Holy Week Thoughts, Part 2: Turning Tables
On Monday of Holy Week, Jesus and his disciples went into the temple in Jerusalem, and Jesus did one of the most surprising things He ever did in His ministry.
I love how N. T. Wright phrases it in his translation:
They came into Jerusalem. Jesus went into the Temple and began to drive out the traders, those who bought and sold in the Temple, and overturned the tables of the money-changers and the seats of the dove-sellers. He permitted no one to carry any vessel through the Temple. He began to teach: ‘Isn’t this what’s written,’ he said, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the world to share? But you’ve made it a brigands’ den!’ The chief priests and the legal experts heard, and looked for a way to get rid of him. But they were afraid of him, because the whole crowd was astonished at his teaching.
Luke 11:15-18 (The Bible for Everyone)
I bet Jesus’ actions got everyone talking. The very presence of the money changers and crass businesspeople in the temple stoked Jesus’ righteous anger because they cheapened worship.
I can’t help but think about today. Everything in Christianity seems like a business. There’s a market for Christian music, Christian t-shirts, even Christian movies. How much does the proliferation of these product cheapen our worship of God today?
Don’t get me wrong: I’m a capitalist. I do believe that people should get paid for their hard work. After all, as my all-time favorite meme says:
But I think the problem lies with the quality of what we produce. Does the majority of today’s Christian art glorify God by being “safe for the whole family”? Are derivative and repetitive ideas with pat answers really pointing to a true picture of the Christian life? Do we really point people to Jesus when we try to portray every situation as neat and easy and always working out?
I don’t begrudge anybody who’s trying to make a living, but when we give less than our best, we make our worship cheap. As Christians who serve the infinitely creative God, shouldn’t we be creating the most compelling, most attractive, and most God-glorifying art?
I know it’s not the most Holy Week of Holy Week thoughts, but I do pray that believers would quit cheapening worship with sub-standard art.
God, we love You, and we want to glorify You in what we do. Forgive us for any of the times when we’ve cheapened our worship of You. Give us a desire to create in a way that reflects our love of You and brings glory to You. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.
Photo by Jeremy Bezanger on Unsplash