Nearly every parent has a story of purchasing an expensive gift for their child, only to have them find the box and packaging more fun to play with. It seems easy for children to miss the main point of the gift as they focus on what was meant to be discarded. On one level, this is a great affirmation of child-like creativity, but it also reveals a human tendency to mistake the wrapping for the gift.
Prior to his crucifixion, Jesus went to the temple in Jerusalem. There he found, not only worshippers, but people exploiting the spiritual needs of many who were there by using that experience to make a high profit. The faithful were not permitted to pay the temple tax in the common currency of the day. Instead, they were required to exchange it for the currency of the temple. It was at the point of this exchange that people would be gouged with an unfair exchange rate.
Seeing this travesty, Jesus turned over their tables and declared, “Is it not written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations’? But you have made it a robbers’ den.” It is one of the few times we see Jesus angry, and there is no mistaking his concern. Clearly, the money changers missed the point of worship and were exchanging the gift of God for the trappings of profit.
In our journey of faith, we too can miss the point. We may not be hurting others for our profit, but we can lose sight of the real gift of being the Church of Jesus Christ. We can replace an intimate walk with the Savior and with the world, for ritual and routine. We can replace the “house of prayer for all nations” with the “house of getting my needs met,” sacrificing the call for our comfort.
We are meant to be the church for the sake of the world and to the glory of God. Prayer and ministry for our community, region, and the nations of the world is at the heart of our identity. Called to lift Jesus high we need to come in low, as John the Baptist did saying, “I must decrease that he might increase.”
The good news is that when we embrace our true calling as the body of Christ we find the blessing of God. Like the child who learns to appreciate and value the gift more than the packaging, we discover that the valuable gift of God is found beyond the trappings of religion. In our faithful embrace of God’s vision for his church, we find the joy of a personal relationship with Jesus, the beauty of community, and the power of a dynamic relationship with the world.
Let’s not settle for the box and paper, but search deeper for the real gift of God. Let’s be the house of prayer for all nations and see the world transformed by the love and power of Jesus Christ!
