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Sermon: The Call to Truth and the True Temple based on 

Jeremiah 1:1-10; 7:1-11 AND John 2:13-22

Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

Have you ever felt a deep, undeniable pull to do something important, but immediately thought, "I can't possibly do that. I’m not equipped. I’m too young, too old, not smart enough, not strong enough"? It’s a feeling many of us know well, and it’s precisely where we find the prophet Jeremiah at the beginning of our first lesson today.

In Jeremiah 1:1-10, we witness God’s radical call to a young man. The word of the Lord comes to Jeremiah, declaring, "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations." Imagine the weight of that statement on a young man's shoulders! Jeremiah's immediate response is entirely relatable: "Ah, Lord God! Truly I do not know how to speak, for I am only a youth." He feels inadequate, unprepared for such a monumental task.

But God's response is swift and powerful: "Do not say, 'I am only a youth,' for you shall go to all to whom I send you, and you shall speak whatever I command you. Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you to deliver you." God doesn't just dismiss Jeremiah's fear; He actively addresses it with a promise of presence and protection. Then, in a profoundly symbolic act, "the Lord put out his hand and touched my mouth; and the Lord said to me, 'Now I have put my words in your mouth.'" This is a divine commissioning, empowering Jeremiah not with his own wisdom, but with God's very words. His mission is sweeping: "See, today I appoint you over nations and over kingdoms, to pluck up and to pull down, to destroy and to overthrow, to build and to plant." Jeremiah is called to deliver a message of both judgment and hope, a message that would shake the foundations of his society. This is a crucial lesson to heed when God is speaking to you. If you feel the Spirit talking to you, nudging you, or even, as in my case, slapping me upside the head, pay attention!

The core of Jeremiah's message, as we hear in Jeremiah 7:1-11, concerns the people's false security in the Temple. God instructs Jeremiah to stand at the gate of the Lord's house and confront the people. They are repeating a mantra: "This is the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord!" They believed that as long as they had the physical Temple in their midst, they were invincible, immune to God's judgment, regardless of their actions.

But God, through Jeremiah, exposes their hypocrisy. He challenges them to "amend your ways and your doings." He calls for genuine righteousness: for acting justly with one another, for not oppressing the vulnerable (the alien, the orphan, the widow), for not shedding innocent blood, and for not worshipping other gods. Their reliance on the physical Temple had become a shield for their ungodly behavior. God’s indictment is chilling: "Has this house, which is called by my name, become a den of robbers in your sight?" (Does this sound familiar?) They had turned a sacred place into a haven for unrighteousness, believing its mere existence would guarantee God's favor. God warns them that He will deal with this Temple just as He dealt with Shiloh, a former sanctuary that He abandoned due to the people’s wickedness.

This brings us to our Gospel lesson from John 2:13-22, and the startling scene of Jesus cleansing the Temple. It’s a powerful moment that profoundly complements Jeremiah’s message. Jesus arrives at the Temple during Passover, a time of great religious fervor. What does he find? Not worship and prayer, but a bustling marketplace: people selling oxen, sheep, and doves, and moneychangers at their tables. The very space designated for communion with God has been turned into a commercial enterprise, exploiting those who came to worship.

Filled with righteous indignation, Jesus acts decisively. He makes a whip of cords and drives out the animals and merchants, overturning the tables of the money-changers. His words echo Jeremiah’s accusation: "Take these things out of here! Stop making my Father's house a marketplace!" The Jewish leaders demand a sign for his authority. Jesus’ response is cryptic yet profound: "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up." They think he's talking about the physical building, which took forty-six years to build. But John tells us, "He was speaking of the temple of his body."

Now, let's see how these two powerful lessons speak to each other across centuries.

First, both Jeremiah and Jesus are called to speak and embody God's challenging truth. Jeremiah, despite his youth, is empowered by God to deliver a blunt message of judgment against a complacent people. Centuries later, Jesus, as God incarnate, physically embodies this confrontational truth by purifying the very heart of Jewish worship. Both show that God will not tolerate empty religiosity or a mere outward show of piety when the heart is far from Him and actions are unrighteous. Empty religiosity, powerful imagery, the building isn’t where God is!

Second, both passages expose the danger of false security and empty ritualism. Jeremiah explicitly condemns the people's reliance on the physical Temple while their lives are filled with injustice and idolatry. They thought the Temple was a magic charm. Jesus, in his radical act, illustrates this same spiritual sickness. The Temple, intended as a place of prayer and encounter with God, had become a "den of robbers" – a place where people practiced injustice and exploited others, believing their presence in the sacred space would cover their sins. They were going through the motions, but their hearts and actions were not aligned with God's will.

Finally, and perhaps most profoundly, Jesus reveals the true nature of God's dwelling, transcending the physical Temple. Jeremiah’s prophecy carries both judgment and the promise of restoration, hinting at a deeper communion God desires with His people. Jesus' audacious statement, "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up," transforms the very concept of the Temple. No longer is God’s primary dwelling confined to a building, even a sacred one. The true Temple is Jesus himself, and by extension, his resurrected body—which becomes the church, the community of believers.

This means that God's presence is no longer tied to a physical location or ritual alone but is accessible through faith in Christ. We are the living stones, built into a spiritual house, with Christ as the cornerstone. This shifts our focus from external observance to internal transformation and relational living. The call to amend our ways, to live justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with our God, is still paramount. It is in these acts, empowered by the Spirit and lived out in Christ, that the true "Temple" – the living presence of God among us – is revealed.

So, what does this mean for us today? Are we, like the ancient Israelites or those in Jesus' day, sometimes guilty of trusting in external forms of faith—our church building, our attendance, our rituals—while neglecting the call to genuine repentance, justice, and love? Are we allowing our "Father's house," our spiritual lives, or even our church community, to become anything less than a house of prayer and righteous living?

Jeremiah and John's accounts call us to a radical self-examination. They remind us that God calls us, inadequate as we may feel, to speak His truth and to live lives that truly reflect His holiness. They urge us to seek God not just in buildings or rituals, but in the living Christ, who calls us to be the hands and feet of God’s justice and love in the world. May we respond to that call with courage and authenticity, building up God’s true Temple by living lives worthy of His name.

Gracious God, help us to remember that our church buildings, though important, are not critical to you. Help us to realize that you are everywhere, not confined by brick and mortar. You live in our hearts, help us to share this amazing gift with everyone we meet, showing the love and light of God through what we do, say, and how we live.

Amen.