By Lyndon Marcotte, Contemplative Corner
Mark 11:12-21
An artist said that to make a sculpture he takes away everything that doesn’t look like the final product in his mind. To get back to a simple church we must take away everything that doesn’t belong, everything that preoccupies our attention and wastes our time and efforts, until we are focused intently on what God has called us to be.
A Simple Church is one that mirrors the holy dance of the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit, infused with the presence of Christ. There are four values that must be present and at work in a healthy church: Upward, Inward, Outward, and Forward. The church embodies the Upward dynamic as a House of Prayer. The Inward dynamic is experienced in the Family of God. The Outward dynamic is demonstrated as Followers of Christ. The Forward dynamic is realized as the Body of Christ. Today, we want to look at that first reality of the Church as a House of Prayer.
This encounter of Jesus in the temple follows his “triumphal entry” into Jerusalem on what we know as Palm Sunday. Some have said that this is Jesus having a really bad day or the one time that Jesus got really mad. I don’t think either of those are true. Jesus intended to do exactly what he did, and the incident with the fig tree on the way to Jerusalem is directly related to what happened when he got to the temple.
The first thing that jumps off the page as we read about Jesus coming to the fig tree is that “it was not the season for figs,” yet Jesus expected to find figs there anyway? That sticks in my mind and can’t be overlooked. That doesn’t seem fair, does it? Jesus knew what time of year it was. Even more shocking is Jesus’ reaction to the barren tree, cursing it to be barren. What happened to the kind and gentle Jesus? Who is this guy? What’s going on here?
It might help us in reading this passage to know that the fig tree was a symbol for Israel. The prophets that came before Jesus and paved the way for His coming prophesied over and over for the people to repent and return to God in faithfulness, to stop trying to be like all the other nations and people around them and live the unique life as the people of God they were destined to be.
When Jesus enters Jerusalem he found that it was apparently not the season for prayer either. When He arrived on Palm Sunday, from first glance it appears that everyone is on his side, greeting him with a ticket-tape parade, but these same people would be the ones to crucify him soon thereafter. What they were really cheering for is someone to lead a revolution against the Romans and run them out of town, but Jesus came in peace riding on a colt as a sign of peace.
When Jesus came to the temple the next day, He did not find people prostrated in prayer and worship, welcoming in the stranger and the outcast. He found a big business going on, people being exploited by religious leaders, and people being excluded from worship. When people came worship and offer sacrifices, it was a principle that they should offer the first-fruits of their possessions not the worst they had. It was the duty of the priests to make sure the sacrifices were acceptable, that they were not sick or deformed. Others were very poor or only had produce and crops to offer as sacrifices, which were traded for animal sacrifices, even doves. This system had changed significantly over time and became very corrupt. When people came to offer sacrifices, they were met with the salesmen on the temple steps. People were forced to buy “temple-approved” sacrifices from the “church bookstore.” The prices were inflated and the trading was unfair. It exploited people who came to worship for money and excluded people who were poor and had no means to trade.
It was this corrupt system that Jesus walked into that upset him so badly, that the temple had become a big business and people were being excluded from worship. Likewise, the church has become a big business in many places. It has become an entertainment destination for thousands, and in many cases functions as anything but a House of Prayer.
We’ve all seen the televangelists crusades on TV. They bring the sick and disabled up on stage to pray for them to receive healing, and most of the time they claim to have some miracle take place, but what the cameras don’t show you are the dozens and sometimes hundreds of people lining the walls and back of the arenas lying on hospital beds, slouched over in wheelchairs hoping to receive a miracle. People are unloaded from vans on stretchers like a trauma unit desperately seeking a miracle. What they also don’t show you on TV are the buckets being passed up and down the aisles raking in piles of cash to pay for the tailored suits, luxury cars, mansions, and private jets of the “ministers.”
What grieved the heart of Jesus most was people going through the motions playing church, exploiting people’s desperation for profit. While we may take comfort in knowing that we don’t act like those televangelists, I think anytime the church functions as anything but a house of prayer it grieves the heart of God. This isn’t a civic organization. It’s not a country club. It’s not an entertainment destination. It’s not the place to score points with God and others. It is a house of prayer, first and foremost.
I remind myself often that people don’t come to hear me. They come to hear from God, to worship, to experience the presence of God. We should do our best to get out of the way and let that happen without interjection ourselves and our egos in the way.
The Upward value is the regular experience of God. The church works when people encounter Him; they fail when the church simply goes through religious motions, praying religious prayers. The kind of encounter with God is based on an authentic passion for Him, a desire to be with Him, and desire to share what He is doing with others.
The ultimate purpose of the Church is to know Christ, the Head of the church, becoming like Him. It is a place where the people of God participate with God and one another in His holy dance. Basic Christian community is not simply a method or an option for the Church. It is a way to experience and know who God is.
Matthew 18:20, “For where two or three come together in my name, there I am with them.” The presence of Christ is already in the midst of the Church. His presence is a gift to us and is what allows the Church to experience relationship with God and one another. Without the empowering presence of Christ in His body, the Church, it is just another non-profit organization and has no life. The presence of Christ is the only unique contribution the Church has to offer the world. It is what separates the Church from every organization doing good deeds all over the world.
The most important thing to look for when you come to church isn’t:
- Did they sing the songs I like?
- Did the preacher keep my attention and make me laugh?
- Did everything flow seamlessly without interruption?
- Was there good attendance? Was the offering good?
The only criteria for whether or not we have gathered in vain is did we experience the presence of God? Did we hear from Him? Did we encounter Christ today? Whether in a verse of a song, a Sunday School lesson, a sermon, or a hug from a friend.
If the presence of God is present in our churches, if we lift Him up and keep our focus, you won’t need gimmicks, bells, and whistles to get people to come there. He will draw people unto Himself.
This is first and foremost a House of Prayer. We bring our burdens here to Christ and to one another. It is a sanctuary, a refuge, a safe place to be yourself, to be honest, to be authentic, to be real about who you are. This is not a place to parade our accomplishments and boost our egos. Leave them at the door. The ground is level at Calvary. We all come to this table just as we are.
Contemplative Corner 