DAY 36

WORSHIP GONE AWRY

 Exodus 36, 37 & 38 and Matthew 23:1-22

Wow, look at all this activity! In addition to the activity, the people provided more materials then were needed (v. 36:5). Look also at how by the time of Jesus the Pharisees and Sadducees have undone all that God intended as Jesus judges them for the way they sit on the mercy seat. They add heavy burdens to the people.

In Moses day, he Moses and the other priests interceded for the people – offering prayer and making atonement – lightening the load for the people. Recall that Moses father-in-law, Jethro, was concerned that Moses was working too hard. The Priesthood, and the Tent of Meeting that we see nearing completion in today’s reading, is about providing a place of beauty where God may dwell with his people, and a place where priests interceded for the people – lightening their load before God.

Jesus of course points out things have gotten off track. The religious of the day show off in public, with large phylacteries (little boxes that have copies of the Law in them and they would wear them on their heads and hands, see Deuteronomy 6:8 & 11:18). They would also have elaborate robes with broad fringes, and they would take the best seats in the house. We also read “Call no one father.”

The two main thrusts of my comments today center on “worship” and “the priesthood”: first worship. Jesus is rightly critical of what the Temple (the successor to the Tent of Meeting) has become. It might be easy to be an “arm chair” theologian and criticize the religious and people of this day. Before I do I am pondering just how hard these folks worked on their place of worship. Imagine how beautiful it was. Might it be the most beautiful thing in their lives? When you pour yourself into something, when you give something or someone time, you are inherently giving it value (giving it worth) – when you give a lot you are worshipping it.

We don’t do this on purpose, but it happens. Consider: we try and lose weight, so we watch what we eat, we exercise, we weigh ourselves, etc. At the end of the week you pause and add up all the time and energy you have spent on it. Might it have occupied a disproportionate amount of your focus? Could you envision that you thought about and worked more on this than anything else? Do you know people that really “worship their body and the way they look”?

It can be tricky. Walking the line between appropriate focus and genuine healthy care for or about someone and something…and idolatry. Pick any subject. We can become overly focused on anything to the point where “it” – even Church – displaces God.

The Temple is the place where God is to dwell; it is a place of great beauty. The Temple had become a place that was so important it replaced God. The Temple was a place that took so many resources to operate that it became a business. The Temple was a place where the priests earned their living (a good one) and the power and prestige went to their head. It was their idol.

Which brings me to my second point: priests.  Jesus is critical of them. (I am using the term priest generically to refer to the religious of Jesus’ day.) This is a little personal as I, a priest and a priest at a grand Cathedral, write this blog.

The Church is a place of great beauty. It takes a lot of resources to operate a Church. I earn my living at through the Church. People are generally nice to me and in fact show me some degree of respect. Have I (and we) slipped down the slippery slope – am I worshiping it – have I corrupted it and myself – am I adding heavy burdens to people or lightening their load?

Some might be quick to point out that today we are all “priests” and that each of our hearts is the place “where God dwells – temples”. True enough. However for me to use that line of discussion with respect to these passages of Jesus would seem as if I was avoiding the point Jesus is making. To write this blog is to look into Jesus’ eyes as he offered the words of Matthew 23.

These questions need to be before me and us. The question is not “is the fringe on my robe too fancy” and it is not “are people calling me father”. (There are many places in the New Testament where Peter and Paul use the term, see 1 Corinthians 4:14). The question/point is the condition of my heart. The questions/point of the passage is, “Am I serving the people, or has it gotten upside down and they are now serving me and the business of the Church?”

Tough question. Important question. We all need to ask it of ourselves. Worshiping something other than God is idolatry. Idols do not give life, even if the idol is the Church. Today I am asking myself “So Father Collum, are you lightening the load, or increasing it – what are you worshiping, father?”