience with your God, each thought about your theology and begin to decide if you will keep it or throw it away.  Decide which ideas you have outgrown and which you have grown into.  Look over it all and make decisions about what is useful.  It's a great time here at Hebron.  Come and join in with us.