This Sunday's text is John 2:13-22. Which means I can't help but think about money and its role in a life of faith. This passage, with Jesus' righteous anger has a tendency to make us think that money equals bad. Haven't we heard Jesus also say:
No one can serve two masters; for a slave will either hate the one and love the other,
or be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth. ~ Matt 6:24
It's easy to again hear that money equals bad, but that isn't the case. The question needs to be asked, "Is money the master or is God? Which one is primary in our lives?"
In the musical, Les Miserables, we have the over-the-top number, Master of the House. (There's some rather bawdy portions, so keep that in mind while watching, though the film did stay within a PG13 rating.)
When money for money's sake is the goal, things get ugly quickly. People are taken advantage of. Their weaknesses and vulnerabilities are exploited. Lying, cheating, stealing, etc., are all okay for the sake of the greater "good" - money.
To a certain degree, something similar is going on in the courtyard of the Temple. When the people of Israel came to the Temple, they intended to sacrifice an animal - which had to be without blemish. If they lived far from Jerusalem, it wasn't practical to bring an animal on the long trek. It made more sense to purchase one in Jerusalem. Also, one couldn't use money with "graven images" on it within the temple.*
So there were currency exchangers available. And they knew the people had to use their service, so they could charge a steep fee for providing the exchange. There were people with unblemished animals, who again knew people had to use their service, so they charged a steep fee. In The Message, Peterson uses the term "loan shark" to get the idea of their personality across.
I don't believe that Jesus opposed the fact they were making a living, but there is a difference between making a living and gouging those who have no other option. In Luke 20:25, Jesus says that when it comes to taxes, “Then give to the emperor the things that are the emperor’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”
We also have the story of his meeting with Zacchaeus and asking this tax collector if he could share a meal with him. Jesus never tells Zacchaeus that he needs to stop being a tax collector. And Zacchaeus makes a promise to be fair and just in his work.
But in this setting of the Temple, those who change money and those who sell animals appear to be taking advantage of those who are coming to worship. They are neither loving the Lord their God with all their heart, mind, and soul, nor loving their neighbor as themselves. The opportunity of money comes before God and neighbor. For them, Money is indeed the Master of the House.
But Jesus reminds us - with passion - that God is the Master of the House. Not just the Temple of his day, but all houses of worship. Not just houses of worship, but the entire world. When we keep focused on the fact that God is the Master of the House, then it is easier for money to be in its proper perspective.
Money, be it straight up cash, items of value, or other, is a gift from God. We are entrusted with its good and proper use. The vocation we each have is a gift from God, entrusted to us for good and proper use. Each day we are called to ask, "Are the ways I earn money and the ways I spend money in tune with loving my God and loving my neighbor or am I making my Father's house a marketplace?"
* The Gospel and Letters of John, R. Alan Culpepper, Abingdon Press, 1998.
