Cleanse The Temple
Advent Sunday (VIDEO)
Dear Christians, Happy New Year! Today, we begin yet another year of religious life together. One might not expect the Gospel reading chosen for the first day of the new Christian year, especially as we prepare for Christmas. Over these Advent weeks, we'll be busy decorating the tree, hanging up the lights, buying presents, attending parties, and planning Christmas dinner. Life has a way of filling the Advent season with excitement, fun times, and anticipatory joy.
And yet, the Word of God on this Advent Sunday is sober, pointed, and forewarning: The Lord God is coming to visit the earth! The King is approaching. "Our God shall come, (says the Psalmist) and shall not keep silence; there shall go before him a consuming fire, and a mighty tempest shall be stirred up round about him. He shall call the heaven from above, and the earth, that he may judge his people" (Ps 50:3-4).
Micah, the prophet, cries out, "Behold, the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his Temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come, saith the LORD of hosts... For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the LORD of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch" (Mal 3:1; 4:1).
"Wake up," says the Apostle. "Now is the time to wake up from sleep. Our salvation is closer than when we first believed. The night is almost over, and the day is coming. So let us throw off the things that belong to darkness and put on the armor of light." The time to be spiritually ready is now. We need to prepare for God's presence in Christ. It is time to repent and make the way clear for the Lord. "Look, your King is coming to you."
The Jews eagerly awaited the promised Deliverer. When He rode into Jerusalem, as prophesied, they excitedly shouted, "Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!" They were ready for the Messiah to free them from oppression. But what were Jesus' thoughts about these people as He entered Jerusalem, humble on a donkey? They had rejected John the Baptist, the forerunner sent to prepare them. They had forgotten the Law of Moses, and the hearts of fathers and children were not turned towards one another—now He was coming to "smite with a curse."
Consider the stark contrast: while the people rejoiced at the coming of the Messiah, Jesus approached the city and wept over it. His entry was marked by tears. Jerusalem was not just any city; the Holy Scriptures imbued it with profound spiritual significance. Its name means "Vision of Peace," and it was meant to symbolize God's kingdom on earth. Yet, its citizens and the Temple were corrupt.
"And Jesus went into the temple of God, and cast out all them that sold and bought in the temple; and overthrew the tables of the money-changers, and the seats of them that sold doves; and said unto them, It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves."
The Temple was the city's heart, where the God of heaven and earth was worshipped. It signified the city's spirit. But it is much more: it symbolizes the human mind and heart. The Temple symbolizes the human soul, whose joy and duty is worshiping Almighty God. As disgusting as the turning of God's house into a place of buying and selling, commerce and profits, it paled in comparison to the profanity of the people's souls.
They were not worshippers but thieves and robbers. How were God's people robbing Him? The Lord asked the prophet, Malachi, "Will a man rob God? Yet you have robbed Me. But you say, 'Wherein have we robbed You?' In tithes and offerings" (3:8). Many people hear this and immediately think it refers to withholding money. While there was a temple tax, the concept of the tithe extended far beyond just money. God commanded His people to joyfully give back a portion of all He had given them; they were to withhold nothing and give everything. Their reluctance to give materially proved their spiritual poverty of love and fidelity.
In the first chapter of Malachi, God indicts His people for robbing Him of the honor due to His name. He asked his people, "A son honors his father, and a servant honors his master. If I am a father, where is My honor? And if I am a master, where is My fear?" The people did not honor God because their hearts lacked gratitude and humility. Instead, they showed contempt for His name, particularly the priests, who dishonored Him by offering "polluted bread and blemished animals" on His altar. They even referred to His holy altar as contemptible!
Then, they robbed God by breaking the covenant of marriage and sullying his reputation (2:10-16). "Judah has been faithless, and abomination has been committed in Israel and in Jerusalem... the LORD hath been witness between thee and the wife of thy youth, against whom thou hast dealt treacherously." Their unfaithfulness in marriage revealed an unfaithfulness to the Lord. They were an unfaithful spouse, robbing their Divine husband of respect and making a mockery of his headship.
Next, we learn that God's people robbed Him by taking advantage of the vulnerable. In Micah, chapter three, verse five, God said, "I will come near to you for judgment; and I will be a swift witness against those who oppress the hired workers in their wages, the widow, and the fatherless, and who deny justice to the stranger. They do not fear Me," says the LORD of hosts.
They robbed God by ignoring the helpless, the vulnerable, and the needy. They also did not pay workers a fair and just wage. By neglecting to love their neighbors, they neglected God, as it is said, "Whatever you did to the least of these, you did unto me." Greed, self-interest, adultery, injustice, corrupt worship... such was the theft perpetrated upon God by his people. A corrupted temple was but an outward sign of sad, inward reality: What should have been a house of prayer, worship, purity, and peace was but a dirty den of thieves.
Dear Christian, I ask you: What will the Lord find when He comes to visit the Temple of your soul? A faithful servant or a thief? Will you be able to endure on the day of His coming? Will you stand firm when He appears? Are there tables in the temple of the heart that need to be overthrown? Wake up, friend! Now is the time to rise from your slumber. Are you robbing God by withholding your money, your time, and yourself in the service of the Lord? Are you worshipping him and him alone? Are you offering yourself, your soul and body, and a living sacrifice holy and acceptable to the Lord? Are you unwilling to let this or that sin go, harboring hatred in your heart, unforgiveness, anger, lust, adultery, lying, or cheating?
Behold, thy King cometh unto thee. God comes to us in Christ, his eternal word- this is his first Advent. He comes lowly, mild, and meekly as an infant in the helplessness of his self-giving love. The Psalmist says Christ came to "restore that which he did not steal" (Ps 69:4) and won forgiveness and salvation for thieves like us. The mercy and love of God in the birth of his son is Christmas's first and best gift.
But friends, His Advent also brings judgment on a city that will not know him, upon a temple that will not worship him, and a people whose hearts are far away. Therefore, let this Advent be a solemn time of preparation—that by his grace and cleansing by His holy word and sacrament, to make our souls fit houses of prayer, prepared to love and adore the King when he arrives.
The Apostle Paul says, "OWE no man anything, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law." Stop robbing God by worshiping everything but Him and by neglecting to love your neighbor as yourself. Let us heed the words of the Psalmist: "Offer unto God thanksgiving and pay thy vows unto the Most High" (Ps 50:14). We pay our baptismal vow by loving God and loving others: this is how we cleanse the Temple of our souls, transform a den of thieves back into a house of prayer, and prepare for the Advent of the Lord, the day of His visitation.
"A day that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the LORD of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch. But unto you, that, fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings, and ye shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall." Amen+
