Lemwang Chuhwanglim
Researcher & Activist
The Gospel of Matthew 21: 12-13 says “Jesus entered the temple courts 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. 13. It is written” he said to them, “My house will be called a house of prayer, but you are making it a den of robbers.” According to the instruction and authority of Jesus, “my house” refers to a house predominantly reserved for prayer. It symbolizes the meaning of communication skill between God and His believers and in the context of modern Christianity “my house” refers to Church both as a building and worship place. A church comprises of leader, disciples, members, followers, helpers, spiritually weak and strong children of God.
In Judaism, no fundamental disrespect is shown to the temple (Sam Han. 2002). The fundamental aspect of the church is to keep it clean within and outside the church in speech, deed, thought and personal commitment. The church repudiates money making, injustice, discrimination, captivation, robbery, lie, tragedy, frustration, depression, ego, fame, judgmental, legitimization and opportunists. The church as building and worship place in the Naga society remains obscurity like the Jerusalem temple with many money changers, traders and priest who mortified the sacredness of the temple. Jesus had no option than to drive out for they have polluted sacred house. Jesus, with his brother and mother went to Capernaum and attended the Jews Passover day, that commemorates Israel’s deliverance from the bondage of Egypt (The Study Bible. 2015), but found many business people and exploiters in the temple. Similarly, travellers, visitors, permanent members and many others attend Naga Churches but churches are found defamed. For this people, the house of the Lord is the sources of nourishing spiritual food that would be interpreted into their way of life. However, this center of spiritual nourishing center is found polluted by church leaders with greed, fame, corruption, hierarchy, money making, forced contribution and injustice. Whatever phenomenon emanates within the church effects everything outside the church. Jesus repudiated the idea of those who polluted the house of prayer; similarly, it is the responsible of the Church leaders in the Naga society to repudiate any dirty business emerges among the members both within and outside the church. Pope Frances harshly denounced people who exploit and donate the church. He said that “their dirty money isn’t wanted or the church does not want dirty money of exploiters” and asked these people to take back their money or burn it for the church does not take any dirty money (CAN. 2016). Such discipline would direct members’ way of life to maintain society with justice and discipline both before God and fellow human beings. A Jamaican Church leader rejected an offer of a gift amounting to £500,000 (J$90 million) for he did could not ascertain the source of income of the contributor and he cautioned other clergy against accepting any “blood-stained” money (TC. 2016).Naga Churches (not all) need religious leaders like Pope Francis and righteous angry Jesus to reject any dirty contribution in the church, not to reject them but to bring them to a righteous path. Naga churches may rigorously introspect that contributions from many political leaders and officers to churches belong to the innocent villagers who are cheated, betrayed and left unknown of their share which the central government sends in the form of packages and schemes. In many churches, the symbol of God’s presence had vanished.
Church has become exploiting place, degenerated to routinized visit under the corrupt rule of many Religious leaders in association with political leaders and officers (not all) like the temple of God becomes a “robbers’ den” (Matthew. 21:13). Jesus angry confrontation with money changer and guards at the temple cleanses the worship place. Jesus scolded the wrong doers and passed them good messages. Most significantly, Jesus was not against the profit of the traders but the traders in the wrong place. The righteous anger of Jesus was upon the defamation of the sacred place. Naga churches need angry priest, pastors and other religious leaders with righteous anger to confront fellow church leaders and members who pollute churches. A righteous anger religious leader is worth than silent corrupter, money changer and trader in the church.
