The Temple Torn, The Body Born.

(Skip to 00:20 to avoid an early amp feedback which spikes at 5 seconds. Apologies for the noise) John 1:14, John 2:13-22. Focus, calm, peace. We’ve been trying to think about that for several sermons, trying to center our eyes and heart on the Lord. Without doubt, however, we keep finding ourselves distracted by the wonders and pleasures of what the world has to offer. Ask yourself, when was the last time you really sat down and prayed to God, without the noise? Probably been a while, if you can even remember, right, brothers and sisters? It’s okay, though, we’re not the first ones to go through that. We look on the Temple of Jerusalem this week, and the righteous fury of Christ when He went to cleanse the Temple of dealers and money changers. When was the last time you were at a grocery store, or a marketplace? It’s pretty noisy, right? Hard to hear, hard to deal, sometimes, you just want to make the purchase and hurry out of there. That was the same problem in the Temple, when Jesus came to visit and pray in His Father’s house. In the courtyard of the Gentiles, where anyone could come and pray, the whole place was filled with tables and animals, money and traders, all competing to make the most noise possible. It was time for the Passover sacrifice, and these traders and moneychangers wanted to get the most business and take advantage of these long travelling worshipers. But the noise carried all through the Temple, the distraction made it all but impossible to pray. This angered Jesus, who drove out the merchants, and started teaching the stunned people about the purpose of the temple. The Temple was profaned, replaced by trade and commerce, taking away prayer, and Jesus was there to remind people of prayer, even while the Pharisees and legal scholars challenged His authority. It’s that reminder of prayer, without the noise, that we really need to focus on. The Temple was destroyed, just like Jesus was put to death, our physical connection and reminder of God’s presence. However, we were raised beyond that physical limitation. Jesus raised up from the dead, as He promised, and He set the bridge between us and God. He came into our hearts, cleaned out the distraction and the noise, and turned us all into the Temple of God. His Spirit dwells in us, changing and restoring us. We can pray to Him who saved us anywhere and everywhere, at any moment. He already drove out the merchants who filled the Temple, and now, we need to let Him keep us clean, so we can pray without distraction, pray with peace in our hearts. We are filled with grace, because of what Jesus made possible for us. Thank you, Lord, for giving us such limitless freedom to worship you! Remember, we are born again, we are no longer trapped and bound to this world of separation from God. We are the children of God, blessed and welcome. We will be with Him in paradise, in the presence of the Lord for all eternity. So, rejoice, drown out the noise with our praise, and find peace in the knowledge that we are free indeed with the blood of the Lamb. Amen, and amen. Come join us to be blessed and to bless! Visit the New Life Korean Presbyterian Church Website to learn more: 새생명 장로교회 | New Life Presbyterian Church (nlpcva.com)