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I wonder
how many of you visit or help in the church on a Thursday
morning. I know that quite a large number of people help in
one way or another during that time.
Can I give you quite a
different scenario for a usual Thursday morning.
Imagine the scene. Harvey,
the treasurer, sits just inside the door at a desk. He is
ready to change pounds and pence into the Fakenham Church
Currency or FCC. You see, the only way that anything can be
purchased in the building is by using FCC!
After charging your money –
needless to say at an exorbitant rate of exchange – you can
feel free to browse the stalls. Prices are given in FCC –
the only valid currency. You may find the match to the cup
that you broke this morning. You may find the book you have
been looking for a long time. Whatever you purchase, you
hand the money over to Marian, or another helper behind the
counter. Perhaps after all that shopping you need
refreshment. You move to the refreshment counter and buy a
drink with a piece of cake and order a bowl of soup with a
roll. Again, you pay with FCC – through the nose because we
have to make a good profit to keep the diocese from the
door!
The rector is seen wandering
up and down the aisle, muttering and moaning about the
clutter in the building. He is unapproachable!
You decide that you would
like to light a candle on the votive stand and walk to that
area of the church. In order to light a candle you first
have to buy one!
It’s turning in to a very
expensive morning and that’s without shopping in the town.
If you have any FCC left then
you are allowed to exchange it for pounds and pence as you
leave, again the exchange rate is excessive!
But let’s come back to a real
Thursday morning in Fakenham Parish Church.
Harvey is too busy sorting
books and displaying them to be concerned with
money-changing.
The prices on the stall start
at 50p. Books are cheap. If you would like a drink and a
piece of cake you will be charged £1.20. Soup and a roll is
£1.60 and it is usually sold out before 12.30!
Adrian can be seen wandering
through the Trinity Room, greeting people and stopping to
have conversations with them. He often helps to clear the
tables too. He is never to busy if anyone is in need of his
help or listening ear.
The atmosphere of the church
is friendly and welcoming. Many people return week after
week.
That’s the reality of Market
Day here. A vast difference from the other scenario I
suggested. And that’s the difference. If Jesus came into
Fakenham Parish Church any week he would congratulate us on
what we are achieving. He wouldn’t turn over the tables
covered with books and bric-a-brac.
The difference is that we are
not corrupt. We do not overcharge people and people
appreciate what we are doing both here and in the town and
surrounding area.
I’ve two incidents that
happened last Thursday to tell you about. A lady came in to
use the toilets and asked Elaine for directions. Before
Elaine had a chance to say much the lady harangued the
church for trading. “It’s like Jesus should be cleansing the
church,” was the gist of the comments she made. Elaine,
being Elaine, calmly pointed out that we were simply making
money for the church, we were not corrupt. The lady left
without using the facilities!
The second incident happened
when I was taking money for refreshments. A gentleman bought
two drinks and two pieces of cake for himself and his wife.
The cost was £2.40. He gave me £3 and told me to keep the
change. I thanked him. Then he asked if all the money went
to the church and I replied that it did, mentioning that we
needed to raise money to restore the reredos although the
insurance covered the damage caused by last year’s
earthquake. He then gave me a large handful of change – for
the church!
Two very different stories,
two very different incidents.
Of course, the Temple in
Jerusalem was vastly different to Fakenham Parish Church. It
was the beating heart of Judaism. It was the centre of
worship and music, of politics and society, of national
celebration and mourning. It was also the place where you
would find more animals (alive or dead) than anywhere else.
But, towering above all these, it was, of course, the place
where Israel’s God had promised to live in the midst of his
people. It was the focal point of the nation, and of the
national way of life.
To this, add the then unknown
prophet from Galilee coming in and turning everything upside
down. How shocking that would have been to the onlookers.
And the questions the incident raises are: what was wrong
with the Temple? Why did Jesus do what he did? What does his
answer mean, when they asked him for a sign?
John’s gospel is full of
symbolism. Jesus is the Passover sacrifice, the Paschal
lamb. It is also a hint, a very strong one, as to what Jesus
thinks of the Temple itself. Clearly he regards it as
corrupt, and under God’s judgement. The trade, the corrupt
trade, isn’t what the Temple was supposed to be there for.
The trade, the market day atmosphere, wasn’t what it should
have been.
And it’s when the Jewish
people ask what Jesus thinks he’s up to, and asks for some
kind of sign to show them what it all means, Jesus speaks,
very cryptically, about his own death and resurrection. He
is the Word made flesh, the very place in which the glory of
God has chosen to make his dwelling.
John has introduced his
reader to almost all the major themes of the gospel story in
the first two chapters of his gospel. He has given us food
for thought about where it’s all going and he ends the first
two chapters with a hint as to how people should respond. If
you see the signs that Jesus is doing, then trust him.
Believe in him. Jesus is the one who knows us through and
through.
The hymn we have chosen to
sing after communion is not one we have used. Take time to
look at the words of that hymn. ‘My spirit longs for thee
within my troubled breast, though I unworthy be of so divine
a guest.’
What would Jesus do if he
came into Fakenham Parish Church on a Thursday morning?
Amen. |
