Temple

"Therefore if you are presenting your offering at the altar, and there remember that you've hurt someone in any way, leave your offering there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to that person, and then come and present your offering."

Drinking created so much chaos in my life, so much turmoil in my relationships, that I couldn't keep up. During one of these episodes, I tried to sleep with a married woman who had two kids. In a drunken stupor, I dismissed any thoughts of the consequences that could possibly arise from the situation, and made a fool of myself. All I could think about was what I wanted in that moment, and I was demoralized. Whether I didn't know the difference between right or wrong, or I didn't care, I'm not sure because the alcohol was having its way with me. 

Thankfully, she cared about the consequences enough not to fall for my advances. Regardless, the next morning I was crushed with the realization of what I had tried to do. But, at the same time, I was afraid of going back there to make things right. So, I did the next best thing I could think of. I prayed for her. I have yet to make any attempt to apologize to this woman, and it's ten years later. How many prayers have I uttered in that time? How many acts of worship have I done? How many forms of service have I participated in? 

In the words of Jesus, prayers and offerings mean nothing if unresolved conflicts are lingering. If I've hurt someone, praying for them doesn't absolve me from the responsibility of attempting to make things right. 

But there's more to this statement than what's on surface level. 

Jesus's words came at a time when religious ritual was the most important thing that mattered. Never mind the homeless and crippled people who were turned away at the front door. Never mind the priests who were making a killing off the sacrificial animals being purchased inside the temple. Never mind the oppressive gap between the spiritually weak and dogmatically strong.

It was a world that revolved around the temple, and the temple was an oppressive pyramid scheme.

Social justice had been eradicated and replaced with the bogus idea that religious ritual was the only thing that mattered. Or, to put it another way, everything outside the temple was secular. Everything that happened inside was spiritual. 

Jesus wasn't only telling people to make things right in their relationships, but he was calling them to remember that everything is spiritual. 

And it doesn't feel good to tell on myself and to know that I have one more unresolved conflict in my life that I only thought was smoothed over and taken care of. But, the truth is, I've ignored the fact that making amends with my old friend is more important than praying and going to church. I've ignored the fact that there's a little piece of me that's still incomplete because I slipped this old episode under the rug.

When God and spirituality are confined to a certain time - like 10:00 a.m. on Sundays - or place - like a church building, tunnel-visioned spirituality happens. It becomes commonplace to forget about the least of these. And, the least of these include the people in my life who've been hurt by my self-centered behaviors. I'll forget that spirituality doesn't just mean praying, but means managing healthy personal relationships.

But why wouldn't I think that spirituality happens outside the church building? The bogus religious system tell us that the only things that matter are reading the Bible, believing the right things, and tithing in a certain way. The system tells us that as long as there's a church building, it doesn't matter what the church is doing for the community outside. As long as membership is growing, it doesn't matter that half the membership is living paycheck to paycheck. 

Jesus was calling his audience to open their minds to the reality that the temple had way less significance than it was being given, as well as the offerings inside the temple. What mattered was the stuff going on outside. What mattered was the people outside. Because, everything is spiritual and nothing is secular. 

"Don't think twice about bringing an offering to the altar if you've hurt someone and haven't done anything about it. Your primary act of worship is going to take care of that."