Resources for Worship, Sunday, March 23,
Third Sunday in Lent
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Prayer of Confession
Watchful God, we confess there is so much we do not know about the economy of food –
how it is grown, who harvests it, who transports it or how it is distributed. We eat what
we are served. We select from the shelves at the store. An enormous system has developed
around what was once a simple act. You grew the food you ate. You bartered for the food
you ate. You knew the cost. Help us to recognize the hidden costs of our food. We want to
see injustice clearly, the way Jesus did. We want to be awakened from our apathy and
enraged by injustice, as Jesus was. Through Your grace we will learn, act, reflect and
change. God be with us. Amen.
Litany – Remembering God’s Provision for
Us
A: O God, our Provider, you created us and fed us. (Gen 1:26-31)
B: You called us out of slavery into a land of milk and honey,
A: And fed us in the desert on the long journey into that abundance. (Ex. 16:1-36)
B: You established your covenant with us that we might receive the bounty of your
blessings as we dwell in harmony and justice.
A: “Obey all the Lord’s laws and commands and you will have all you want to eat
and will live in safety.” (Lev. 25:18-19)
B: In your wisdom, you arranged periodic corrections of our tendency toward
accumulation and injustice.
A: “Every third year, set aside a tithe of food for the Levites, who have no
inheritance, the aliens, orphans, and widows, that they may eat within your towns and be
filled.” (Deut. 14:28-29 and Deut. 26:12-13)
B: “Every seventh year, cancel the debts of those who owe you money.”
(Deut. 15:1-6)
A: “The fiftieth year shall be a Year of Restoration, a Year of Jubilee, when slaves
will be returned to their families, debts forgiven, property restored to original owners,
and freedom proclaimed to all inhabitants of the land.” (Lev. 25:8-10)
B: In your special caring for the marginal ones, you established a safety net to
provide for those falling through the cracks.
A: “When you harvest, leave some for aliens, orphans, widows.” (Deut. 24:19-22
and Lev. 19:9-10)
B: “When a countryman becomes poor, be generous to him. The poor will be with
you always, so be generous to them.” (Deut. 15:7-11)
A: When we lost sight of your justice, thereby rendering our worship empty, your prophets
spoke out to correct us.
B: “Is not this the fast I choose: to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo
the thongs of the yoke,
A: “to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke?
B: “Is it not to share your bread with the hungry,
A: “and bring the homeless poor into your house?” (Isaiah 58:6-7)
B: Your son began his public ministry proclaiming the Year of Jubilee, the freeing
of the oppressed and good news to the poor. (Luke 4:18-19)
A: He cared for the hungry in feeding the multitudes. (Matt. 14:13-21, Mark 6:30-44, Luke
9:10-17 and John 6:1-14)
B: And was willing even to violate the law so that his disciples would have food
to eat. (Matt. 12:1-8)
All join: Make us aware, O God, of our responsibility to carry out your
will in provision for those in need. Amen.
(From “Moving Beyond Band-Aids” by the California Council of Churches)
On the Lectionary: March 23, 2003, Third
Sunday in Lent
From the Revised Common Lectionary, Year B
From the Micah 6 Prayer and Devotional Guide, Written by the Rev. Noelle Damico
Devotion: Money Matters (John 2:13-22)
In Jesus’ day, the Temple was a center of economic activity in Jerusalem, a veritable
marketplace, where Jewish pilgrims from around the world converted their money into Tyrian
coins so that they could pay Temple dues and tithes. Those who were poor met their cultic
obligations by offering doves and other animals as sacrifices for purification (see Lev.
12:6, 14:22). All these transactions were controlled by the high priestly families. Though
the existence of such a marketplace may be surprising to us today, it was neigh
surprising, nor abominable to practicing Jews of that time. Indeed it was required by the
sacrificial system. So why was Jesus so upset? Why did he proclaim the destruction of the
temple at the outset of his ministry according to John?
The issue for Jesus was not that the temple was a marketplace, but that the marketplace
was not operating fairly, especially toward the poor. The money changers (ancient day
bankers) would charge high interest rates to exchange currency. Jesus overturned their
tables and poured all the money on the floor, confusing both ownership and exchange. Then
he drove the money changers and the animals out of the temple with a whip crying,
“Stop making my Fathers house a marketplace!” If we compare this story in John
with an earlier version in the Gospel of Mark, we see that there Jesus’ reasoning
appeals to the prophet Jeremiah who insisted that unless justice is practiced toward the
foreigner and anawim (orphans and widows), the Temple will be destroyed (Jer. 7:1-14).
This week, reflect on those economic practices and systems that defraud or exploit the
most vulnerable members of our society. Are there systems or institutions that seem to
function in ways that regularize such exploitation? Jesus resists the Temple’s
systemic exploitation. What are ways you and your church can resist those institutions and
systems that are fueled by economic exploitation?
Micah 6 for Kids!
Sometimes people get mad. Did you know that even Jesus got mad? In this story from John,
Jesus was angry because the people in the temple were cheating people who came to worship
God. In Jesus’ time the Temple was a place where people brought money and animals as
signs of their commitment to God. In a way it was like when we collect the offering in
church. People from around the world came to worship in the temple. And they brought coins
from the place where they lived. But the Temple would only take Jewish money. So men
called “money changers” would set up tables where people could come and trade
their money for Jewish money. But they didn’t do it fairly. This upset Jesus because
the Temple was supposed to be a place where all people could worship God and where they
could bring their offerings. He was really made that the poorest people were often cheated
the most by the money changers. So Jesus turned over the tables of the money changers and
threw all the money to the ground. Do you think he did the right thing? Do you think
it’s ever right to overturn tables and throw things around when we are mad? When we
get made about things that are unfair, what are some other ways that we can let other
people know about it?
© 2000 Noelle Damico Publishing Co., 17 Dyke Rd.,
Setauket, NY 11733
For Micah 6 resources visit www.micah6.org
or call Nancy Theoharis at 1-877-MICAH 6-0.
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