"CLEANSING: AN EXERCISE THAT LEADS TO INTEGRITY"

I don't know how many of you saw the cartoon strip, "Cathy," in last Sunday's paper. It's not usually one of my favorites, but this particular strip immediately connected me to today's sermon topic. As you may know, Cathy shops...a lot. The first panel shows her proudly holding up a purchase and above her the caption says, "Saturday, 10:30 a.m. Bought a new pair ofsocks." Then the panels go on from there. "Saturday, 11:00 a.m.: Couldn't stand to put the new socks into a messy drawer. Began cleaning sock drawer." "Saturday, 11:30 a.m.: Couldn't stand to put an organized sock drawer back into a messy dresser. Began to clean all drawers." "Saturday, 1:00 p.m.: Couldn't stand that the dresser was getting organized, but the closet was a mess. Began cleaning closet." "Saturday, 6:00 p.m.: Couldn't stand that the closet was starting to look new, but the walls looked old. Began painting walls." "Sunday, 8:00 a.m.: Tried to make new curtains to go with the new walls...tried to find new bedding to go with the new curtains...tried to build new shelves to go with the new bedding..." On and on and on. Last frame. "Sunday, 7:00 p.m." Cathy's standing back in front ofthe cashier at the store, holding the socks. Cashier says, "Want your money back?" Cathy says, "I want my weekend back."

When you start to clean up one thing, it always seems to lead to something else that needs cleaning, doesn't it? That's why some of us avoid cleaning. That's why some of our houses are such a mess. That's why some of our lives are such a mess!

Today we continue with part 3 of our Lenten sermon series, and today's focus is on "Cleansing: An Exercise That Leads to Integrity." Sometimes we really do try to just avoid doing anything with the messes in our lives because cleansing the space around us...and cleansing the space within us...can be such a chore. How many of you homeowners always do a big spring cleaning? That may not be as popular a concept as it once was. Remember the notion of"spring cleaning?" Mom would finally get fed up and WHAM! Rugs, curtains, bedspreads...up, down, off and into the washer or onto the clothes line. 27 loads of dusty stuff. Wash windows...scrub floors...let the fresh air in and put away the winter coats. The house has gotten dirty and dank and stuffy and germy. Let the cleansing commence!

In our Gospel reading today, God's house had gotten dirty and dank and stuffy and germy. In an area on the outside of the temple, an area reserved for Gentile worshipers, through which everyone worshiping had to pass, you had to hold your nose and hold even tighter to your purse. Foreigners were being charged exorbitant rates to exchange money to pay the temple tax and the prices for animals to sacrifice, which were being sold right there on the spot, were super-inflated as well. And Jesus got fed up! WHAM! Let the cleansing commence! Tables are turned over and coins go flying. Cattle and sheep are galloping around, mooing and bellowing. People are scurrying and wondering and cursing and questioning. WHAT IS WITH THIS GUY? "Just a little spring cleaning," Jesus might say. "You got a problem with that?"

Now this may seem like pretty radical behavior for Jesus. We may not even want to believe that Jesus would ever do such a thing! That's because, sometimes, instead of looking at the full character of Jesus, we choose to see only a caricature. "Gentle Jesus, meek and mild." But remember: the compassionate Jesus can also be the angry Jesus. Romans 1 1:22 speaks of the "kindness and sternness" of God.

Why was Jesus so angry? Because people were using religious practices for personal profit. Money-changers and animal salesmen were taking advantage of others; they were preying on people's weakness in time of need, knowing that foreign pilgrims had no choice but to use their inflated services. In allowing this, the temple leaders were abusing their authority. When people - any people, at any time - claim to worship without truly having any reverence for God...use or mistreat or separate others in the name of religion...or care more about putting on a show than with lifting up the sacred...Jesus gets angry!

His anger comes out of his complete integrity. You see, Jesus is not a caricature who only smiles passively and benignly overlooks what is wrong! He is not a patsy and he's certainly no dummy! There is a great passage in the Gospel of Matthew where some uppity religious leaders try to take advantage of Jesus' good nature and trick him with false compliments. Starting with chapter 22, verse 15, "...the Pharisees went out and laid plans to trap Jesus in his words.'Teacher,' they said,'we know that you are a man of integrity and that you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. You aren't swayed by people, because you pay no attention to who they are. [Wink, wink!!] Tell us then, what is your opinion? Is it right to pay taxes to Caesar or not?' But Jesus (Scripture says), knowing their evil intent, said 'You hypocrites, why are you trying to trap me?" Then he looked at a coin bearing Caesar's inscription and said to them, "Give to Caesar what is Caesar's, and to God what is God's."

The Pharisees were, of course, right in one sense. Jesus had total integrity. And so he wouldn't play their little games. And He wouldn't stand for abuses taking place in the house of God. His actions always matched his beliefs...his character was revealed in his behavior, always - whether healing the sick in a town or whipping the sleezebags at the temple!

That kind of consistency of behavior and completeness of character is what God also wants of us. If we are to be Christians - disciples (students) of Jesus Christ - we, too, must have integrity...for we are to be of the same nature as Christ! 1 Peter, chapter 2, verses 4 & 5, says, "As you come to Christ, the living Stone - rejected by people but chosen by God and precious to God - you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ." If Jesus wanted integrity within the physical temple, how much more does God want integrity within the living temples that we are called to be?

A life lived with integrity is one in which all aspects of a person are fully integrated; it is a holistic life. In mathematics an "integer" is a whole number as opposed to a fraction. Integrity also about wholeness. It's that coherence of character that presents a single face to the world: "What you see is what you get." Jesus was like that...and wants us to be like that, too.

Now most of us here don't need any lectures or explanation about the pain that is experienced when one lives a life that is not true to who one really is. That's a lesson most of us could write a book on! And, thank God, we are among those whom Jesus has defended and protected and saved from the "abuses at the temple." But I'11 tell you the truth...be careful what you ask for...'cos you just might get it!

When Jesus comes into our lives...bringing the freedom to be fully who we are and to live with integrity - Jesus also comes bringing the demand that we open up every part of our lives to that same integrity. And that may mean doing some serious cleansing.

Now let's get real here. What I'm talking about is "sin." Now that's a word we in M.C.C. have a real tendency to avoid. Probably because it's been so misused - applied to who we are as people or thrown at us like stones by folks who think that to be different is to be deserving of death. That's nonsense. Who we are is not a sin. What we do may be sin...if what we do has no integrity.

Sin is deluding ourselves into believing that it's all right to not honor our commitments. Sin is each of us accepting our own feeble excuses for doing wrong - "everybody else does it; it really doesn't make any difference; I'm only one person; rules are made to be broken; there are always exceptions; the other guy won't ever know," and on and on. Sin is failing to keep our word or failing to take responsibility for our actions. (Why do we as Americans have so little trust in our government leaders? Because they have lied to us and skirted responsibility for their actions far too many times.) Sin is about holding onto grudges...judging others...living unbalanced lives that keep us constantly in a state of regret. We are fully capable of sin. Let us never become so content in our acceptance by God that we fail to remember that we can "miss the mark" of God. Jesus had deep anger toward those he called hypocrites - those who professed a standard of conduct, condemned others who fell short ofthe mark but excused themselves from the wholehearted observance ofthe rules ofthe game. He made it clear that attending religious services, giving money to charity, even preaching and working miracles in his name could not substitute for living with the integrity that God desires.

It's kind of interesting that the word "lent" comes from an ancient word that meant "spring." During the season of Lent we're encouraged to do some real soul searching and spiritual renewal. Think of it as spring cleaning. And that means we can't just dust the surface of our behavior and stick the real clutter of our souls off in a closet somewhere. We all know that sticking things in a closet doesn't make them go away, now don't we!

No, now is the time for us to drag out all the things within us that have gotten dirty and dank and stuffy and germy. Maybe we even need to get rid of some things. Perhaps the things that are separating us from God should be the first to go! And don't be surprised if cleaning one thing suddenly leads to cleaning more and more. You may lose some of your old baggage in the process. But you'll gain a new life you never imagined. There is nothing to compare to the freedom that comes from letting go of deceit and grudges and judgements and regret. Invite Christ in to clean and, honey, you will sparkle! Amen.

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