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Jesus entered the temple area and drove out all who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves. (Matthew 21:12)

I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. (John 14:12-13)

The Biblical picture of Jesus cleansing the temple is often provocatively interpreted as a depiction of violence. Yet for our current time in American life, in which we face both anxiety over the future and the opportunity to create a better future, I wish to suggest a different interpretation for Jesus in the Temple. This was a creative act.

When Jesus made his presence known in the Temple, he was creating a new way of doing things. No more animal sacrifices, and importantly, no more ordinary people who were seeking a relationship with God being cheated by the money changers—an economic reality of the day. This is as much an economics lesson as a Bible lesson, and I bring it up to illustrate that the Church has been involved in issues of economics for a very long time.

We have now entered a time that will test our fortitude, but it will also challenge our imagination and creativity. Creativity, coupled with our convictions, can ensure a fair and productive economy for all. At this point, understanding and shaping such a reality might feel beyond our reach. Yet even as we are in the trenches, doing practical and pastoral work, people of faith have a role in creating the new economy, as Jesus did centuries ago.

The conversation about the best way forward continues in Washington, D.C. It resounds on Wall Street and in the nation’s banks. More than likely, it is discussed every evening over dinner, as we all worry and plan for the months and years ahead. Yet the Church has a right and duty to remain part of — and dare I say shape — this conversation.

Let preachers preach about creative ways we can bring about a just economy. Let us remind people that “new” is a word imbued with theology. Let us all imagine a system of transactions that leaves the humanity of all those involved intact, and the Earth that supports us whole.

We are all in this together—this is the realization we are having with the collapse of the old economy. At the beginning of the new, let us realize that the economic aspects of our lives do in some way define us. The decisions we make about what to buy, whom to buy from, and how much we spend on material goods are indicative of the quality of our relationship to creation. Our personal economics can be a picture of the reality God sees for us, or a picture of phantom reality, in which God is barely a thought. What, then,might the Church create? A few suggestions:

1. Form New Networks.
In this economic reality, one can imagine that the mainstream of the Church will find new common ground with the grassroots of the Church and its concern for social justice. This is one example of an opportunity to form new networks across old boundaries. There are undoubtedly many more.

2. Create Counseling Resources.
Job stress, whether you are worried about losing your job or getting a new one, can be corrosive. In addition to publicizing pastoral and vocational counseling, there are many who are finding success with career “Plan Bs.” They might even be in your parish, and they can be a resource.

3. Support Job Creation.
Parishes could consider a commitment to support new and existing jobs through small, low-interest loans that aid local job development, working with organizations experienced in helping entrepreneurs follow their dreams.

Some are shocked by Jesus’ actions in the temple. I find the most shocking thing Jesus did was to say that we—you and me—would be responsible for doing more good than he. And so what may seem utterly grand or audacious, or perfectly beyond the realm of the Church’s influence, is in fact what wemust influence. Jesus saw the people responsible for creating the new economy, and they are us.

The Rev. Dr. James H. Cooper is rector of Trinity Wall Street.

Soundtrack: He's Got the Whole World in His Hands

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