Den of Thieves

Taking a break from Matthew for Holy Week:
Mark 11:17 - And he taught them, saying, "Is it not written, 'My house shall be a house of prayer?' But you have made it into a den of thieves."

A den of thieves ... Jesus has just gone into the temple in Jerusalem and turned over the tables of the money-changers, driving them and the dove-sellers out of the temple. Why were there money-changers in the temple? Only special coins were allowed in the temple; no coins of Caesar were allowed. The money-changers were there to change the coins of worshipers into temple coins - at a healthy profit to themselves. Think of them as the 1st century equivalent of currency exchanges and check cashing places.

What about the dove-sellers? They are in the temple to sell doves acceptable to sacrifice to the people who could not afford anything bigger to sacrifice. Of course the dove-sellers exploited the poor just as much as the currency exchanges money-changers. Keep in mind this all took place inside the temple. It would as if we had an ATM in our narthex.

Jesus wasn't okay with such exploitation. We should not be okay with it either. Jesus came to set free those who were oppressed, and who is more oppressed today than those who are working jobs that don't pay enough to live on? Or people who are on welfare and food stamps because they cannot find a job, not because they don't want to work, but because no one will hire them? These same people are then demonized as lazy, moochers, takers, frauds; especially if they are Black or Latino/a. We tend to pile oppression on oppression.

Our leaders are working successfully to roll back regulations put in place after the Great Recession. These regulations were designed to keep the big banks from tanking the economy again. And they are itching to go at it. We have yet to fully recover from the last time and these thieves that Jesus is talking about are prowling. It will be the poor and unemployed - who have not fully gained all they lost - who will feel the brunt of this deregulation.

This is on us because we never held these people accountable for tanking the economy. Many of them should have gone to jail for their actions. Instead, we bailed them out and left everyone else to fend for themselves. Somehow, I don't think Jesus would approve today any more than he did in the first century. In fact, if he came back today, I think he'd head straight to Wall Street and overturn their tables and chase them out. Then he might free people from prisons who are there unjustly. I think he'd have a talk with Congress - especially the Evangelical Christians in Congress about how they have twisted Jesus' message to suit their own ends.

I say this as someone who in some ways is privileged to not have lost as much as others did, as someone who has benefited in the past from such regulations, and who unwittingly and indirectly participated in this scheme to keep people who are poor from getting power. It's still Lent, and in the spirit of repentance, let me suggest that we consider - if we can - moving our money from banks to community credit unions or savings and loans. These institutions put money back into the community rather than funneling it into Wall Street. They are more restricted in their actions.

Lord, have mercy.