• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

St. Stephen's Episcopal Church

215 N. 7th, Terre Haute, Indiana

  • About
    • Welcome!
    • Worship Calendar
    • Live Worship
    • Sermons
    • Clergy & Staff
    • Communication
  • Community
    • Blog
    • News + Events
    • Episcopal Links
    • Links for Study and Devotion
  • Get Involved
    • Give
    • Calendar
    • Ministries
    • Service Committees
  • Members
    • Annual Meeting
    • News
    • Schedule
    • Newsletter
    • The Hope Journal
    • Resources

A Word: A Messy Temple

Sermons · March 3, 2024

In all of the order of the Temple, we struggle to see the mess underneath; why things need to change; and even what to do about it.


Jesus and the need to change
Lent 3B  |  John 2:13-22

Some people really don’t know what to do with this story. And some really do know what to do with this story and they like it!

People say “what would Jesus do?” Well, apparently, driving money-changers out of the Temple is on the list! 

Images depicting Jesus with a whip are super meme-able. In part because it plays against type. And part because we do want to find Jesus’s line in the sand. Not just because it looks like ours, but because it makes us feel like we’re on the right track.

Think about it. Jesus eats with tax collectors and drives out the bankers. Make of that what you will…

Really what we’re trying to find is not a Jesus that looks like us. In a way, we’re contending with a Jesus who doesn’t look like us 99% of the time—but does this one time. 

Wasn’t it Groucho Marx that said he didn’t want to be a part of a group that would have him as a member? Honestly, the point is to try to make me look more like Jesus. I really don’t want him looking more like me…

The full text may be found here.

For a limited time, you may find the audio here.

Filed Under: Sermons Tagged With: change, cleansing of the temple, John 2:13-22, Lent 3B, order

Previous Post: « Faithfulness
Next Post: Love »

Primary Sidebar

Recent Posts

  • A Word: Befriending the Spirit
  • Summer Sabbatical
  • A Word: The Promise
  • Sabbath and Peace
  • A Word: Loving People

Keep Up

Footer

CONTACT

St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church
215 N. 7th St
Terre Haute, IN 47807

812-232-5165

officeadmin@ststephensth.org

ABOUT

St. Stephen’s is a sacramental community following Jesus’s Way of Love.

We worship on Sundays at 8 & 10.

AFFILIATIONS

St. Stephen’s is a member of The Episcopal Church and congregation of the Episcopal Diocese of Indianapolis.

St. Stephen’s is a member of the Homeless Council of the Wabash Valley

PARKING

St. Stephen’s is across from Indiana State University. Nearby parking lots are run by ISU and are free after 5pm weekdays and are free all weekend long. 

Five marked spots in the lot directly behind the church are available during the week.

Copyright © 2025 · Showcase Pro on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in