Marketplace

"My house will be called a house of prayer, but you are making it a den of thieves" (Jesus, Matthew 21:13).

It's interesting how Matthew's account of the events of Holy Week make a sudden shift from Jesus entering Jerusalem with the adoration of the crowds to him making a mess and tearing things up in the Temple courts. I can't imagine what must have been going through the minds of the palm waivers when the news of this messianic trouble-maker's ruckus in the Temple reached them. Perhaps this is when they began to re-think this Jesus.

What was it that offended Jesus' sense of justice and sent him ripping through the Temple courts like a holy terror? Gentle Jesus, meek and mild, lost his temper and went wild. Some say he was outraged that the money changers and those selling sacrifices were making excessive money off the pilgrims coming to the Temple...ripping people off. Others would add that perhaps Jesus had an issue with people profitting in the house of God.

I'd like to think it is both.

I remember when I first became youth pastor at the Blue River Church of the Brethren in Columbia City, Indiana and learned that they prohibited the sale of merchandise in the church. If musical groups came to perform, they were not allowed to sell their music. There were no bake sales, rummage sales, or anything of that nature. Fund-raising for youth events were also limited since we were not allowed to raise money outside the church. They held a firm belief that the support of God's work needed to come from God's people.

Consequently, the worst part of a youth pastor's job (fund-raising) was, thankfully, not part of my job description. What I thought would be a severe limitation for our ministry became a blessing. God's people did, indeed, support our work through the church budget and special offerings.

Over time, I came to appreciate this distinction between marketplace and house of prayer. I had been comfortable with the roll of fund-raiser only because the churches I had been a part of were comfortable with consumerism in the sanctuary. I'd like to believe, however, that there should exist a line between marketplace and house of prayer. I find myself more inclined to appreciate that separation now more than ever.

To be honest with you, it is hard to see the difference between the consumerism and marketing that drives the American way of life and the consumerism and marketing that has engulfed the American church. I have an admiration for those congregations that resist the temptation to profit from people seeking God or shamefully market themselves to attract the spiritual consumer.

Jesus turned things upside down in order to make things right side up. I wonder what practices we find acceptable in the house of prayer that he might want to overturn?

We may want to re-consider this Jesus. He's a bit more dangerous than we may be comfortable with.