John 2:13-22 March 8, 2015

No Business Like Church Business

There’s no business like church business, like no business I know. With apologies to Irving Berlin, Annie Oakley, and show business, there really is no business like church business. It’s really kind of crazy – when you think of it – about how the church functions as an organization.

Most of the money that we need to keep the church going comes from the voluntary contributions of members and friends of the church. And most of the money that comes to the church comes when we pass the offering plate down the rows on a Sunday morning.

We literally pass a gold-colored plate down the rows and expect you to put money in it. We will give you envelopes so that no one sees how much you are giving. Or, if you want to make a big deal out of it, you can just throw that pile of one-dollar bills on top. Or, if you really want to make a lot of noise, you can just empty out your pockets of loose change.

As you know by now, I take a bit of time before our offering to explain to visitors exactly what it is that we are doing and to let them know that they don’t necessarily have to feel obligated to give. I am sure that this sounds fairly stupid. Why wouldn’t we want to get as much money from as many persons as we could, especially if they are just going to be here for one worship service?

The short answer is this: Because we are here to worship God and not simply to run a business. It is the offertory prayer after the collection that is of primary importance. And our liturgists have complete freedom to think about what they want to say when we offer up our gifts to God. When you focus on this prayer as you give to God, your heart finds its right place.

Every gospel in the Bible includes the scene in which Jesus enters the Temple, sees the moneychangers and starts flipping over the tables. In Matthew, Mark and Luke, Jesus says that they have turned a house of prayer into a den of robbers, implying that they are overcharging people for everything, from exchanging foreign currency into the coin of the temple to the price of the sacrificial animals themselves. This all takes place during the Passover and the last week of Jesus’ life and ministry.

But in John’s gospel – that was read today – Jesus enters into the temple at the start of his ministry. He has performed his first miracle at a wedding in Cana, by turning water into wine. And he is going to kick off things by paying the first of three visits to the Temple in John’s gospel. Here he happens to grab a whip and really go to town! Animals, coins, and people are flying all over the place. Popeye with a full can of spinach in him couldn’t have done more damage.

But listen closely to what Jesus says here, because it’s different from the other versions: In the correct Greek translation of verse 16 he says: “You are making my Father’s house a house of business.” The moneychangers are not overcharging anyone; there’s no robbery here. No, the main problem is that they are doing business more than they are doing worship.

They are showing up with a job to do rather than expecting to encounter God.There is a difference.To begin with, just coming to church with the anticipation of spending time with God is

not something that a lot of folks think about. This would not cross the minds of many Christians. Many youth quickly dismiss the church after middle school because they are not mature enough to think of any substitutes for true worship. They just know that nothing much is going to happen on Sunday morning and they cannot see how their lack of involvement is the primary impediment.

And it is true for all of us. The most important guarantee that you will get something out of worship is your decision to open up your heart to God as you enter into worship.

Come to worship and you will worship.

I know many pastors who have told me that they are unable to worship God when they are leading worship. While I believe them (and also know them as persons of faith), I also have observed that many of the same pastors find themselves approaching cynicism or burnout on a regular basis, and it is no surprise. They have replaced the chunky soup of worship with the weak broth of showing up for work.

This can affect other parts of the pastor’s worship as well. If you only read scripture when you are preparing a sermon and never for devotional use; if you only listen to other preachers to gather stories for your own messages; and if you only show up when you have something in worship to do, you can spend more time preparing your show before God than you are preparing for God to show up.

I know many persons – men and women – who are at the same place. There are choir members who come less often during the summer, ushers who only show up when it is their week to ush, children and parents who come to special children’s programs or vacation bible school. On one recent snowy and cold day, we had eight persons here at 8:00 a.m. and six of them were involved in leading worship. I shared with folks that morning that I really needed to come up with more jobs to do!

But what is Jesus really saying here, if he is not ticked off at overcharging people for Temple sacrifces? William Barclay mentions three possibilities:

Worship without reverence. This is showing up for business and not for God.The whole sacrificial system was no longer relevant to worship. For generations

the prophets had been pointing out how the priests and worshipers were simply going through the motions. What had started out working quite well had turned into a dull routine. As the prophet Hosea writes: “For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.” (5:6) David writes in Psalm 51: “For you have no delight in sacrifice; if I were to give a burnt offering, you would not be pleased. The sacrifice acceptable to God is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.” (51:16-17) Jesus goes on to speak of his body as both Temple and sacrifice. Jesus Christ is now the way to God.

Business was keeping people away from God. The Temple had several courts, working inward. The outer court was the court of the Gentiles, followed by the court of the women, the court of the Israelites, and the court of the priests. The only place where moneychangers were allowed was the outermost court of the Gentiles. Gentiles were not allowed to become Jews but could gather here and worship. But with the noise and activity of the moneychangers, who could easily worship? The gospel of Mark has Jesus say: “My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations.” (11:9) We cannot use an opportunity for worship as a way of keeping people away from God. This is not the time to judge people who are not here or a time to think about ways to become more exclusive as we grow in our faith.

Jesus would show people God’s love every day of his life. He would not pick and choose locations where he could make the biggest impression. He preached from a boat, on a hill, and on the plain. He gives us the Holy Spirit and sends us out into the world. There is no price for salvation; it is His to give. It’s a crazy business. We have no practical reason for existing and many churches will close because the world is getting more practical, too. But as long as people gather to meet God, God will show up. Let us wait, pray and worship. Amen.