Grace to you and peace from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen

Scandal!
Jesus, our Jesus, turned a religious rioter, taking a whip, herding out animals and overturning tables in the temple courts. What happened? What made Jesus so mad? After all, it was Passover and people needed to buy animals with the proper money in order to participate in the temple worship. - There is no real answer as to why Jesus disrupted the holiday preparations and prevented people from getting ready for the big Passover celebration. All we know is that he apparently got really angry in the temple.

It is popular to interpret Jesus’ anger as an example of his humanity. Depending on our personalities we greet this human trait in Jesus or only reluctantly allow the negative human expression of anger to be added to our positive image of Jesus. Whichever, we accept it if Jesus’ anger is evidence of his humanity. But that would be undercutting the incarnation. The Word is already made flesh, fully, wholly, full of grace and truth - no other evidence is needed. We should not base our faith on single signs like anger or any other emotions and attributes that Jesus was truly human. Our faith should cling only to the proclamation that the Word who was God was made flesh.

Jesus’ act of cleansing the temple is a prophetic act and the scandal is not his anger that makes him like other people, but the scandal is the authority he as a human being claims for himself through his words and actions. He not only drives out animals and money changers from the temple courts but even claims that when this temple is destroyed he will raise it up in three days. This must be enigmatic for those questioning him and it would be for us if not John explained the symbolic meaning of Jesus’ words. John wants us to understand that Jesus himself is the one and only place of God’s presence, the ultimate place of God’s presence. The temple in Jerusalem which until now has been the symbol of God’s presence is replaced by the body of the crucified and risen Christ. Here God is present. In this human being who dies and is raised from the dead after three days. This is a scandalous claim, a claim that shakes the foundations not only of the Jerusalem temple but of all religious establishment.

Dear congregation, God's presence is the issue.

God's presence is promised to the assembled body of Christ, the congregation of the baptized in which the Word is proclaimed and the sacraments are administered. The presence of God is promised to a body which can exist only in some form of establishment, organization, and institution.

As part of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America we take care to be attentive to God's presence in our midst. We remain open to God's presence in the assembled body through the Holy Spirit. The way we worship—our preaching, teaching, and preparation—pastoral care, outreach, mission, polity and the way we do our business are guided by the principle of openness to the Holy Spirit. We must let the Spirit do its work and allow God's presence among us.

Over the centuries the church has not always been able to resist the temptation to equate the authority of its own institutions with the presence of God. At the end of the medieval period Martin Luther's zeal, concise theology, and righteous anger helped cleanse the church and put a halt to the confusion of the authority of the church with the presence of God. Still every generation, all leaders, and all churches are prone to equating the authority of the office and institution with the presence of God. It is more than fitting that in today's epistle reading Paul reminds us that God is revealed in the weakness and foolishness of the cross. That means that God is more often to be found in the strange, the odd, the unlikely events and places of life.

Decades ago it seemed odd and unlikely that black and white people would worship together. It seemed strange and unlikely that women would be ordained to preach and preside at the font and the table. Looking back on these errors and misreading of the living Word which is Christ, it seems strange now that these were issues at all.

The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America is in a time of discernment regarding human sexuality. We are discussing whether openly gay and lesbian persons living in committed relationships can be ordained, and whether same sex unions can be blessed. The General Assembly voted last August not to make a decision regarding the ordination or regarding the blessing of same sex unions. The result is the recommendation to further study and discern the issues of human sexuality.

This decision has left many people unsatisfied and frustrated. Yet, it is an unequivocally Lutheran way of dealing with an extremely difficult situation. The Assembly resisted the temptation to speak with certitude where there was no certitude. Different from other paths taken by churches, the ELCA has voted that we continue to live with the unresolved tension and risk looking foolish. Such a decision creates new space to discern where the Spirit is leading us and whether to welcome gay and lesbian people more fully into every aspect of the life of the church.

The presence of God is promised to the assembled body of Christ. I am convinced that this question will be resolved through a continued process of careful reading of the scriptures, concise theology, and patient discernment of the presence of God in the assembled body of the faithful.

As in every struggle there will be anger involved. Healthy, righteous anger will not be easily distinguished from self-righteous anger and pushiness. The body of Christ can deal with these issues in the power of the Spirit and in mutual discernment and support.

Here in our own congregation of Christ the King Church we are now preparing to change the welcome statements in our public relations literature in which we more clearly than before will state our openness to all who participate in the life of the congregation. In light of the continued discussion about human sexuality we want to make sure that our identity as an inclusive, open and caring congregation is clearly expressed.

Dear congregation, the Word was made flesh and dwelled among us, full of grace and truth. Full of challenge and full of the presence of God. Let us ever receive the Word among us and let it guide us on ventures of which we cannot see the ending, by paths as yet untrodden, through perils unknown. We do this trusting that God’s hand is leading us and his love supporting us.
Amen.