Saturday of the Fifth Sunday in Lent
Read Mark 11:15–18
We’ve conducted business in the Court of the Gentiles for years; it’s convenient for Jewish worshipers who travel long distances. Where else might they exchange profane Roman money or buy clean sacrificial animals? Yes, we charge a markup, but how else shall we make our living?
Today that radical young rabbi completely lost his mind. He flipped tables and drove out animals, yelling at the top of his lungs the entire time. He called us a “den of robbers” and ruined our business for the whole day. And, of course, he wouldn’t pick just any day to do it — it had to be Passover, our most lucrative time of the year. Temple leaders gathered in the colonnade, furious at what was taking place. If I weren’t so incensed, I’d feel sorry for this young upstart. He has no idea the trouble he’s about to be in.
Jesus, keep me from getting in the way of others who wish to worship you.
Text by Jodi Craiglow
Video from First United Presbyterian Church of Belleville, IL