I have a friend who gets up at dawn and runs for 45 minutes. Is it good for him? Oh, yeah! He's in amazing shape. I've also concluded he's crazy. They say that running is good for you, but I'm not entirely convinced that it applies to my knees. More than half a century of my own style of abuse has rendered that proposition quite untrue in my case. Besides, just because it's good for me has never been motivation enough for me to do anything, so why would it apply now? They say that runners do not run because it's good for them. They run because they’re crazy about running—perhaps they are just crazy!

We often explain today’s Gospel lesson in terms of what is good for you. Jesus goes to the temple in Jerusalem and drives out the merchants in the outer courts. His disciples remember the passage, "Zeal for your house will consume me." The Jews ask for a sign for why He is doing this. “Destroy this temple and I will rebuild it in three days,” says Jesus. “It has taken 46 years to build this temple!” they reply, but they misunderstand that He refers to the temple of His body, foreshadowing His time in the tomb. After the resurrection the disciples remembered this and believed.

Now understand that the Law required these things. The temple tax could only be paid in local currency. Paying the temple tax was a vital part of worship (something many modern Christians have forgotten…) Jews came from all over the Roman world bringing currencies from where they lived, and needed to buy the Temple sheckel so they could worship. By law people had to bring an animal for sacrifice. Coming from far away, it was hardly feasible to haul along a lamb. Purchasing one on arrival made all the sense in the world. So, Jesus didn't do this because it was good for them. He didn't do it because the money changers were bad people, or because you shouldn’t buy ceremonially clean animals for sacrifice. He did it because the busy-ness of business had overshadowed the purpose of true worship. That communion of the creation with its Creator was His passion, His purpose and the reason for the Incarnation. Anything less was a false temple.

We, too have our false temples. Here are some:

Wood and mortar: Church buildings are important, but they are never an end in themselves. St. Christopher’s has a beautiful building, but we do not "rent" the church out for weddings and such. You don't rent your home out to the neighbor for a bar-b-que just because you've got a great deck. We don't rent our holy place because it is where we encounter Jesus in the lives of one another.

Programs and numbers: Programs are essential, but they are never an end in themselves. We create programs so that people can get involved in ministry, so that they can express their love of God through service to others, and so that we can do it together in a programmed and efficient way. Numbers are always descriptive, never prescriptive.

Misconceptions of other people: Categorizing people is unavoidable because we cannot get to know everyone closely. But no one fits a category perfectly, and there are no "normal" people in the world. It is our individual genius's and struggles that are so valuable. If the church is about that connection between God and people, people and people, and people and the earth, that which each one contributes is of vital importance.

Bank accounts and toys: Bank accounts and toys are fun—I’ve even got a few—but they serve a greater purpose. Ministry usually costs money that comes from the generosity of God's people, but the church is about the ministry, not the bank account that supports it. Recreation is important to spiritual life, but toys do not make us happy. They only help us play, which in the end helps us pray.

Our anxieties: Our little phobias are, to paraphrase a good friend of mine, an equal opportunity disaster. We've all got them, and they form an incredible amount of our actions. But that's not necessarily a good thing. Anxious behavior tends to breed anxious behavior. Anxious behavior usually reaches for the quickest fix, not the best one. Anxious behavior drives a wedge between people, it does not truly bring us together. Anxieties are there to be overcome, not coddled and defended.

How do you give up false temples? First, put them in their proper place. They all serve a good purpose. What makes them false is giving them a significance beyond what they properly have. Proper use brings them into the service of the Kingdom. Then, do not confuse eternal questions with temporal ones. Ask yourself the question: How does this enhance my relationship with God, with other people, and with the earth? If you cannot come up with a good answer then rethink the value you are placing on it.

So what should we not give up? Do not give up the temple of the person of Jesus. Keep all those things you do because you are a worshipper of Jesus.

1. The community of those who worship Jesus: the worship of the Church, the tradition of the Church, community of the Church, and the purpose of the Church.

2. All those things you do that enhances your communication with Jesus: your personal prayer disciple, your communal times of prayer with others, be it church, Cursillo reunion group, or other things.

3. All those things you do that show Jesus’ love to other people: planned things like volunteering, and random acts of kindness and senseless acts of beauty.

4. Your personal study program: You've God the Time, Sunday School, Bible Studies and the likes with other Christians.

5. The struggle you face to become like Christ: Your struggle with your pet sins (we all have them,) and the communal sins in which our society immerses us unwittingly or intentionally, and the struggle for justice and peace in the world.

There is an old Indian saying that says that each of us has two dogs in our hearts. One wants to do good, the other wants to do evil. They are constantly struggling with one another. The one that wins is the one you feed. Starve out the false temples, feed the true One.

Fr. Paul Moore+