A little later today, almost 1500 people will gather in Peterborough Cathedral for a very special service.

The enthronement, or if you prefer, installation, of a Diocesan Bishop is a significant occasion in the life of the church, and also in the Civic and Community life of the Diocese and indeed of the Nation. Like the installation of a vicar, only much more so of course, for the person at the centre of it, all it can feel very overwhelming and humbling. When the Bishop’s Cope is placed over her shoulders, it may well feel much heavier than the fabric alone, coming as it does with all the weight of office and expectation.

And a Diocesan Bishop is installed in the Cathedra – the special seat that is the Bishop’s alone, from which the Cathedral gets its name. You can tell which is the Bishop’s Cathedra because it usually has a very ornately carved canopy which is much higher than any of the other stalls in the choir. In some Cathedrals the Bishop’s seat may be more of a throne, facing the congregation and placed high up in the Sanctuary. Traditionally, its where the Bishop would preach from, seated, and so represents the Bishop’s authority and ministry of teaching both clergy and people, who would gather in the Cathedral, to be taught by their Father in God – and today we will indeed as Bishop Debbie, as our Mother in God, will preach – although from the pulpit rather than her Cathedra due to the numbers of people present.

The service will involve people of all ages from across the Diocese, and there will be a great hubbub, lots of equipment for livestreaming and relaying what is happening to tv screens around the building, and many tables set up for refreshments afterwards.

All this is rather interestingly set against the Gospel today of Jesus cleansing the Temple!

Of course, I’m sure no one would feel there was any issue here with such a service taking place in the Cathedral – but there is often exception taken to other kinds of events in Cathedrals and churches – a recent row about whether Cathedrals should host silent discos broke out just over a week ago, and it doesn’t take much before people roll out this Gospel story when things are happening in our places of worship that they feel shouldn’t be!

The reality is that these buildings, and the Temple in Jerusalem, have always been gathering places and places for debate, trade and business.

Medieval churches were often marketplaces – hence the need for altar rails to keep the sheep out of the sanctuary!

The Temple in Jerusalem needed the money changers and the stalls selling animals for sacrifice – pilgrims coming to the Temple needed to pay the annual Temple Tax in the accepted coinage, the Tyrian shekel, but would bring their coins in their own local currency that needed changing. Both the selling of animals for sacrifices and the payment of the temple tax were activities required by Jewish law and central to the temple’s functions – it’s unlikely that it was this in itself that made Jesus so angry, although his words in John’s Gospel – stop making my Father’s house a market-place, and even more strongly in the account in the other three Gospel – quoting Isaiah – what should be a house of prayer for all nations is instead a den of robbers – certainly suggest that what is going on is going deeper than mere commerce.

We know that Jesus was very vocal in criticism of the religious authorities who seemed so often to use their power to make rules that kept certain groups of people outside the Temple as it were, and limited their access to God. God’s holy laws, the Ten Commandments, were supposed to bring freedom from the problems that arose with people doing whatever they liked, but were often used instead by worldly authorities to keep the best for themselves and keep everyone else in their place.

You hypocrites – Jesus hurled at them – and now he deliberately makes a whip out of cords and drives all of the traders and money changers out of the Temple, scattering sheep, cattle, doves and coins in a clanging, crashing, cacophony that couldn’t help but draw the attention of everyone.

Was this why he did it?

The cleansing of the Temple in John’s Gospel comes right at the beginning, right after the wedding in Cana – where in the miracle of turning water into wine has already set the spark to the tinder of Jesus’ notoriety.

Jesus then travels to Jerusalem for the Passover and immediately causes havoc – overturning not just tables but all the conventions of the Temple practice and getting into a huge row with the Temple authorities.

Not the best way to win friends and influence people – but that wasn’t what Jesus was about!

In John’s Gospel, then, Jesus starts his ministry with a crashing bang – here I am – he seems to be saying – and you may not like it!

Most of us don’t tend to do this at the start of our ministries – we’ll see what Bishop Debbie has up her sleeve!

In the other three Gospels, the cleansing of the Temple happens right at the end as Jesus goes up to Jerusalem for the Passover when he knows he will be arrested and killed. By then, he has had three years – plenty of time to annoy the Jewish leaders, and in causing a riot in the Temple, draws the attention of the Romans too who will do anything to keep the unruly festival mobs under control.

But in John’s account, he then gets into an argument about the Temple itself – destroy this Temple, and in three days I will raise it up.

They take this absolutely at face value and think he’s a madman.

But we now know what his disciples came to know after his death and then three days later his resurrection – that he was talking about the Temple of his body.

In OT theology, the Temple was the place where the people met with God – they came to the Temple to worship. In the NT God has come to be with his people in Jesus and so Jesus is now the Temple, the place of worship, the way we meet with God.

The Temple in Jerusalem, of course was destroyed, but it was no longer needed, because in Jesus, and later through the Holy Spirit, God is with his people in all time and all places.

Our places of worship now still help us meet with God – but they mustn’t get in the way.

In the Temple as Jesus strode in that day – the rituals had become more important than God. The House of Prayer for all nations had become an exclusive club.

So today, we must ask ourselves the questions – are our places of worship Houses of Prayer for everyone, meeting places for God, open for all God’s people, welcoming of all, loving of all, serving all?

And as we are now Christ’s body in the world, the Temple of the Holy Spirit as St Paul puts it – then hearing this story in Lent invites us to our own personal cleansing too.

To ask ourselves the same questions…are we personally,  open, welcoming, loving, serving…not just in our outward works, but deep in the hidden spaces of our hearts.

As this Diocese begins a new chapter and we welcome Bishop Debbie among us – let’s be open to asking such questions, and open to the Spirit of Jesus who may just drive us out into new ways of being his body and his Church today. Amen.

Service: Reverend Michelle Dalliston. 3rd March 2024. (St John’s Church Peterborough UK)

Readings: 1 Corinthians 1.18-25; John 2.13-22