It was nearly time for the Jewish Passover, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. He found in the temple those who were selling cattle, sheep, and doves, as well as those involved in exchanging currency sitting there. He made a whip from ropes and chased them all out of the temple, including the cattle and the sheep. He scattered the coins and overturned the tables of those who exchanged currency. He said to the dove sellers, “Get these things out of here! Don’t make my Father’s house a place of business.” His disciples remembered that it is written, “Passion for your house consumes me.” -John 2:13-17

A funny thing happened on Sunday afternoon.

On Sunday morning, our scheduled gospel reading included the above from John’s account of the life and ministry of Jesus Christ. In my sermon (which you can find here, starting at the 25 minute mark: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-AEJTQUhqjQ), I reflected on why the livestock salespeople and moneychangers were so offensive to Jesus. Basically, they were putting power– financial, political, military, social– above God’s concern for God’s people. They had turned God’s holy house into a home for business as usual.

As I preached, I pointed out that we, as the body of Christ, may sometimes be called to flip tables. Being more like Jesus can mean overturning business as usual, especially if God’s people are being hurt to maintain the status quo. I also cautioned that before flipping tables, we must take time for prayer and discernment. Jesus took the time to craft a whip from ropes. Only after that time of deliberation and only because of his zeal for God’s house did he act. If we feel a call from the Holy Spirit to flip tables, we should make time to pray and reflect before we act.

When Jesus did act, his action was decisive. It upset the people who were accustomed to business as usual. It was probably talked about all over Jerusalem. The disciples were no doubt among those who wondered just what Jesus was thinking, even as they remembered the psalm quoted at the end of the reading above. In my sermon, I pointed out that even as we may be called to flip tables, we are also called together to the table of grace and mercy where Jesus feeds us, a table that can never be upended, a table with room enough for all.

And then a funny thing happened on Sunday afternoon. As I checked the news, I saw that a group of people had interrupted a worship service in Minnesota that very morning. Their motive was to object to the church’s pastor also working as the field director for ICE, covering several states, including MN and IA. There was some yelling, tense face-offs between protesters and worshipers, and finally a peaceful departure from the church.

I want to be very clear: I do not know, for sure, that this particular interaction was or was not consistent with the Jesus way of prayer, reflection, and then action. I will neither condemn nor praise it without much more information than I have. It is, however, easy to see that it feels a bit like the story from John. People were gathered to worship. Others objected to the particular version of political-military power with which the church had aligned itself. The protestors deliberately chose a moment to make a point that would be visible, and it has certainly done that!

There is a saying: “art imitates life.” I think we might extend it to say that “life imitates scripture.” There’s nothing new in our world. As far removed as we might feel from a world with Roman chariots and crucifixion and a lot of stories about sheep, the basic stories of our lives are the same as the ones found in the Bible. We have stories of conflict and resolution, fear and reassurance, war and peace, birth and death, marriage and divorce, sickness and healing, worship and service. We have family drama and dinner parties. We are like our ancestors in the faith, even if our culture and technology and political situation has changed. 

It can be hard to interpret the events of our lives or of our news cycle. We want to know “what does this mean” for us and our loved ones and our world. It can be easy to go down a rabbit hole of coverage and interpretation. Let me suggest another way: get to know the events of the Bible better. Instead of needing to know every detail of every headline, get to know the details of scripture. In that way, when there are events in our lives that defy easy explanation, we can go to the stories of our faith. Bible stories show us God’s story. They show us how God’s people have lived through similar challenges. They help us make sense of the senseless.

I understand the desire to be well-informed. To know what is happening around us. I am not saying that you should bury your head in the sand. Instead, bury your heart in God’s word. When the world’s news is senseless, God’s good news in Jesus Christ will always help us make sense of it.