It's interesting to me to see how many times Jesus is teaching in the temple. It's tempting to think of him as a complete outsider, but he was clearly engaged with the Jewish leadership. He spent a lot of time in the temple -- so he isn't one to cast out religion. He came to reform everything, not to throw it all away. He wanted the people to draw closer to God and closer to one another, and to ensure their religious practices weren't woodenly pulling them away from that goal. It's easy for our practices to sometimes get in the way -- so Jesus comes to remind us why we have these practices, why we have rituals. Rituals can be a gift, as long as we use them in such a way so that we're drawing closer to God.
I think if Jesus were here today, he'd spend a lot of time in various churches. He wouldn't stand outside, but he'd go in, and reorient our practices, holding us accountable in all the right ways. Jesus would embrace and challenge, always calling us to grow in faith.
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