THE RELIGION CORNER: Spring Cleaning & Passover!

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Create in me a clean heart, O’ God, and renew a right spirit within me. — Psalm 51:10

April 1 was my mother’s birthday. She has been gone now for more than 23 years. Mother Fannie Estelle Hill Grant would put every child to work on that first weekend of spring. We had to rake the yard, wash windows inside and out, wash fingerprints off the walls and doors — you name it, and every man who had a hand, had a right. We did it as a family.

Yet, when it was all over, we could breathe a sigh of relief. It felt good for everything to be so clean! The clean smell of furniture polish, window washer and scented detergents, including bleach. Everything was spotless. You know the saying, “the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.” When we grow up cleaning for spring, we pretty much will keep that tradition going throughout our entire lives. I know I do.

In fact, this past weekend, I found myself washing windows, inside and out, and I started throwing out junk from closets and drawers. Things are looking much better now. So I’m thankful for my mother for instilling this sense of cleanliness in me. She would say often, “Cleanliness is next to godliness.”

This reminds me of the Bible story of when Jesus was cleaning the temple. Let us compare the spring cleaning of our home to the cleansing of the temple.

Jesus made everyone get out of the house of God and cleansed it of its corruption and disorder. He stood against the sinful trappings that worked their way into the house of worship. The practices of the people of His day were under attack, and in order to make the temple pure and holy again, Jesus cleaned house, as they say today!

Allow that story to speak to your soul. Take a moment to look more closely, paying special attention to how this story speaks to us today. It begins, “The Passover of the Jews was near, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem …” (John. 2:13).

During Passover, they were celebrating how so many homes that had a bloodstain over the door had been spared. These were Jews who felt thankful for being saved, however, the crowds would enlarge to three times the normal size. Just think, then and now, during the Passover season, folks are shopping, buying new clothes, shopping for all of the children, getting them all something new to wear for Easter Sunday. But somehow, they lost control at the space inside the temple.

In the new testaments of Matthew, Mark and Luke, Jesus accuses the merchants of cheating the people. He says, “My house shall be called a house of prayer, but you are making it a den of thieves.” (Matthew 21:13)

Perhaps there were some merchants who were raising their prices, but this is not the focus of Jesus’ anger, according to John. As far as John is concerned, Jesus is upset because all this buying and selling intruded upon the sacred space for worship. In John’s gospel, Jesus says, “Take these things out of here! Stop making my Father’s house a marketplace (a house of commerce).” (John 2:16).

This is a good example of how good intentions often get out of hand. For example, one merchant who had pure intentions set up a small table in the corner of the temple, hoping that a few worshipers might stop by on their way home and maybe buy a couple items. Then another businessman does the same thing, then another and another, until, before you know it, the temple was turned into a small shopping area.

The Passover season comes during spring, March and April. In fact, it leads up to Easter (Resurrection Sunday for some) and warmer weather is spotty, coming along here and there.

Remember as you clean your home, be sure to include cleansing your temple — your body is indeed a temple. Fast, pray and think of God and all of His goodness; maintain control. We have all been indoors for the most part, for most of the winter season!

Let’s be honest with ourselves — we all have some things we need to let go to the trash. These are things we never use. Why do we have them at all, yet keep them tucked away in a safe place?

Don’t allow your sins to hang around. We can give sin a safe harbor, where we have so much guilt and shame over mistakes we have made years ago. We must let that stuff go. Turn it over to Jesus — He will fix it for you!

Lyndia Grant is a speaker/writer living in the D.C. area. Her radio show, “Think on These Things,” airs Fridays at 6 p.m. on 1340 AM (WYCB), a Radio One station. To reach Grant, visit her website, www.lyndiagrant.com, email lyndiagrantshowdc@gmail.com or call 240-602-6295. Follow her on Twitter @LyndiaGrant and on Facebook.