St. Mark, chapter 11.
They came to Jerusalem. And he entered
the temple and began to drive out those who sold and those who bought in the
temple, and he overturned the tables of the money-changers and the seats of
those who sold pigeons. And he would not allow anyone to carry anything through
the temple. And he was teaching them and saying to them, “Is it not written,
‘My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations’? But you have
made it a den of robbers.” And the chief priests and the scribes heard it and
were seeking a way to destroy him, for they feared him, because all the crowd
was astonished at his teaching. And when evening came they went out of the
city.
***
The Seventh Commandment.
You shall not steal. What does this
mean? We
should fear and love God so that we do not take our neighbor’s money or
possessions, or get them in any dishonest way, but help him to improve and
protect his possessions and income.
God’s grace, peace and mercy
be with you. At my last assignment I was charged with
starting senior ministry. It had three components, one of which was
educational. One speaker was from the Oklahoma Attorney General’s Office, who
addressed senior fraud. Law enforcement officers and prosecutors have zero
tolerance for fraud perpetrators.
They classify fraudsters in the same
category as heartless molesters because like those who abuse children,
fraudsters also say things like, “This is
our little secret.” Usually, their line goes something like this: “Your doctor won’t tell you this.” And
they sell seniors supplements that do nothing for them. Another line is, “The government doesn’t want you to know
about this.” Why do fraudsters use the same language as child abusers?
Because they are stealing from people.
Jesus, in our Gospel today, dealt with
the same sort of people. The moneychangers were not breaking into people’s
homes or barns stealing money, goods or livestock. They simply waited for
well-intentioned families to show up at the holiest site in Israel, and stole
from them while God watched.
In The Large Catechism, Martin Luther
addressed how people defraud and cheat others in numerous ways. One is unfaithful
in domestic duties or permits damage to occur when it could have been avoided. Merchants
overcharge and underperform, which is as bad as outright stealing. Others sell
defective merchandise, use false weights and measures, or create new schemes. Their
sins keep prosecutors and investigative reporters constantly busy.
Of such people, Luther wrote, “No matter how much you steal, be certain
that twice as much will be stolen from you. Anyone who robs and takes things by
violence and dishonesty must put up with someone else who plays the same game.”[i]
On the other hand, Luther recognized, as
we do, that there are a lot of good people in the world. Toward the end of this
section he wrote, “Anyone who seeks and
desires good works will find here more than enough things to do that are
heartily acceptable and pleasing to God. Moreover, God lavishes upon them a
wonderful blessing, and generously rewards us for what we do to benefit and
befriend our neighbor.” We read in Proverbs, “Whoever is generous to the poor lends to the Lord, and he will repay
him for his deed.” … Thus with a happy conscience you can enjoy a hundred
times more than you could scrape together by dishonesty and injustice.[ii]
Friends, here’s the
piece of advice you need to drill into the heads of your elderly parents and
grandparents. Warn them to beware as you would warn little children. … If people
come to the door, call you on the phone or send you email or paper mail, and
you don’t know them, ignore them. They are only interested in stealing from
you. … Warn them because you love them. And
when you do, may the peace of God that surpasses all understanding, keep your hearts and
minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.
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