Conversations on the way to the Cross 2: The Commotion

Two temple traders complain about the recent ruckus

"Three days' takings I've lost, Samuel. Three days of my money down the drain, thanks to that joker."

"Tell me about it. Did you see my pigeons? Everywhere, they were. Some even got into the Holy of Holies, and the priests didn't like that, I can tell you! It took me ages to round them up."

"Pigeons? Well they're OK - they're homing birds, aren't they? You shake a bag of food, and back they all come. My coins don't do that. You know what all those beggars are like in the temple courts - one chink of a coin and they come running like chickens round seed. When that madman turned my table over, half the money didn't even hit the floor before it was gone!"

"At least you didn't get in the way of his whip, Hosea. Poor old Jedidiah got driven right out of the courtyard. I know those Ark of the Covenant models he sells are pretty tacky, but he didn't deserve that."

"No way! I tell you, crucifixion's too good for guys like that. And what do we pay the temple guards for, anyway? They should be making sure these lunatics don't even get in - especially if they're armed. There's been too much of it lately."

"Damn right. They all come in spouting about freedom and holy war, and next thing you know it's poor hardworking guys like us who are suffering for it. Mind you, sounds like this one's got a vendetta against the religious leaders, too. Did you hear what he was calling the Pharisees?"

"Sounded like 'hypocrites' from where I was standing."

"Oh yes, and that wasn't the half of it. Poisonous snakes, dirty graves - that man had a mouth on him!"

"Brave guy. Tell you what though Samuel, if he's insulting that lot in public he's not going to be around long. They don't want anyone disturbing their holy little bubble. You mark my words, they'll disappear him double-quick. I bet they're cooking up some scheme right this minute."

"Well, I look forward to seeing it. Even if he was just saying what the rest of us have been thinking for years - and you know it, Hosea."

"Yes, but that's the point, isn't it? We are smart enough not to say it to their face. And we don't cause a commotion right on their home turf. And so, my friend, we are still going to be alive by the end of the week."

Mark 11: 15-19

Other Conversations from the Cross
1: The Donkey

3: The Authority
4: The Anointing
5: The Betrayal
6: The Burial
7: The Precaution
8: The Resurrection

Comments

Drought

Two days into Stage One water restrictions, and I looked out of the window to see the guy over the road washing his car. Admittedly, the restrictions don't actually forbid you to wash your car. They limit you to using a hand-held bucket (does it count if you put it down on the driveway?) or hand-held hose "for quick rinses". But they are pretty much "if you don't mind" rules at this stage anyway, with holes large enough to lose whole buckets of water through (hand-held or otherwise). For example, we are now limited to watering our lawn twice a week, but this only applies to sprinkler systems. You can still use a hose as much as you like, presumably on the assumption that you will get bored of standing there holding it very quickly. And besides, everything you read about good watering technique says it's better to water thoroughly just once a week. Our garden would think Christmas had come early if it got watered every three days! So hopefully...

Jesus came to earth... to reflect God to us

Do you remember playing with a magnifying glass on a sunny day? That curved piece of glass you held in your hand captured the scattered rays, narrowing them down to a fluttering patch of brightness. And all the light’s power was held in that one small circle, shrinking and shrinking… until finally you were rewarded with a sudden curl of smoke, and a neat charred hole. Imagine, then, that God, seeking to reveal himself on earth, condensed his essential being through some kind of celestial magnifying glass. That wavering point became smaller and smaller, losing none of its power… until it became the exact size of a human baby, growing in a womb. Jesus is the image of the invisible God, says the verse in Colossians, the perfect reflection of God’s glory. This is the first and greatest reason that Jesus came: to show us what God is really like. Yet sometimes, reflected and refracted through 2000 years of history, the image that Jesus shows...

Making a mess

My friend Ellie writes a blog which I now shamelessly crib ideas from, when I am stuck for something new to do with Toby. Some time ago she wrote about a substance with the poetic moniker of cloud dough . It sounded simple to make and fun to play with, so I tucked it away in the back of my mind. The recipe is childishly simple: 8 cups of plain flour, 1 cup of vegetable oil, and mix. It comes out kind of sandy, although softer and more powdery. Now, Ellie has two gorgeous girls. Her blog entries were full of photos of them adding pretty objects and creating cute little landscapes. I, on the other hand, have a full-on hands-on get-stuck-in-as-far-as-possible boy. This is what happens when you let him loose on a scatterable substance. We make it and it all starts well. Notice I have prepared for mess with a large tarpaulin and lack of shorts. A few minutes in, and the mess is spreading up the T-shirt. It's still mostly in the t...

Martha's Marvellous Munchies

Search This Blog