Throughout the readings today, we are hearing about the sanctuary: the sacred space.
Our Gospel passage today starts right when the disciples are highlighting that space. I like that we don’t know which disciple it was: one of the followers of Jesus. Any of the followers of Jesus. Which is what we aspire to be.
And so, this disciple starts oooh-ing and aaaahhhh-ing at the temple. The big stones! The clean lines! If only cameras ere invented then, they would have been taking a lot of pictures. Clearly, this disciple is distracted by the amazing architecture.
And we know what it takes to make a strong building: firm foundation, solid materials, straight lines, careful planning: lots of engineering and expertise from a variety of tradespeople.
And this is when Jesus throws a curve ball to the disciple – yeah, they’re stones. But they’ll all fall down.
Ooof! What a downer! (If you’ll pardon the pun)
And that’s all we hear about that. No argument, no clever repartee, no dialogue.
Until later, privately (for questions and conversations have appropriate times and places), when a few of his apostles want some earthly clarification about these great changes that Jesus was referencing.
And Jesus answers with such beautiful boldness that to be too caught up in the ways of the world will mean to be too distracted from the ways of God. Jesus doesn’t discredit the distractions; in fact he says they’re going to happen no matter what. Even to the point of wars and rumours – well, we know that conflict remains a part of our world. We know that rumours remain a sad reality of our day-to-day life. But Jesus reminds us that these are not of God; and they are not of the Kingdom.
And in doing so, Jesus encourages his friends, his followers, to keep their focus. To maintain a strong faith and practice, because they are to become foundational to the building of the kingdom. (Peter is there, remember – Peter, the rock, the foundation of the church).
It’s a helpful message for the apostles; and for the disciples; and for all of us.
Do not be led astray: though the world is full of distractions! And whether they mean to or not, these distractions can lead us astray from God. Our minds wander, our actions follow our minds. We get caught up in the gossip and reality TV and salaciousness of ‘juicy tidbits’ that we move away from the truth.
We get distracted: and then we move away from genuine Christian love.
We move away from the teachings of Jesus.
And THIS is what Jesus is warning his followers about:
Do NOT be led astray! He says. It will be easy to be led astray, but check in with yourself on a regular basis. Do not forget the teachings.
And of course, he was not just talking about the teachings of that day, but of every day.
For the teachings of Christ are the strength of the kingdom of God:
Teachings on effective and intentional communications, to avoid gossip and hearsay, which only lead to problems and pain.
Teachings on conflict resolution, to go speak to the person directly, and to be open to hearing anothers’ perspectives.
Teachings on generosity, being cheerful givers of our time, talent, and treasure; especially to help in the building up of the Kingdom of God and for All God’s people – and we are ALL God’s chosen people, TBTG!
Teachings on compassion, on treating those with less resources that ourselves with as much respect as we would want to be given. For the word ‘compassion’ itself means to feel with.
Teachings on outreach, to consider how we show the world that we are Christ followers, in word AND in deed, with joyful hearts and no expectation of return.
Teachings on prayer: to be honest with ourselves when we come to God, to come to God with everything, and to genuinely listen to God’s response.
Teachings on worship: that it is a state of heart, rather than a location and time (recognising, of course, that these can – and at times DO - overlap!) – and that we worship together to keep our collective focus on GOD.
Teachings on money and material goods: how they can trap us into earthly thinking if we’re not careful, and how they can help us to support the spiritual journey of ourselves and others when we share of our abundance.
Teachings on hospitality – to welcome, to invite, to support, to nourish. In these actions we are healing; and we are healed.
Teachings on repentance, to keep us humble and honest and focused on living every day as a day that we are proud of.
Teachings on forgiveness – 7x7, and 70x7, and beyond; knowing what damage we do to ourselves, our relationships, and our communities when we choose to hold a grudge.
Teachings on the KINGDOM. The kingdom of God. The holy of holies where we know that we are welcomed – we are wanted – we are INVITED – and where we are home. The kingdom where the teachings of Jesus are lived and upheld, with joy.
For the Kingdom of God should be our focus at all times, and in all circumstances. In all our decisions, we can challenge ourselves if this will help build the kingdom of God: and if not, then we need to ask ourselves if we really want to be doing it.
For we are the folks that Jesus wants.
Jesus wants us in the kingdom.
Jesus wants us in the family and household of God.
Jesus wants us to be the builders of the sanctuary – the holy place.
Because this, beloved of God, is where we all belong. In the company of Jesus; in the inspired ministry of God’s holy mission of love, in the active engagement with each other and the world.
God wants us in the sanctuary –
It’s why Hannah felt so comfortable entering the Temple, alone, fervent in prayer.
It’s why she had the comfort to correct Eli in his mis-perceptions.
It’s why she could overcome her personal grief and grievances and focus on praising God.
It is the sanctuary that is highlighted throughout the letter to the Hebrews.
It’s why in today’s passage the writer speaks with such authority on the sanctuary as the Kingdom of God, not as a physical space.
It’s why we are assured that we can enter that sanctuary “with confidence” for the building of the church, of the community, of the people.
It’s why we trust that the “new and living way” has been opened to us by Jesus himself. We couldn’t do it for ourselves or by ourselves.
And so this is the sanctuary, this holy ground of glorious mystery, that we are invited into by our Saviour and Lord!
This is the sanctuary of truth, and honesty, and integrity.
This is the sanctuary where people are committed to caring for each other in the midst of, and resulting from, worshiping God.
This is the sanctuary that can be built, when the people of God come together. Not with shoddy construction of secret meetings or gossip or foolishness; but with the strength of faithful, faith-fuelled actions that “provoke one another with love and good deeds.”
This is the sanctuary – the sacred space – that we are being invited to build and maintain now. Today! As we move into a post-lockdown world, as we move toward the season of lights, as we move towards new ways of living with and loving our communities, as we move towards new expressions of ministry for this place and this time, evermore focused on the call to BE the church.
So let’s be intentional, then, to NOT be led astray: by the noise of the world, the scandalous headlines and attention-seeking gossips and haters.
Let’s “hold fast to the confession of our hope without wavering, for God, who has promised us everything, is faithful.”
Let’s commit to keeping our focus on the kingdom: the kingdom that is being built; the kingdom that we are engaged in building, the kingdom that beckons all of us to come home: the kingdom of God.
And in doing so, we will enter into the sanctuary: focused on God, acting in love, living in faith.
Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment