• Mar 8th, 2016 at 1:29 PM (CST)
• By PD
• Categories:

It is about two weeks away from Easter, and it sure looks like it here in Wisconsin! We have a very balmy 65 degrees temperature today! The feel of Spring is in the air, and people are feeling very good about it.

I have been contemplating Palm Sunday, as it is only ten days away, and the even is always striking in my mind. Jesus enters Jerusalem to accolades and acclaim, then immediatley the next day disrupts the "commerce" at the temple by upsetting the tables of the money changers (see Mark chapter 11).

This passage of Jesus' ire against consumerism at the expense of travelers seeking suitable offerings to present to the Lord has taken many twists in its application for Christian churches. Some emphasize that the Church needs less of a worldly business mindset and more prayer. Others see such secular events as bingo and church fairs to raise money as a violation of Jesus' intent.

But, the problem is far worse than this. The Secular-minded merchants of mediocre faith have taken hold of the North American church and are peddling a virulent form of insipid Christianity in which the miracles of Christ and even the physical resurrection are downplayed and personal success, purportedly via God's blessings, is emphasized.

Along the way the uniqueness of Jesus' singlularly spectacular self-sacrifice for our atonement is lost. The "soft sell" form of Christianity in vogue today has believers largely keeping their fiath to themselves, and certainly not promoting the idea that the only way of salvation is through Christ.

Jesus upset the market at the temple because it was worldly and disruptive of true worship. Today, the "market" set up in the "temple" of the Church is worldly as well, selling Christianity as a "house of prayer for all nations," not as in the original intent of Isaiah 56:7, which Jesus quoted, confirming that God desired foreigners to adhere to worship of Him, true worship. No, todays' merchants of mercy in Christianity sell the idea that our faith can coexist - BTW, I detest those "Coexist" bumper stickers which equate all religions - with others. No, Christianity cannot coexist with idols such as Allah, and dualistic religions such as Taoism. Christiantiy has no place for reincarnation, as in Hinduism and Buddhism.

The next "house cleaning" will be most memorable. Jesus will once again head it, and it is called the Final Judgment.