A Reflection and Poem for 3rd Sunday of Lent Holy Trinity Church, Hertford, NC
Thomas E Wilson, Guest Celebrant March 3, 2024
Exodus 20:1-17 1 Corinthians 1:18-25 John 2:13-22 Psalm 19
Priests Going Through The Motions In the Temple
Okay. Let me begin by telling you that I am a Priest, and while you are not, this reflection has a lot of Priest stuff in it . But, and this is an important “BUT”: you are looking for a Priest; and he or she is going to need your help to be a minister with you. Bishops make Priests to go through the Motions around Altars and Churches, but it is congregations who make ministers to enter community with.
The last words of the Psalm for today is always in my heart as I write or give a sermon “Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, *O Lord, my strength and my redeemer.” May it be so with the Priest God leads you to.
In the Epistle Lesson for today Paul is writing to to the very conflicted and egotistical church in Corinth and they are so full of themselves. Paul tells them: “Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?”
Paul writes them to tell them that they received the Wisdom of God when he shared it with them, but they have lost their way. He is writing to remind them of the central truth they have forgotten. Paul will remind them that they are called to be lovers; lovers of God and each other and their neighbors. In the 13th Chapter of 1st Corinthians, which you can look it up for yourself, or maybe attend a wedding, or go to a funeral or on the last Sunday of January next year when it is on the schedule, he will spell out what he means by love. Basically what he says is Love can be claimed in the space between you and every other person in the world, and in every part of God's world and in every moment of your life. and beyond.
In the Exodus passage, the people are on their way, escaping from Egypt, but they are in the Wilderness. They long for an outward sign that God is really with them as they move, oh so slowly, to the Promised land. They stop at the Mountain and there Moses leaves them and goes up on the Mountain to talk with God. Out of love, God gives them 10 Words of direction on how to live together. These Ten Words, are expanded in the text of the story. However, Moses and God's chat takes longer than the people had expected and they grow restless. They want a God they can see and touch, so Arron, as their Priest, takes up a collection of Gold, which he melts down and makes a Golden Calf to stand in for the God who is out there somewhere. The people have a good old-fashioned Orgy, ah the good old days! However, Moses shows up at the party and breaks the tablet with the ten words on it and orders a slaughter of the ring leaders. Then, he hikes up the Mountain again, where God gives him a replacement with the same 10 words of what God thinks is the basis of a relationship with God. Aaron is still their Priest, and no one could erase the mistakes he made, but he was given a clearer Job Description and he has a life time appointment. Holding grudges is not an option, as spiritual retirement from a community of faith is not an option.
Aaron and his crew, and those who follow them in the centuries that follow, create an elaborate outline of a dance of what worship looks like led by the Priests. The Priests know that they need a Holy Place for the Holy Dance of community worship, and they guide the people in the building of a Temple. There is a list of what and how things are done so the Golden Calf episode will not be repeated. The Temple will have a rough history and it is destroyed by enemies. But with the returning faith of the exiles, a Temple is rebuild and the old rules are still in effect; dancing day in and day out, year in and year out.
Then the Priests start to say, “You know, this Temple business is a Sacred Business with a capital B. So, why not make it a cash cow so we don't have to worry about upkeep!” They do not mention the Golden Calf experience, but their Cash Cow is a close cousin. But, heck, those Priests do put on a good show in their worship business; it was impressive! It is a very human desire to be impressive, but fatal for a Priest. They passed on the choreography of the Sacred Dance of Worship, but didn't teach them the way to listen deeply to God's music underneath the dance. They ended up just going through the motions.
Centuries later, Jesus comes on the scene, and, he, like Moses, sees a Golden Calf underneath the Cash Cow business as usual in the Temple's main function of separating the people from their Gold. The money of the people needs to be traded into Temple coins to buy what they need for the experience of “First Class” Worship in the Sacred Dance. Jesus notices the Temple is impressive, BUT the mark ups and the swindles that are practiced in the name of worship is more than he can tolerate. So, he acts like Moses, and wrecks the place as much as one man can do. The religious establishment then decides that this Jesus is bad for business as usual and start working for his destruction. They start working hand in glove with the Roman Authorities whose only Dance they knew was Military Marches of Lock Step.
When I went to seminary , they taught me lots of Theological, Pastoral, Educational and Biblical stuff. They taught me the outline of the sacred dance of worship, or at least go through the motions. They gave me a degree; Master Of Divinity, talk about an Oxymoron - to be a Master in something which is beyond our understanding. But, I wanted to be impressive. The Good side was that I wanted to give my best, but the Dark Side was my desire to BE seen and admired as the best show in town. My Clergy Performance was solid Gold, but My performance did not live up to my life, and my marriage ended in divorce. The divorce came about for many reasons, but high in the top ten was my ego need to be seen as impressive. If your goal is to be the Fred Astaire of the Clergy Dancers; you really need to take the time to really listen to the deeper music.
Pat saw me for who I was, when she first met me as the newly minted Seminary Graduate,and found my ego drive distasteful. However, years later, it was hard to keep up my facade of ego, I realized that Paul was writing to the Corinthians, AND to me, when he wrote:“Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?” Pat was there to help me pick up the pieces and helped make a Priest who could love.
Part of who I am is like Aaron, who created a Golden Calf and saw it destroyed. There are only a few remnants of of that Calf showing up from time to time, and only on those days that end in the letter “y”.
I am a work in progress. Indeed, all of us are works in progress. If Holy Trinity calls a new Seminary graduate; remind him or her that they are a work in progress and they were invited to worship with you, and not for you. Invite them to be, not a ruler held in awe, but a member of a community, flawed as everyone is, to help each other out. Dance with him or her to God's deeper music. Jesus did not rise from the dead in order to form official splendid worship centers, but to raise us all up to be a community of faith who forgive easily.
On one hand, I am like the
19th Century German Poet Heinrich Heine, who on his
deathbed was asked if he wanted to beg God's forgiveness. He replied
with an arrogance that poets know: “God forgives; that's his job!”
On the other hand, Jesuit writer, Richard Rohr wrote; "Every
time God forgives us, God is saying that God's own rules do not
matter as much as the relationship that God wants to create with
us."
Priest Going Through The Motions In the Temple
Remember what it was like, learning how to dance?
Counting out the numbers; one, two, three, and one!
Over and over again, not paying attention. No fun,
Or joy allowed, only a scared stiff pompous prance.
I dare not to make a mistake or even to apologize,
To my partners, or their feet, which I stepping upon.
Only that tedium of covering up the ground I'm on,
While I holding on to fantasies of wining that prize.
OH, that wonderful adulation which I do so crave,
When my partner has her eyes opened to now gush,
And tell me, she would enjoy when our lips brush,
Which, if I try hard enough: I'll receive in my grave.
Resting at last, in the applause of the almighty,
Trading my old soiled robe for a heavenly nightie.
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