The buying and selling of cattle, sheep, hogs, etc. has been taking place for centuries.    On one extreme, individuals do everything possible to catch the "buyers" eye by making the outside appearance appealing and hiding any defects.  4-H auctions are intriguing, probably because of the preparation that each 4-H member does the day of showing their heifer, steer, or hog and again right before the auction.  They work hard at primping their prized possession as they clean it from head to hoof with soapy water, followed with combing the animal's hairy coat, and untangling the tail hairs of the heifer or steer and "poofing" it up, all in an attempt to make the outside look spectacular which might spur the casual observer to bid, bring a higher market price.

The outside appearance didn't matter much to my dad. His focus was on the quality of the meat product when he was selling a trailer full of hogs. On several occasions, I would help him load hogs for Wilsons' Meat Processing Plant.  Dad would mark the hogs that reached the market weight goal with a blue oil based marker, and then they would be sorted from the rest of the hogs in the pen to be led down the aisle to the trailer.  I was taught to be "gentle" in order not to bruise the muscles, but had to balance that with forcefulness in order for the chosen hog to do what was intended, not what he desired.  Bruising meant a dockage in price since dad sold the hogs on grade and yield, instead of just a flat base rate.  

Christ happened upon the selling of animals, but not in an area of Jerusalem one would think animals would be kept and then sold to the highest bidder.  These animals (doves, sheep, goats, etc.) were being sold in the Temple court area.  As I reflect on today's Gospel lesson (John 2: 13-22), I see Christ getting upset over the auctioning of animals to be used for sacrifice, and the pilgrims exchanging money because they had traveled to Jerusalem for a required Feast.  This is something that He even commanded, so...what was the rest of the story?

The people buying and selling the animals for the Temple sacrifice weren't doing it in the area specified for this purpose.   These entrepreneurs were shouting for any Jew or Gentile worshipper's attention, trying to get them to stop and look at what they had to offer.  Today it would be similar to having a worship service on opening day at the "K."  The tantalizing aromas coming from the surrounding food vendors, a horde of people strolling up and down the aisles looking for their seats, and the conversations of buyers and sellers going on while people were trying to tune out the outside distractions of "peanuts, peanuts here" in order to meditate on God's Word and prayer.   

From a casual observer, one may not have realized the effect this was having on the worship life, especially for the Gentiles, because the church leaders and the entrepreneurs only saw that from the "outside" everything looked great!   The needs of the people were being met, foreign currency was being exchanged, the Temple tax was being collected, and the animals were being sold that would be slaughtered as an atoning sacrifice.   They were doing everything they were told to do.  However, once one starts looking deeper into the issue, one sees the seriousness of the problem.

The vendors had set up their kiosks in the area known as the Court of the Gentiles, the area designated for the Gentiles to worship and pray.  Yes, these vendors were doing what they were asked to do, but they weren't doing it in the area that was designed for them.   They had moved outside of the boundary area and started selling their wares in the Gentile's worship area.   What mattered most to them was making a profit through selling their product, not the Gentile's spiritual growth. It was really a "How can I help you as I also help myself?" mentality instead of "What can I do for you to help you grow in your spiritual relationship with your Lord?"  

Can He get upset with our worship life today?  You bet.  When we are seated in the pew, but our heart and mind is elsewhere, is He pleased?  When we decide the items we see as priorities need to be completed before stepping into the sanctuary for worship, have we put Him first?  When we seek to please our desires and forget about the spiritual needs of others, is He our first priority?  When we refuse to seek His will for the life He's blessed us with, who really is our God? When we forget that we are members of His evangelism team, what are we here for?   When our outside appearance and societal status matters more than our inside relationship with our Lord, what are our priorities?

But thanks be to God that in our failings there is also grace and forgiveness as we work to overcome those shortcomings.  As we daily seek to serve Him in thought, word, and deed, may we always look to the cross and freely share the message.

Enjoying the ride,