If you know me well, you know I am not a science buff. I held my nose through formaldehyde-scented biology. I sludged through chemistry and passed physics with dual college credit because the grace of God is a real thing.
With that said, I am about to talk about a scientific concept, probably inadequately, so patience please.
Inertia is defined as “a property of matter by which it continues in its existing state of rest or uniform motion in a straight line, unless that state is changed by an external force.”
In eleventh grade, Mr. McKim droned on about it in these more familiar terms, “an object in motion tends to stay in motion…unless acted upon by an outside force.”
In Matthew 21:12-13, we are privy to the actions of Jesus on the Monday after he entered Jerusalem on a donkey. 24 hours after the crowd was shouting Hosanna, we find Jesus in the temple with harsh words and an unmistakeable act of protest regarding the current state of the church (aka temple worship).
“Jesus entered the temple courts and drove out all who were buying and selling there.” (v. 12a)
The word translated as “drove out” is a Greek word that has a number of definitions, many of which we have come to associate with this event - Jesus cast out, sent out, expelled, rejected. The most interesting definition to me, however, was this one: “with implication of force overcoming opposite force.”
All of a sudden, white-wigged Isaac Newton was showing up in my bible reading. In scientific terms, Jesus’ actions in the temple were the same as an external force acting upon an object in motion.
By natural laws, an object in motion will remain in motion unless changed by an external force. That Newtonian law is true for systems and organizations too.
The Jewish temple in the first century was the center of worship. It was the place where God became accessible. It was sacred space because God’s presence was there and it was where Jews came to be forgiven of their sins.
In that day, sins were forgiven through animal sacrifice. Jews were expected to travel to Jerusalem at the Passover Festival and present an animal for sacrifice at the temple. It was accepted that a person’s sins would be transferred to the animal and then the animal would die, thereby taking the punishment instead of the people. Regardless of your thoughts on that primitive ritual, it was earnestly believed and practiced by sincere Jews whose greatest desire was to be close to the God they loved.
Like with so many things, however, there was someone looking for ways to make a buck, and in this case, the religious leaders were the opportunists. Jerusalem as Passover was like Louisville, KY at Derby time or (apparently) Sturgis, SD during the summer motorcycle rally…teeming with people.
Jews from all over would travel to the holy city to worship God and to seek forgiveness through their animal offering. They would bring the best lamb, the choice goat, the finest doves with the anticipation that God’s forgiveness was near.
And then they would enter the temple courtyard.
The crowded outer courts of the temple would be shoulder to shoulder people. The throngs would create a constant hum of noise, that would only seem to be interrupted by the bleating of animals, as they waited for their time to present their sacrifice.
But a sacrifice had to be approved by temple workers. A lamb, no matter how spotless you may think it is, had to pass inspection at the temple. And guess who was in charge of stamping the approval on animal sacrifices? You got it. The very people who were cutting deals with the moneychangers and sellers one table over from the inspection tent.
The outer courtyard of the holiest space to the Jews had been turned into a vendor hall where weary pilgrims were at the mercy of the greedy teachers who masqueraded as righteous. Every essential for worship was available for purchase, as long as you could afford it. Ease, convenience, and exorbitant prices. Imagine a captive audience paying $7 for a hot dog at Fenway Park or $20 for a light-up wand in Magic Kingdom. You get the idea. Having to buy your animal on-site was price gouging at it’s cruelest because these inflated prices and ridiculous taxes were being asked of those who couldn’t afford it. As a result, those who came to worship and experience forgiveness were prevented entrance into the one place they believed God to be.
The priests and religious leaders were the ones who were to bridge the gap between God and people. They were to find ways to bring the people to God and God to the people. They were to pave the way for reconciliation between people and the God who loved them. Instead, they had become the biggest obstacle that stood in the way of the people finding God. The ones charged with the responsibility to shepherd the hearts of people toward God were the very ones who were making it nearly impossible to do just that. Wolves in sheep’s clothing. Fangs disguised in prayer shawls and phylacteries.
And that was the way of the temple. The place where God was to be found, yet God had become off limits. Admittance denied. Forgiveness denied. Peace denied.
Religion was an object in motion, moving in the direction of greed, callousness, arrogance, at the expense of people under the care of those who knew better.
An object in motion stays in motion unless acted upon by an external force.
And Jesus “drove out…” Jesus acted with an opposing force. Jesus disrupted the inertia of the religious system. Jesus was unwilling to allow the temple to continue to be run this way. Jesus drove out the buyers and sellers.
Jesus was literally and figuratively removing the barriers that had kept worshippers out. Jesus was an opposing force acting upon what had seemed to be an unstoppable, unchangeable, crooked and rigged system.
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| Bernadette Lopez |
I imagine the courtyard was quiet at the sound of tables hitting the ground. As the coins clinked on the temple floor and echoed through the crowd, every single person knew Jesus was calling BS on a system that was broken and corrupt. This act of protest was Jesus refusing to allow this scheme to go undisturbed for one more nanosecond. Jesus was calling the religious leadership, with their poorly disguised depravity, on the carpet. He refused to let them off the hook. Amidst scattered money and bleating lambs, for just a moment, the libertine leaders had to stand there and face those they had been oppressively taking advantage of.
For a moment, there was deliverance as Jesus stood up for those who had been powerless and without a voice. For a brief moment, on Holy Monday, the rejected worshippers were offered a glimpse of hope from the abusive religious system. As if Jesus was proclaiming justice for all and an end to the tyranny of power wielded in the name of God.
You see, an object in motion tends to stay in motion unless acted upon by an outside force.
There are still oppressive systems today; some within the church and some without. Either way, they impede someone’s ability to experience the freedom and hope God desires for all people.
Where do you see oppression and injustice? Where is there abuse of power? What unprincipled systems in our culture have inertia that need to be acted upon with an opposing force? Where are these things happening in the name of God?
During this holy week, it seems an appropriate time to ask these questions. During this holy week, it seems a perfect time to allow honest answers to surface.
What Newton knew to be true of matter is also true of systems and organizations.
An object in motion tends to stay in motion.
And some motion should be stopped.
Jesus knew that, and on Holy Monday He interrupted inertia.
May we be just as brave.
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