Shout for Joy
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Many years ago a theatrical organization came to our town to present the Passion Play. I signed on as an extra and was a part of the crowd in the Temple when it was cleansed by Jesus. I still remember when he came striding through a door into the "Temple" and I was sitting in his way. With a huge blustering voice he shouted out orders to clean up his Father's house, and in the process I just about got trampled. I'm not sure that the presentation was dramatically accurate but one thing is for sure, I’ve never forgotten the experience.
You will remember the account in Scripture when Jesus went to the Temple and saw that sacred place being used as a market. The clerics had turned it into a place where worshipers from a distance could buy the animals needed for sacrifice. With justifiable anger he drove out all the cattle and sheep ready for sacrifice. He grabbed ahold of the tables of moneychangers, turning them upside down and scattering the coins in every direction. He demanded that his Father's house no longer be used as a marketplace. Then he began to teach them, saying, "Does not Scripture say that my house shall be called a house of prayer for all people?" This strong reaction against what was going on in the temple reminded disciples that in Scripture it was prophesied, "Zeal for my house will consume me." What goes on in a holy place should reflect the purpose for which it was designed. When we go to a county fair we expect the music to be noisy and never-ending. In a movie when we are watching a tender moment we don't want to hear a marching band or an operatic tenor. Music needs to be an integral part of the scene, something that expresses in it own way the theme for which it serves as background. Good jazz, which I love, is probably not appropriate at a funeral, nor is a Bach choral at a ball game. When Jesus saw the sacred place being desecrated by the culture of the day he reacted more strongly than at any other time or place we know of. With that in mind, let’s move forward in time to where we are today. I believe the church, at least, the evangelical wing of the church, has wandered off into a musical wilderness. We often hear the hypnotic repetition of a single phrase (and “Praise him” can be a meaningful part of genuine worship when used appropriately) rather than the insightful lyrics of time-tested hymns such as Rock of Ages with its authentic lines like “Be of sin the double cure; save from wrath and make me pure.” Here in one line we have a concise statement of what theology calls the twin doctrines of justification and sanctification. Jesus, the “Rock” that stands secure, provides for all who believe God’s cure for sin and the answer for his justifiable “wrath.” Then there is that wonderful gift from Fanny Crosby (who wrote some 9000 hymns!), “To God be the Glory,” which begins: “To God be the glory, great things He hath done, So loved He the world that He gave us His Son, Who yielded His life our redemption to win, And opened the life-gate that all may go in.” Upon meditation, this first verse alone thrills the open heart with its themes of adoration, love, incarnation, redemption, and eternal life. It’s vital that those who came to worship understand and sing of what God has done for a sinful world and the wonder and majesty that captivates the mind and thrills the soul of the committed believer. Jesus said that “Zeal for my house” — the temple, the place where we meet God in a special way — will consume me.” Is it not appropriate for us to feel the same about our “house,” the local church? Should it not consume us, that is, to cause us to care so deeply for it that we will take active steps to remove all the “cattle” and “sheep” of secular culture. I believe that is what it means to live like our mentor, Jesus Christ.
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AuthorRobert H Mounce Archives
January 2019
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