When it was almost time for the Jewish Passover, Jesus went up to Jerusalem. In the temple courts he found men selling cattle, sheep and doves, and others sitting at tables exchanging money. So he made a whip out of cords, and drove all from the temple area, both sheep and cattle; he scattered the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables. To those who sold doves he said, "Get these out of here! How dare you turn my Father's house into a market!"
His disciples remembered that it is written: "Zeal for your house will consume me."
Then the Jews demanded of him, "What miraculous sign can you show us to prove your authority to do all this?"
Jesus answered them, "Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days."
The Jews replied, "It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and you are going to raise it in three days?" But the temple he had spoken of was his body. After he was raised from the dead, his disciples recalled what he had said. Then they believed the Scripture and the words that Jesus had spoken.
At 2 AM in a suburb of Canberra, Australia, all was quiet. When a dark intruder smashed through the bedroom window, repeatedly bounced on his bed, Beat Ettlin (real name) at first was relieved to discover it was a kangaroo. But, his relief was short-lived, “First I thought it is a lunatic ninja coming through the window. It seemed as likely as a kangaroo coming thru the window.” After jumping up and down while Ettlin, his wife, 9 year-old daughter hid under the covers, the frantic kangaroo hopped into their son’s room who screamed, “There’s a roo in my room”.
The 42 year-old Ettlin leaped into action. Dad jumped the 5’ 10” 90 lb. marsupial from behind and pinned him to the floor. He grabbed him in a headlock, wrestling the intruder to the front door. With one hand he opened the door and with the other he shoved the kangaroo into the night. Ettlin who was left wearing nothing but his tattered underwear, described himself as “lucky”. Professor of Australian wildlife commented, “When kangaroos panic, they lose all sense of caution & fly around.”
This is a primal struggle- man and beast locked in mortal combat. A real turf battle.
Today I want to suggest this picture of the man wrestling one of God’s creatures as metaphor for the cultural war of science and religion. At times it seems that science has religion in a headlock and wants to show them the door. Or faith in God is on human turf creating havoc & upsetting the house. Is this a fight that we must have? It was Darwin’s 200th birthday last month, the stem cell controversy is back, and the evolution debate never has gone away. In USA Today, Pastor Henry Brinton writes, “I’ve been a man of Darwin since I double-majored in religion and biology in the 80’s. Like so many I have long sought to make peace between science and religion. If America is to remain a nation of strong faith and innovative scientific research we need to reconcile the two”. The percentage of Americans who reject evolution has risen from 40-45% in the past 20 years. The Creation Museum in Kentucky is a popular destination with dinosaurs pictured in the Garden of Eden.
Based on a literal reading of Scripture, the museum dates dinosaur specimens at 6000 years old versus the modern scientific date of 450 million years. My point is not to choose evolution over intelligent design or religion instead of science. But, to ask, do we fail to see science and religion answer very different questions about our Father’s World? Whether by the tapestry of evolution or by a literal six day creation, God was intimately involved, it is God’s artistic handiwork, & it’s good. Science answers how questions. With proofs, observation, and replication to find about the mechanics of the world we live in. Religion answers WHO and why questions. With faith, prayer, Scripture find out about the meaning of existence & try to express deep truths in words. The Message, Psalm 19, “God’s glory is on tour in the skies, God’s craft is on exhibit on the horizon”. God’s glory is on tour. The cosmic craft show on display. God fingerprints are everywhere, on everyone.
The Psalmist is on a roll, “The revelation of God is whole and pulls us together. The signposts of God are clear and point out the right road. The life-maps of God are right showing the way to joy. The directions of God are plain, easy on the eyes. Are God’s directions that plain, signposts that clear? Is God’s glory really on tour?
Psalm 19 on God’s mighty message, “Their words aren’t heard, their voices aren’t recorded, silence fills the earth, unspoken truth is spoken everywhere.” Glory is a word that we are so familiar with that it receives little enthusiasm or attention in worship. Glory means weightiness, aura of splendor and power, unrivaled power.
The Apostle Paul writes in Romans, “For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities- his eternal power and divine nature have been clearly seen in what has been made. No one has an excuse.” The world witnesses to God. The visible becomes vocal. It’s an unending concert. The eternal tour of Yahweh. Let us not confuse the creation with the Creator. God makes amazing art but let’s not swap out for the Artist. Consider the creation as only an autograph of his glory.
Frederich Beuchner says, “Glory is to God what style is to an artist. A painting by Vermeer, a sonnet by Donne, a Mozart aria- each so rich with the style of the one who made it that to the avid devotee, admirer is could be made by nobody else”.
Twenty years ago I was on a trip through New Zealand with two good friends. One day was particularly magical. In the AM we took a helicopter flight around Mount Cook landing on a glacier. Exhilaration that swept over us. In the PM we had quiet time on rocky beaches reminding me of the Oregon Coast. Just enveloped in peace For dinner we had undercooked spaghetti in our cheap camper, but I remember the fellowship. We were laughing spasmodically at my buddy’s dating stories. In one day, we had experienced God the Creator- in the mountains, perhaps God the Son, the peace of Christ, and God the Spirit in our unruly fellowship. Twenty years later that day is still with me. Yet, no words were spoken, no instructions were given, and no bible was opened that day. But, the glory and gusto of God was on display. The intelligent and inspirational design was out there. The style of the Sovereign Lord was before us. The Message translates, “God’s Word vaults across the sky.”
Our problem is we don’t find it easy to recognize the signs of God’s glory or to receive him on the terms that God comes to us. God’s signs are everywhere. God is not stingy about revelation; creation on every corner, births & bibles abound, Ten Commandments communicated, churches are proliferating, and Christians of all flavors at hand. This is above all true about God’s glory in Jesus. John writes, “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only who came from the Father, full of grace and truth”. Glory is the weightiness & worth of God. The sovereignty, the very style of God.
So few people who were around Jesus saw the glory. They were looking right at it and missed it entirely. Jesus was unimpressive, marginal, suffered, died, & buried. This glory is not glamorous or conspicuous. Eugene Peterson writes, “Here’s the thing. Glory is what we are after. Whatever else glory is, it is not more of or even perfection of what we already have. We must let Jesus define glory for us, not the world. By grace, have God guide us. Receive the commands as merciful boundary. The crucified Christ as our salvation and resurrected Jesus as our destiny. To praise God is to witness to gospel reality, God’s tour is moving into our neighborhood.
Laments, especially during Lent, seem more appropriate. Aren’t we supposed to be honest about the unrelenting difficulty and anxiety of this life? Shouldn’t we save praise for those times when we are authentically thankful and ready for joy? In my experience, we are too timid about leveling with God about our struggles, demons, & worries. Praising God is not concocted flattery. Rather, it is the most earnest business we are to be about as the baptized. Ultimately, it is for our sakes, for the sake of the world that we praise God. Only through participating in the unending concert do we see the world as God sees. Praise does more for us than it does for God. Let us get over the adolescent idea that we worship so God won’t be disappointed with us. God’s glory revealed his style in Jesus, his love on the cross, our ultimate destiny/design in resurrection, unending solidarity with us in church. .
The fact is the night is vanishing. We have engineered our world to be filled with man-made light. National Geographic claims its no different than damming a river. Its benefits come with consequences, light pollution. Artificial light shines upward and outward. Orange haze is so pervasive that the original glory of an unlit sky is wholly beyond our experience. At first, it was though light pollution only impacted astronomers. Now new evidence tells us that nocturnal species are being adversely affected. Research is still unclear as to how extensively humans are changed due to light pollution. We need the darkness as much as we need the light for our internal clock and biological welfare. In the peripheral glow of our prosperity, we have lost a sense of our place in the universe. Because of light pollution, we have forgotten the scale of our being that is best measured against the universe’s dark dimensions.
That explains how our sin and success have gotten in the way of glory. We have filled our limited horizons with stuff, distractions, and god substitutes. Thinking we have advanced beyond God and unraveled all the mysteries of the universe. In fact, what has happened is with our own version of light pollution we have clouded our horizon. God is still God and still not stingy with the glory, but we cannot see.
This Lent is the time to recover the glory and give thanks for all the gifts of God. To remember the impact of Jesus’ death and resurrection. To give God the glory.
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