John 2: 13-25
Not long after turning water into wine at Cana, Jesus heads to Jerusalem ahead of the Passover. When Jesus gets to the temple, he finds the ‘lobby’ full of vendors. There’s a coffee bar, an ATM with high service charges, a t-shirt vendor, someone selling snowglobes, and a couple of food vendors. Jesus doesn’t like this. He clears the temple. He violently clears the temple.
After all of that, the leaders of the temple only asked Jesus who authorized him to do this. They essentially asked for his license for temple disruption. They want a sign in the past to prove who he is. Jesus gives them a sign in the future.
Throughout Scripture and throughout our faith journeys, there is a tension between signs in the past and signs in the future. We can forget the ones in the past, while looking forward. We can miss the ones in the future, while telling the stories of what was. What signs have we been given? What signs are we looking for? What sign might we be missing that is right in front of us?
