March 4, 2024 • 28 mins
Jesus enters the outer courts of the temple and has a temper tantrum, turning over the tables and driving out the animals. Clearly this means Jesus doesn't think commerce and a place of worship can coexist in the same space, right? We explore one more story of Jesus upending the status quo, and perhaps what it could mean if we lean into adjectives instead of identity.
Scripture: John 2:13-22
Jesus in the Temple
Music: The Brilliance - Turning Over Tables
Bonus: "On the Money Changers" from Jesus: Song of Man by Kahlil Gibran
Related Links:
Dot & Bea Vintage
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Rev. Bri-anne Swan (00:00):
I'm the Reverend Breanne Swan, and this
is Sermons from the East End forTuesday, March 5, 2024. It is
(00:25):
the 3rd Sunday of Lent already.Can you believe it? Today, our
reflection is one that is verymuch geared specifically to the
East End United Community. Itspeaks especially to our context
in this time and space with avery well known story.
Jesus freaking out as he reachesthe temple, driving up the money
(00:47):
changers and the animals. ThePassover of the Jews was near,
and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.In the temple, he found people
(01:10):
selling cattle, sheep, anddoves, and the money changers
seated at their tables. Making awhip of cords, he drove all of
them out of the temple, both thesheep and the cattle.
He also poured out the coins of
the money changers and overturned their
tables.
He told those who were selling the
(01:31):
doves, take these things out ofhere. Stop making my father's
house a marketplace.
His disciples remembered that it was
written, zeal for your housewill consume consume me. The
Jews then said to him, what signcan you show us for doing this?
(01:56):
Jesus answered them, destroythis temple and in 3 days I will
raise it up. Gajeev then said,this temple has been under
construction for 46 years, andyou will raise it up in 3 days?
(02:17):
But he was speaking of thetemple of his body.
After he was raised from thedead, his disciples remembered
that he had said this, and theybelieved the scripture and the
word that Jesus had spoken. Thestory of Jesus entering the
(02:47):
temple. It's an important story.We know that it is an important
story because every gospelwriter has their own version of
it, And they are remarkablysimilar. In the Synoptics,
Matthew, Mark, and Luke, thisstory happens after Jesus'
triumphal entry into Jerusalem.
(03:10):
The events we commemorate onPalm Sunday. In Mark, this is
the event that convinces thereligious leadership that Jesus
needs to be stopped once and forall. But in John, which is where
we are today, this event happensat the beginning of Jesus'
ministry. There will be at leastone more Passover for Jesus in
(03:34):
Jerusalem. This is an importantstory, but it can be an
uncomfortable story.
We don't often like our Jesusall angry and yell y, crashing
around, violently throwingtables and coins scattering
everywhere. Jesus uses a whip, awhip to drive out all the
(03:58):
animals, screaming, stop makingmy Father's house a market
place. And I think it can be anuncomfortable story for this
congregation in particular. EastEnd United Regional Ministry has
2 large, beautiful buildings.Our Glen Rhodes campus is leased
(04:22):
100% to the city of Toronto, andwe are allowed 20% of the time
and space for our own churchactivities.
The Eastminster campus is rentedout to dozens and dozens of
groups throughout the year, Fromprofessional wrestling, to queer
raves, to toddler soccer, toScottish country dancing, to
(04:44):
film shoots, and yes, evencommercial stores. In fact,
during worship, there is acommercial store operating just
above us in the chapel. I cansee their wares of vintage
clothing and accessories as Ilook up to the balcony from my
place at the lectern. And basedon the theology so many of us
(05:11):
have been taught over the years,having a store operating during
this time of worship is, it'skind of offensive. Jesus seems
pretty clear about theseparation of commerce and
worship.
It feels very much like we arebreaking one of the
(05:32):
commandments, like we areparticipating in a thou shalt
not. And so, I wonder, whatwould Jesus say? What would
Jesus say if he arrived at theEastminster Campus, and saw the
(05:53):
mannequins and pajamas some ofus pass by to get into the
sanctuary from Danforth Avenue?Would he march up the stairs and
start overturning the tables of19 eighties costume jewelry? To
be clear, there was nothingabout the sight of money
changers and dove merchants thatwould have been a surprise for
(06:16):
Jesus.
For those offering sacrifice,it's not so easy to travel long
distances with animals. Andpaying one's temple tax couldn't
be done with Roman currency. Wetalked a little bit about this
at the end of October. Therewere to be no graven images in
the Temple. And that includedCaesar's face.
(06:41):
So the people needed to exchangetheir Roman currency for
something like tokens. This wasjust the way things worked.
Jesus was basically encounteringthe status quo. And yet, He
blows up. Because of its massaccumulation of wealth, the
(07:05):
Temple became something like abank or a broker for the people
of Jerusalem, especially theruling elite.
Its economic power would havebeen well utilized by the ruling
classes. The Temple was thecenter of Jewish political
power. More like the Middle AgesVatican than simply a very, very
(07:26):
large church. The High Priestwas a major political figure,
often allied with the Romans oreven set up by them. The
Sanhedrin, the court who willfacilitate Jesus's trial, they
met in the Temple.
Political leaders, both theRomans and their surrogate
(07:48):
kings, would have known thathaving an inn with the temple
was beneficial for both sides ofthe leadership. And all of this
was taking place against thebackdrop of occupation and
especially disaster for the poorpeople of Judah, including those
from Jesus' native Galilee. Manyof them were living at
(08:08):
subsistence level, barely ableto afford the necessities of
life. It is interesting to methat this angry Jesus isn't just
randomly upending all of thetables in the court, a la Jesus
Christ Superstar. Jesus targetsthe money changers.
(08:31):
As I mentioned earlier, everygospel writer tells this story
in some form or another. In Johnwe have cattle and sheep in Mark
we only really get to hear aboutthe doves. There certainly would
have been other animals on offerin the outer courts of the
Temple, but here Jesus targetsthe money changers and drives
(08:53):
all of the animals out of theTemple. The price of exchanging
Roman coins for Temple tokenswould have been an enormous cost
to the Jewish people. Evenbuying doves, the cheapest
sacrificial option would havebeen a burden for those who were
barely able to feed theirFamilies.
(09:15):
But this was what was requiredto be part of the community.
This was the status quo.However, despite what Christians
have tried to do to him, Jesuswas never about maintaining the
status quo. And just as a sidenote, we also need to remember
(09:37):
that the Gospel authors werewriting for communities in
conflict with the Jewishestablishment of their era,
which adds to painting theleadership of the Temple in an
especially bad light. This isone of those texts which has
been used over the years tosupport antisemitic and anti
Judaic rhetoric and violence,especially in the Gospel of
(09:59):
John.
So it feels really, reallyimportant for me to say this is
not a text about specificallyJewish leadership being corrupt.
It is a text about powerfulestablishment exploiting the
vulnerable and creating barriersfor the people to access God,
(10:20):
sacred space and community. I ama customer of Dot and B, the
clothing store in the chapelupstairs at Eastminster. There
have been a few times I've runup there with a clothing
emergency. Like, I've realizedI'm speaking at Shabbat with the
(10:44):
Danforth Jewish Circle, but I'mdressed for out of the cold.
And Alison, the owner, hasalways helped me out. Dot and B
sells beautiful pre loved, preworn vintage clothing at
extremely affordable prices.I've suggested the store to a
(11:05):
number of women who didn't havea lot of money for clothes, but
had job interviews coming up andneeded something really nice to
wear. And almost everything inthe store is recycled. The
labels are made from cut uppieces of cardboard, boots are
stuffed with old shoulder padsthat have been removed from
blazers, even the dressing roomshave been created with reclaimed
(11:28):
PVC pipe.
It's a beautiful little store,living out so many of the values
that East End United shares.Care for community with its
offering access to high qualityclothing at affordable prices.
(11:48):
Care for the earth with keepingclothing out of landfills and
the use of recycled furnishings.Care for people with the
rejection of fast fashionpractices, which can only happen
on the backs of impoverishedworkers making pennies for their
(12:09):
labor. And unlike the moneychangers and the sellers of
animals, there is no expectationthat one needs to purchase a
pair of pants before enteringthe worship space.
There is no price of admissionhere. Dot and B doesn't create a
barrier for our connection tothe divine. If anything, I think
(12:32):
it demonstrates a way in which amarket and commerce which are
inescapable in the world we livein, can happen ethically and
communally, which in and ofitself challenges the status
quo. In our postmodern world, itis easy for us to forget, or at
(12:56):
least feel removed, from how andwhere the Jesus Movement
originated. It was a movementrooted in oppression and both
the submission and lack ofsubmission to imperial powers.
It was dismissed as a religionfor women and poor people.
(13:20):
Christians do an incredibledisservice to our sacred texts
if we do not read them throughthe lens of a people who were at
best ill treated, and at worstenslaved. We also do an
incredible disservice to thesetexts if we do not acknowledge
that where we came from, a faithborn in times of persecution, is
(13:42):
not where we are now. This isnot to say that there aren't
people who identify as Christianwho are discriminated against.
But in our North Americancontext, Christianity as a
religion has traditionally beenthe faith of the majority, and
(14:04):
certainly the identified faithof those exercising secular
political power.
Christianity sleeps within thebed of empire. Except, the
umbrella of Christian is prettylarge. The pope is a Christian.
(14:27):
Martin Luther King was aChristian. Men who wear hoods
and burn crosses are Christians.
Sister Helen Prejean is aChristian. So is Desmond Tutu.
And Donald Trump. And a lot ofpeople who support him at
rallies, which are then coveredby the media. Westborough
(14:50):
Baptist Church is filled withChristians.
It's a problem with the wordChristian being used as a noun
and not as an adjective. This isthe context, then and now, and
it is important, very important.But I'm not sure it is the whole
(15:12):
point or even the most importantpoint. The exploitation that
initiates Jesus' temper tantrumis real, but it's the effect,
the separating of those seekingcommunion with the divine, that
I believe has Jesus all firedup. Jesus turns over the tables
(15:33):
of coins and drives out theanimals.
The coins and the animals, butnot the people. Not the people,
even the people who wereparticipating in the unfair
trading of money and sacrifice.Because ultimately, it is
reconciliation with God which isJesus' core message. The anger
(15:55):
comes from those placing upbarriers to God. But Jesus does
not create more barriershimself.
Even with those he is angry at,they are not excluded. If sin is
simply anything that separatesus from God, and that is
(16:18):
generally how I think about sin,simply anything that separates
us from the divine. If that'sthe case, then yes, the commerce
of money changing and animalselling in the outer courts of
the temple was sinful. But, andI say this delicately, so long
(16:40):
as our core mission in thiscongregation is to serve God,
and therefore serve God'speople, because it's impossible
to love God and not love theircreation, if that remains our
core mission, then offeringspace to stores like Dot and B,
which does everything they canto function within the same core
(17:03):
values of care that East EndUnited holds. Even if they are
operating on a Sunday morning, Iam okay with that.
I think it is Christian.Christian as an adjective, not a
noun. And it's not like I haveany kind of special in with
(17:29):
Jesus, but I'm pretty sure I'mpretty sure he'd be okay with
this store too. And maybe evenpurchase a pair of sandals for
all that walking he's about todo as he continues on his
journey. May it be so.
(17:52):
Amen.
(22:02):
East End United RegionalMinistry is committed to
supporting our neighborsthroughout the East End of
Toronto. We run a weekly foodbank market out of our Glenwolds
campus on Gerrard Street, aswell as out of the cold from our
East Minster campus on DanforthAvenue. We actively support
refugees and asylum seekers, andare public, intentional, and
(22:26):
explicit of our affirmation andadvocacy for 2 spirited and
LGBTQIA plus peoples. We gatherfor worship on-site and online
Sunday mornings at ourEastminster campus, and Thursday
evenings at our Glen Robescampus. We are a community
working to figure out how toembody the words of Cornel West,
(22:49):
who said, Justice is what lovelooks like in public.
We don't always get it right,but we are committed to working
for progress even as weacknowledge that we are a work
in progress. If any of thissounds interesting, we would
love to meet you. Feel free tosend me, reverend Breanne, an
(23:13):
email, b swan, bswan@eastendunited.ca. I would
love to connect over coffee,either in person or online.
(23:37):
On the Money Changers, fromJesus, Son of Man by Khalil
Gibran.
I was a stranger in Jerusalem. Ihad come to the holy city to
(23:57):
behold the great temple and tosacrifice upon the altar for my
wife had given twin sons to mytribe. And after I had made my
offering, I stood in the porticoof the temple looking down upon
the money changers and those whosold doves for sacrifice, and
(24:18):
listening to the great noise inthe court. And as I stood there
came of a sudden a man in themidst of the money changers and
those who sold Doug's. He was aman of majesty, and he came
swiftly.
In his hand he held a rope ofgoat's hide, and he began to
(24:39):
overturn the tables of the moneychangers, and to beat the
peddlers of birds with the rope.And I heard him saying with a
loud voice, render these birdsunto the sky which is their
nest. Men and women fled frombefore his face, and he moved
(25:00):
amongst them as the whirlingwind moves on the sad hills.
All this came to pass in but a moment,
and then the court of the temple was emptied
of the money changers. Only theman stood there alone, and his
(25:20):
followers stood at a distance.Then I turned my face and I saw
another man in the portico ofthe temple, and I walked towards
him and said, sir, who is thisman who stands alone even like
another temple? And he answeredme, this is Jesus of Nazareth, a
(25:45):
prophet who has appeared of latein Galilee. Here in Jerusalem,
all men hate him.
And I said, my heart was strongenough to be with his whip, and
yielding enough to be at hisfeet. And Jesus turned towards
(26:10):
his followers who were awaitinghim, But before he reached them,
3 of the temple doves flew back,and one alighted upon his left
shoulder, and the other 2 at hisfeet. And he touched each one
tenderly. Then he walked on, andthere were leagues in every step
(26:38):
of his steps. Now tell me, whatpower had he to attack and
disperse hundreds of men andwomen without opposition?
I was told that they all hatehim, yet no one stood before him
(27:00):
on that day. Had he plucked outthe fangs of hate on his way to
the court of the temple? Thankyou for listening to this week's
(27:33):
sermon. We will be taking a weekoff because next week, March
10th, is our Music Sunday at ourSunday service. So until we come
back, take care of yourselvesand each other.
We'll see you soon. East EndUnited Regional Ministry is an
(28:08):
affirming community of faithwithin The United Church of
Canada. You can learn more aboutour community, including our
many outreach programs, by goingto www.eastandunited.
I'm the Reverend Breanne Swan, and this
is Sermons from the East End forTuesday, March 5, 2024. It is
(00:25):
the 3rd Sunday of Lent already.Can you believe it? Today, our
reflection is one that is verymuch geared specifically to the
East End United Community. Itspeaks especially to our context
in this time and space with avery well known story.
Jesus freaking out as he reachesthe temple, driving up the money
(00:47):
changers and the animals. ThePassover of the Jews was near,
and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.In the temple, he found people
(01:10):
selling cattle, sheep, anddoves, and the money changers
seated at their tables. Making awhip of cords, he drove all of
them out of the temple, both thesheep and the cattle.
He also poured out the coins of
the money changers and overturned their
tables.
He told those who were selling the
(01:31):
doves, take these things out ofhere. Stop making my father's
house a marketplace.
His disciples remembered that it was
written, zeal for your housewill consume consume me. The
Jews then said to him, what signcan you show us for doing this?
(01:56):
Jesus answered them, destroythis temple and in 3 days I will
raise it up. Gajeev then said,this temple has been under
construction for 46 years, andyou will raise it up in 3 days?
(02:17):
But he was speaking of thetemple of his body.
After he was raised from thedead, his disciples remembered
that he had said this, and theybelieved the scripture and the
word that Jesus had spoken. Thestory of Jesus entering the
(02:47):
temple. It's an important story.We know that it is an important
story because every gospelwriter has their own version of
it, And they are remarkablysimilar. In the Synoptics,
Matthew, Mark, and Luke, thisstory happens after Jesus'
triumphal entry into Jerusalem.
(03:10):
The events we commemorate onPalm Sunday. In Mark, this is
the event that convinces thereligious leadership that Jesus
needs to be stopped once and forall. But in John, which is where
we are today, this event happensat the beginning of Jesus'
ministry. There will be at leastone more Passover for Jesus in
(03:34):
Jerusalem. This is an importantstory, but it can be an
uncomfortable story.
We don't often like our Jesusall angry and yell y, crashing
around, violently throwingtables and coins scattering
everywhere. Jesus uses a whip, awhip to drive out all the
(03:58):
animals, screaming, stop makingmy Father's house a market
place. And I think it can be anuncomfortable story for this
congregation in particular. EastEnd United Regional Ministry has
2 large, beautiful buildings.Our Glen Rhodes campus is leased
(04:22):
100% to the city of Toronto, andwe are allowed 20% of the time
and space for our own churchactivities.
The Eastminster campus is rentedout to dozens and dozens of
groups throughout the year, Fromprofessional wrestling, to queer
raves, to toddler soccer, toScottish country dancing, to
(04:44):
film shoots, and yes, evencommercial stores. In fact,
during worship, there is acommercial store operating just
above us in the chapel. I cansee their wares of vintage
clothing and accessories as Ilook up to the balcony from my
place at the lectern. And basedon the theology so many of us
(05:11):
have been taught over the years,having a store operating during
this time of worship is, it'skind of offensive. Jesus seems
pretty clear about theseparation of commerce and
worship.
It feels very much like we arebreaking one of the
(05:32):
commandments, like we areparticipating in a thou shalt
not. And so, I wonder, whatwould Jesus say? What would
Jesus say if he arrived at theEastminster Campus, and saw the
(05:53):
mannequins and pajamas some ofus pass by to get into the
sanctuary from Danforth Avenue?Would he march up the stairs and
start overturning the tables of19 eighties costume jewelry? To
be clear, there was nothingabout the sight of money
changers and dove merchants thatwould have been a surprise for
(06:16):
Jesus.
For those offering sacrifice,it's not so easy to travel long
distances with animals. Andpaying one's temple tax couldn't
be done with Roman currency. Wetalked a little bit about this
at the end of October. Therewere to be no graven images in
the Temple. And that includedCaesar's face.
(06:41):
So the people needed to exchangetheir Roman currency for
something like tokens. This wasjust the way things worked.
Jesus was basically encounteringthe status quo. And yet, He
blows up. Because of its massaccumulation of wealth, the
(07:05):
Temple became something like abank or a broker for the people
of Jerusalem, especially theruling elite.
Its economic power would havebeen well utilized by the ruling
classes. The Temple was thecenter of Jewish political
power. More like the Middle AgesVatican than simply a very, very
(07:26):
large church. The High Priestwas a major political figure,
often allied with the Romans oreven set up by them. The
Sanhedrin, the court who willfacilitate Jesus's trial, they
met in the Temple.
Political leaders, both theRomans and their surrogate
(07:48):
kings, would have known thathaving an inn with the temple
was beneficial for both sides ofthe leadership. And all of this
was taking place against thebackdrop of occupation and
especially disaster for the poorpeople of Judah, including those
from Jesus' native Galilee. Manyof them were living at
(08:08):
subsistence level, barely ableto afford the necessities of
life. It is interesting to methat this angry Jesus isn't just
randomly upending all of thetables in the court, a la Jesus
Christ Superstar. Jesus targetsthe money changers.
(08:31):
As I mentioned earlier, everygospel writer tells this story
in some form or another. In Johnwe have cattle and sheep in Mark
we only really get to hear aboutthe doves. There certainly would
have been other animals on offerin the outer courts of the
Temple, but here Jesus targetsthe money changers and drives
(08:53):
all of the animals out of theTemple. The price of exchanging
Roman coins for Temple tokenswould have been an enormous cost
to the Jewish people. Evenbuying doves, the cheapest
sacrificial option would havebeen a burden for those who were
barely able to feed theirFamilies.
(09:15):
But this was what was requiredto be part of the community.
This was the status quo.However, despite what Christians
have tried to do to him, Jesuswas never about maintaining the
status quo. And just as a sidenote, we also need to remember
(09:37):
that the Gospel authors werewriting for communities in
conflict with the Jewishestablishment of their era,
which adds to painting theleadership of the Temple in an
especially bad light. This isone of those texts which has
been used over the years tosupport antisemitic and anti
Judaic rhetoric and violence,especially in the Gospel of
(09:59):
John.
So it feels really, reallyimportant for me to say this is
not a text about specificallyJewish leadership being corrupt.
It is a text about powerfulestablishment exploiting the
vulnerable and creating barriersfor the people to access God,
(10:20):
sacred space and community. I ama customer of Dot and B, the
clothing store in the chapelupstairs at Eastminster. There
have been a few times I've runup there with a clothing
emergency. Like, I've realizedI'm speaking at Shabbat with the
(10:44):
Danforth Jewish Circle, but I'mdressed for out of the cold.
And Alison, the owner, hasalways helped me out. Dot and B
sells beautiful pre loved, preworn vintage clothing at
extremely affordable prices.I've suggested the store to a
(11:05):
number of women who didn't havea lot of money for clothes, but
had job interviews coming up andneeded something really nice to
wear. And almost everything inthe store is recycled. The
labels are made from cut uppieces of cardboard, boots are
stuffed with old shoulder padsthat have been removed from
blazers, even the dressing roomshave been created with reclaimed
(11:28):
PVC pipe.
It's a beautiful little store,living out so many of the values
that East End United shares.Care for community with its
offering access to high qualityclothing at affordable prices.
(11:48):
Care for the earth with keepingclothing out of landfills and
the use of recycled furnishings.Care for people with the
rejection of fast fashionpractices, which can only happen
on the backs of impoverishedworkers making pennies for their
(12:09):
labor. And unlike the moneychangers and the sellers of
animals, there is no expectationthat one needs to purchase a
pair of pants before enteringthe worship space.
There is no price of admissionhere. Dot and B doesn't create a
barrier for our connection tothe divine. If anything, I think
(12:32):
it demonstrates a way in which amarket and commerce which are
inescapable in the world we livein, can happen ethically and
communally, which in and ofitself challenges the status
quo. In our postmodern world, itis easy for us to forget, or at
(12:56):
least feel removed, from how andwhere the Jesus Movement
originated. It was a movementrooted in oppression and both
the submission and lack ofsubmission to imperial powers.
It was dismissed as a religionfor women and poor people.
(13:20):
Christians do an incredibledisservice to our sacred texts
if we do not read them throughthe lens of a people who were at
best ill treated, and at worstenslaved. We also do an
incredible disservice to thesetexts if we do not acknowledge
that where we came from, a faithborn in times of persecution, is
(13:42):
not where we are now. This isnot to say that there aren't
people who identify as Christianwho are discriminated against.
But in our North Americancontext, Christianity as a
religion has traditionally beenthe faith of the majority, and
(14:04):
certainly the identified faithof those exercising secular
political power.
Christianity sleeps within thebed of empire. Except, the
umbrella of Christian is prettylarge. The pope is a Christian.
(14:27):
Martin Luther King was aChristian. Men who wear hoods
and burn crosses are Christians.
Sister Helen Prejean is aChristian. So is Desmond Tutu.
And Donald Trump. And a lot ofpeople who support him at
rallies, which are then coveredby the media. Westborough
(14:50):
Baptist Church is filled withChristians.
It's a problem with the wordChristian being used as a noun
and not as an adjective. This isthe context, then and now, and
it is important, very important.But I'm not sure it is the whole
(15:12):
point or even the most importantpoint. The exploitation that
initiates Jesus' temper tantrumis real, but it's the effect,
the separating of those seekingcommunion with the divine, that
I believe has Jesus all firedup. Jesus turns over the tables
(15:33):
of coins and drives out theanimals.
The coins and the animals, butnot the people. Not the people,
even the people who wereparticipating in the unfair
trading of money and sacrifice.Because ultimately, it is
reconciliation with God which isJesus' core message. The anger
(15:55):
comes from those placing upbarriers to God. But Jesus does
not create more barriershimself.
Even with those he is angry at,they are not excluded. If sin is
simply anything that separatesus from God, and that is
(16:18):
generally how I think about sin,simply anything that separates
us from the divine. If that'sthe case, then yes, the commerce
of money changing and animalselling in the outer courts of
the temple was sinful. But, andI say this delicately, so long
(16:40):
as our core mission in thiscongregation is to serve God,
and therefore serve God'speople, because it's impossible
to love God and not love theircreation, if that remains our
core mission, then offeringspace to stores like Dot and B,
which does everything they canto function within the same core
(17:03):
values of care that East EndUnited holds. Even if they are
operating on a Sunday morning, Iam okay with that.
I think it is Christian.Christian as an adjective, not a
noun. And it's not like I haveany kind of special in with
(17:29):
Jesus, but I'm pretty sure I'mpretty sure he'd be okay with
this store too. And maybe evenpurchase a pair of sandals for
all that walking he's about todo as he continues on his
journey. May it be so.
(17:52):
Amen.
(22:02):
East End United RegionalMinistry is committed to
supporting our neighborsthroughout the East End of
Toronto. We run a weekly foodbank market out of our Glenwolds
campus on Gerrard Street, aswell as out of the cold from our
East Minster campus on DanforthAvenue. We actively support
refugees and asylum seekers, andare public, intentional, and
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explicit of our affirmation andadvocacy for 2 spirited and
LGBTQIA plus peoples. We gatherfor worship on-site and online
Sunday mornings at ourEastminster campus, and Thursday
evenings at our Glen Robescampus. We are a community
working to figure out how toembody the words of Cornel West,
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who said, Justice is what lovelooks like in public.
We don't always get it right,but we are committed to working
for progress even as weacknowledge that we are a work
in progress. If any of thissounds interesting, we would
love to meet you. Feel free tosend me, reverend Breanne, an
(23:13):
email, b swan, bswan@eastendunited.ca. I would
love to connect over coffee,either in person or online.
(23:37):
On the Money Changers, fromJesus, Son of Man by Khalil
Gibran.
I was a stranger in Jerusalem. Ihad come to the holy city to
(23:57):
behold the great temple and tosacrifice upon the altar for my
wife had given twin sons to mytribe. And after I had made my
offering, I stood in the porticoof the temple looking down upon
the money changers and those whosold doves for sacrifice, and
(24:18):
listening to the great noise inthe court. And as I stood there
came of a sudden a man in themidst of the money changers and
those who sold Doug's. He was aman of majesty, and he came
swiftly.
In his hand he held a rope ofgoat's hide, and he began to
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overturn the tables of the moneychangers, and to beat the
peddlers of birds with the rope.And I heard him saying with a
loud voice, render these birdsunto the sky which is their
nest. Men and women fled frombefore his face, and he moved
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amongst them as the whirlingwind moves on the sad hills.
All this came to pass in but a moment,
and then the court of the temple was emptied
of the money changers. Only theman stood there alone, and his
(25:20):
followers stood at a distance.Then I turned my face and I saw
another man in the portico ofthe temple, and I walked towards
him and said, sir, who is thisman who stands alone even like
another temple? And he answeredme, this is Jesus of Nazareth, a
(25:45):
prophet who has appeared of latein Galilee. Here in Jerusalem,
all men hate him.
And I said, my heart was strongenough to be with his whip, and
yielding enough to be at hisfeet. And Jesus turned towards
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his followers who were awaitinghim, But before he reached them,
3 of the temple doves flew back,and one alighted upon his left
shoulder, and the other 2 at hisfeet. And he touched each one
tenderly. Then he walked on, andthere were leagues in every step
(26:38):
of his steps. Now tell me, whatpower had he to attack and
disperse hundreds of men andwomen without opposition?
I was told that they all hatehim, yet no one stood before him
(27:00):
on that day. Had he plucked outthe fangs of hate on his way to
the court of the temple? Thankyou for listening to this week's
(27:33):
sermon. We will be taking a weekoff because next week, March
10th, is our Music Sunday at ourSunday service. So until we come
back, take care of yourselvesand each other.
We'll see you soon. East EndUnited Regional Ministry is an
(28:08):
affirming community of faithwithin The United Church of
Canada. You can learn more aboutour community, including our
many outreach programs, by goingto www.eastandunited.
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