If a book was to be written about how not to be elected and how not to be popular, Jesus would probably be the main character. In today’s Gospel reading, we see that Jesus is becoming popular and electable, and he does what he can to ruin that.  He insults his potential donors and powerbrokers by throwing them out of the temple.  He attracts crowds, but never says what they want to hear- sending them home deeply challenged.  And in today’s reading, he even challenges the last group of people that have his back, his own family. Those in our day who call themselves ‘political outsiders’ need to pick up their Bibles, and read it, this guy is an outsider of politics, and of this planet!