That children’s sermon got me thinking about house cleaning.
I remember one time when my poor mother had just about had it.
I was 16 years old, and we had, Karl, our 6’2’’ exchange student living with us.
Karl was eating all the time, and I was always needing to be transported to some rehearsal.
My parents were both working outside the home.
But despite the fact that there were 4 able bodied people around the house,
it was still somehow my mom’s responsibility to see to the house chores and cooking.
One evening after supper my mom blew her stack.
You all treat me like I’m the maid around here, she fumed.
Do you know I have made over 25,000 meals for you over the years?
I work full time and manage the home and make sure you all need what you have,
And I’ve had it!
Things had better start changing around here!
And she stormed off.
My dad, Karl, and I sat around the kitchen table, dumbfounded.
We had not seen it coming.
It had just been an average evening at the Reuning household as far as we were concerned.
After a few minutes of silence, my dad said, “I think she’s mad.”
And he went off to find her.
It makes me think of the merchants at the temple in our gospel lesson.
They were just doing business as usual, and in comes Jesus, turning over tables, dumping out money
And scaring the animals.
What is up with him? They must have wondered.
Even his disciples wondered.
Matthew, Mark and Luke suggest that Jesus was infuriated by the temple merchants
taking advantage of the poor people coming to the temple.
They not only had to buy animals for the required sacrifice,
they had to buy it at the temple at a marked up price, with temple coin, which also cost money to change.
The temple sacrifice system fleeced some people and lined the pockets of others.
But here in John’s gospel, his disciples remember the scripture, “Zeal for your house will consume me.”
John attributes Jesus’ actions to his passionate belief that God was not to be found in sacrifice or in a temple
But in the free gift of Jesus himself.
The other thing that is different about John’s telling of this story is when it happens.
Matthew, Mark and Luke all situate this story of the cleansing of the temple right before Jesus’ death.
It’s one of the things that pushes the religious leadership to get rid of Jesus.
But in John the cleansing of the temple happens early, in the second chapter,
right after Jesus turns water to wine.
It sets up a dynamic that continues throughout the gospel:
Jesus is in conflict with the political leaders, the religious leaders
Even the good religious people of the day, with Pharisees.
Jesus provokes people with his claims of being God’s son and publicly challenges their hard hearted behavior. Everywhere we turn, Jesus is in conflict with someone.
What do we do with this Jesus?
We usually think of him as being friendly, kind, gentle.
But here he is, turning the tables and driving people out with a homemade whip.
How do we square this behavior with the Jesus who John says shows us the heart of God?
It’s a good question.
The first thing to notice is the source of Jesus’ actions.
Jesus is not motivated by some unresolved grudge or a violent whim
His actions come out of zeal, or passion.
Jesus was passionately dedicated to God’s work in the world
He was the sign that God was breaking into people’s lives in miraculous ways
Enlivening and freeing people, healing and setting people free, even raising the dead.
But the truth is passionate belief causes conflict.
People who hold deeply held beliefs are more likely to rub others the wrong way
Their beliefs shape their actions, making deciding on a mutual course of action harder.
It is easier to work with someone who really doesn’t care, who will go along with anything.
But that isn’t who Jesus is.
Taking Jesus’ passion seriously makes me reconstruct my view of conflict.
I usually think it is good to be agreeable, to compromise.
And often times it is—in most situations there is more than one way to do things
And there is always more than one perspective worth considering.
But sometimes as Christians we confuse being faithful to Jesus with being nice.
We think of conflict as a bad thing, to be avoided at all costs.
But the truth is the lack of disagreement squelches some perspectives
Creative solutions are left unexplored because competing values and divergent experiences are not on the table.
I think it is worth noting that Jesus, on the other hand, brings out the opposition in others.
He confronts them and causes them to reevaluate where they stand.
In the example of Jesus, conflict becomes like the whetstone against which the knife is sharpened.
With Jesus around, there isn’t much room for dullness or milk toast living
Everyone gets a sharper blade because of Jesus.
Jesus causes them to clarify their thinking and make choices.
A few years ago I attended week long training on conflict transformation.
We did 32 hours of learning and roleplays,
Practicing our skills at transforming conflict into workable solutions and forgiveness.
One of the first things we did was review our concept of conflict.
We associate it with such negative things: unresolved issues, painful words, vindictive action.
Unfortunately, we often experience conflict as tearing down.
Throughout the week, we did hear stories of bad behavior, hurt feelings, and misunderstandings.
But we also saw ways that conflict handled constructively can build up.
We heard stories people who through expressing their disagreement
were able to come to reconciliation and healing.
Moreover, we saw that handling conflict in a positive manner unleashed the creativity of the individuals
Solutions were found that no one had thought of
And the community was stronger at the end of the conflict than it was at the beginning.
People grew as human beings and as Christians, and the community was built up.
Jesus says in our lesson: Tear down this temple and I will rebuild it in three days.
That’s so often what conflict feels like—tearing down.
And in many cases, it is.
But what I am learning is that conflict is natural.
It comes from people acting directly from the core of who they are and their experiences.
The other thing to know is that conflict doesn’t have to end in destruction.
When Jesus said, Tear down this temple and I will rebuild it in three days,
He wasn’t referring to the temple building
He was referring to his own body, predicting his eventual death and resurrection.
That’s what conflict can be, too—
a death to one way thinking, and beginning instead to hearing many perspectives
A death to acquiescing and letting others be in charge, and beginning to speaking your own truth in love.
A death to giving up when there have been hurts, and instead persevering and reaching out.
Jesus’ example points us to the truth that even in death God is at work
Our broken relationships can have new life in reconciliation.
It’s been 30 years since my mom gave her 25,000 meals speech,
And sometimes a little like a maid and chauffer, just like my mom did.
I could look at it as something I need swallow
And sometimes that may be the best option.
But I am also learning to find ways to be honest about my experience, and invite my family to do the same.
Can you do that in the places where you find yourself at odds with others: home, work, church, school?
Jesus calls us to follow his example, to learn when a fight may be necessary,
To discern when to stand our ground, and yet still listen and care for others and their opinions.
Jesus showed us that conflict doesn’t have to tear down permanently.
God can build us up again, stronger than before.
Let Jesus lead you into that kind of resurrection.