Zeal for Your House Will Consume Me

Third Sunday in Lent

March 8, 2015

John 2:17

Zeal for Your House Will Consume Me

†

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

Amen.

When you come to church, you find Jesus. In His house, in His Word, in His Sacraments, this is where He chooses to be found by hungry souls and how to feed them with living bread. After feeding the 5,000 in John 6, Jesus said,

"I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. This bread is My flesh, which I will give for the life of the world. . . . I tell you the truth, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you. Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. For My flesh is real food and My blood is real drink. Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood remains in Me, and I in Him. Just as the living Father sent me and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on Me will live because of Me. (John 6:51, 53-57)

Although there were no Baptisms or Communion in the Old Testament Temple in Jerusalem, the same essential Divine Service was received by the God's people through His Word. And this explains Jesus' correct anger against those who were at best distracting and at worst destroying true trust in God.

When it was almost time for the Jewish Passover, Jesus went up to Jerusalem. In the temple courts He found men selling cattle, sheep and doves, and others sitting at tables exchanging money. So He made a whip out of cords, and drove all from the temple area, both sheep and cattle; He scattered the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables. To those who sold doves He said, "Get these out of here! How dare you turn My Father's house into a market!" His disciples remembered that it is written: "Zeal for Your house will consume Me." (John 2:13-17)

Jesus drove out with correct and righteous anger those who serving their love of money, instead of receiving the will of His Father. The Temple was His Father's house and so is our church because this is where God's voice of mercy is heard. Other voices in God's houses of prayer that pull us away from His gracious cross and Sacraments must be driven away. And we do the same with ourselves. St. Paul asked,

Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body. (1 Corinthians 6:19-20)

Jesus bought us with His precious blood and His innocent suffering and death on the cross. And so we honor God by receiving forgiveness that pours out on us from His cross that we taste and see that the Lord is good, coming to us through Word and Sacraments. This is where He wants us to enjoy His real presence. He doesn't want you to look for Him in your good works. He doesn't want you to look for Him in your offerings of money at church. He doesn't want you to look for Him in how often you come to church.

We see our businesslike attitude in how we turn coming to church into a negotiation with Jesus. Too often we go when it's convenient, instead of coming like the hungry beggars to eat. Or we go home satisfied that Jesus got something from us since we came to church (and maybe we gave Him some money) and everybody should be happy about that. This is horse-trading with Jesus; this is trying to buy Jesus off like trying to buy off a screaming kid with plastic and sugar. It works on kids, but it really doesn't, and it doesn't work on Jesus.

Dearly beloved, don't trust your business skills when you deal with God; you'll only come out bankrupt. Jesus doesn't need your stuff, your money, your good behavior, or your attendance. He just wants you; He just wants you to receive His gifts of word and blood and body. He zealously desires you to receive His mercy, and this is where you receive Him. This is how He comes to you every Sunday in His Father's house and every day in yours. He comes to you because He is the Temple that was destroyed by us. But He is also the Temple that was raised up on third day.

Christ Jesus came into the world

to save sinners—of whom I am the worst.

Amen.