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Recently, while driving through some of the neighborhoods here in our community, I've noticed the growing presence of dumpsters.

"Developing Dumpster Fever"       Cicero United Methodist Church          March 15, 2009

Text: John 2: 13-22                   The Third Sunday of Lent                              Jack Keating

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            Recently, while driving through some of the neighborhoods here in our community, I've noticed the growing presence of dumpsters. They're popping up all over the place! Sometimes they're used for collecting trash at construction sites, sometimes at reconstruction sites, but at other times the dumpster just seems to be for junk.

            And this is the kind of dumpster usage I find the most interesting, maybe even exciting. I've often though how great it would be to have a big, old dumpster in my driveway for a while. Oh, the things I could throw in there! The bicycle that I ran over with the car many years ago, the old bed frames stored in the crawl space over the garage, or the old clothes dryer that used to sit in the basement. You know what mean? Of course you do, because you have the same kind of "dumpster treasures" in your house too! You may even have been longing for a dumpster. Now garage sales can sometimes perform virtually the same function, but a dumpster is just so much more gratifying. You have it, you hear a crash, and the junk is out of your life.

            If you ever have the opportunity to have a dumpster, you'll find yourself getting carried away with what might be called "Dumpster Fever". You'll fill it maybe 2/3 of the way, and then you'll start walking around the house looking for something, anything that you can throw away to fill it up. Your wife's Precious Moments collection? Well... maybe not. Those 20 year old golf clubs that haven't left the garage in 15 years but sure are shined nicely? Nope. Better not. Why, if you're not careful, you'll end up throwing everything in there!

            And why is that? Because our houses have a tendency to get cluttered. And sometimes, we get to the point where we just want to reclaim the space we once had so that we'll have a place to live. And if you think I've gone over the edge here .... Turn on the Home and Garden network some weekend and watch the riveting TV as people make television shows about cleaning our their trash. Don't we all have a neighbor or two who couldn't get en envelope in their garage, without a shoe horn? But you know, that's not what our homes are for: they were not meant to be waste collection facilities; they were meant to be a place to live.

            Of course, you might not agree with what I'm saying, because you actually like your junk and would never want to part with any of it. And for those folks, we Americans have created a non-dumpster, Dumpster. And a whole industry has been born about never throwing anything out .... just packing it into a Portable on Demand Storage container and storing it in a warehouse somewhere! And that's okay. Because this dumpster thing is really just an illustration anyway. An illustration that's meant to evoke a feeling of being cleansed and set free. And I'm sure you can imagine some situation in which you feel just that way.

            In today's Gospel lesson, Jesus was all about the business of cleansing the temple. Jesus and his disciples had arrived in Jerusalem for the Passover. And people from all over were coming in to Jerusalem to worship and offer sacrifices. And since traveling with animals was very difficult, they chose to buy their animals in Jerusalem. In addition, they also needed to have their money changed into local currency so that they could pay the temple tax, which was used to support the upkeep of the temple. And everything was pretty much on the up and up with these customs. So far so good.

            So during Passover, there was an abundance of people, who sold animals, and people who changed money which were needed services. But by Jesus time, they had become corrupt. While they still provided the service ... they were ripping people off, taking advantage of the visitors. Not only that ... they actually moved their businesses into the courtyards of the temple! The temple must have taken on a NY State Fair kind of ambiance .... Kind of like combining the Center of Progress Building with its vendors, with the Poultry Barn, with it's odiferous occupants! And under these circumstances it must have become almost impossible for anyone to think about worship and their relationship with God. They were too busy keeping a tight grip on their coin purses and their noses!

            So it's no wonder that this greatly disturbed Jesus. He quickly made a whip out of cords and drove out the animals and the animal vendors. He overturned the tables of the money changers and scattered their coins. And to those who were selling doves he said, "Get these out of here! How dare you turn my Father's house into a market!" The temple was the place where people were to go to worship and pray. The temple was the place where God promised to meet and remain with God's people. And Jesus was so concerned that people be able to have this real worship, that he had absolutely no patience for anyone or anything that would prevent it. And these animal salesman and moneychangers were doing just that, so they had to go.

            So how does this apply to us today since there is no more temple? Well today I would suggest that the temple might not be so necessary. Because in the former days God dwelt among God's people in the temple, but with the coming of Jesus, it is no longer through the temple that we approach God. It is through Jesus that we pray, it is through Jesus that we receive forgiveness and sanctification.

            Now some might ask where is God's house in our time? And some would suggest that it is church buildings; that church buildings are the modern version of the temple. But I don't think that's true. In truth, the temple of today, the place wherein God dwells, is you and me. It's in 1 Corinthians 3:16 where we read, "Don't you know that you yourselves are God's temple and that God's Spirit lives in you?" And scripture also asks, "Do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit?" And, of course, Paul comes right out and states definitively ... "We are the temple of the loving God."

So you yourselves are God's temple. Pretty cool, wouldn't you say? But of course, that leads us to the question: What kind of stuff do you have in the temple? What kind of stuff have you packed away in there? Is there some junk in there? Is there some junk in your life that really prevents you from living with him? You are meant to be the house of God. Have you become a house for something else? And I'm referring to sinful attitudes and behaviors here.

            Think hard now. Are there things in your life that are hindering your relationship with the Lord? Are you being honest in your day to day business? Or have you been dishonest? Are you messing with things that are controlling you ... instead of you controlling them? And you young people, are you honoring your father and mother? Or do you dishonor them with your behaviors and thoughts? And you who bear grudges you who focus the energies and direction of your life on that one person who did or said something wrong to you. Is that what your temple has become? A sanctuary for bad thoughts against others? And you who whine and see your life as a series of regrettable calamities; incapable now of seeing all the blessings you actually have. Do you realize who you are whining against? Ultimately, it's against God.

            You need a dumpster for your life my friend! If you want to truly live your life, if you want to live it with the Lord, this junk in your life has got to go. His temple, your body, your life, has got to be cleansed!

            Now you might say, "Wait a minute, I saw how Jesus cleansed the original temple ... he made quite a ruckus. Actually, he was pretty angry. We've never seen him this angry. He made a whip and started thrashing away. Is he going to bring that same anger against me? I just don't think I could bear that!" But stop to remember this. You are the temple. And Jesus wasn't angry at the temple. He didn't go about whipping the walls of the temple! He was angry at the unsavory characters who had taken up residence in the temple. He was angry at all the junk that was preventing people from using the temple for what it was meant to be used. He's angry at all the junk, the sinful attitudes and behaviors that might be preventing you from being in fellowship with the Lord. He doesn't want to punish you. He wants to help you. He wants to give you release. He wants you to be free from all the junk that has gathered in you.

            And this can only happen by the cleansing power of Jesus Christ. Now you might say, "Well, my sinful attitudes and behaviors are part of me ... I have been a willing accomplice to the havoc they have raised in my house ... so I really am guilty and I should be punished." And it's true, you have been a willing accomplice. You yourself have collected and gathered this junk. But that is the brilliance and love of our Lord. In his loving brilliance, he made a way to keep and redeem the man or the woman while getting rid of the junk. You don't burn your house down just because it's filled with junk. .. you get rid of the junk and redeem the house.

            What you're feeling is guilt over your sins. Rest assured, your guilt has been answered.  And by your loving Savior who was whipped, stripped, beaten and crucified for the guilt of your sins. When he went to the cross Jesus was carrying the refuse of our lives so that we could become God's holy habitation, his temple. And don't start feeling guilty because someone did so much for you. Jesus will have none of that! Accept the fact that someone in heaven loves you with a pure and unadulterated love. A love that is free from self-­interest and is expressed in self-sacrifice. Through the prophets, even before he was born, Jesus said, "Zeal for your house will consume me," This is Jesus. He was zealous for you and me. So zealous that he was willing to be consumed in redeeming us.

            So don't be afraid of the cleansing that Jesus would like to do in your life. It's really something that is very exciting; even exhilarating. It's like having that dumpster outside your house. It's a wonderful opportunity to clean up your house and actually live for a change. You can live with the Lord! You can live more simply. You can live more lightly. You can live in freedom and without guilt; and with no small amount of joy.

            And here's what is really cool. The Lord wants you to have the joy of helping in this. In Ephesians 4:22, Paul writes: "You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on a new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness." Do you get it? You get to actually take part in giving things the heave ho. You get to take your sinful desires and behaviors and attitudes and lift them up and over the side of the dumpster. You get to hear the gratifying crash of the junk of your life as you throw it out and start anew! Ah, dumpster fever! May it take hold of you, as well! Amen.