When Anger is Justified
A Reflection for the Third Sunday in Lent; March 7, 2021
Exodus 20:1-7; Psalm 19; 1 Corinthians 1:18-25; John 2:13-22
(Matthew 21:12-16; Mark 11:15-17; Luke 19:45-46)
By: The Rev. Erahvilla Maga-Cabillas
U.P. Parish of the Holy Cross, Diliman, Quezon City
Jesus Cleanses the Temple
13 The Passover of the Jews was near, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. 14 In the temple he found people selling cattle, sheep, and doves, and the money changers seated at their tables. 15 Making a whip of cords, he drove all of them out of the temple, both the sheep and the cattle. He also poured out the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables. 16 He told those who were selling the doves, “Take these things out of here! Stop making my Father’s house a marketplace!” 17 His disciples remembered that it was written, “Zeal for your house will consume me.” 18 The Jews then said to him, “What sign can you show us for doing this?” 19 Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” 20 The Jews then said, “This temple has been under construction for forty-six years, and will you raise it up in three days?” 21 But he was speaking of the temple of his body. 22 After he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this; and they believed the scripture and the word that Jesus had spoken.
REFLECTION
The biblical account on the Cleansing of the Temple in the Johannine Gospel can also be read in the Synoptic Gospels: Matthew, Mark, and Luke. The setting of the account of the cleansing of the Temple happened when Jesus went to Jerusalem for the Passover celebration was near. The Synoptic Gospels pictured Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem as riding on a donkey which was taken/borrowed from a nearby village of Betfage/Bethphage, now a Christian religious site on the Mount of Olives. Bethphage, in Aramaic means, the place of the “young figs” or in Jewish Palestinian Aramaic בית פגי Bēth Paggē means, "house of unripe figs” (from fig trees). It was where Jesus with the disciples were on their way to Jerusalem and they felt hungry but they found no fruits on the tree; instead only leaves, for it was not the season for figs. Jesus said to it, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again!” (Mark 11:14)
To date, Jesus’ coming to Jerusalem is now part of our yearly liturgical observance of Palm Sunday with children singing, “Hosanna to the Son of David.” The Passover is an important event for the Jewish nation. It is the commemoration of the Israelites’ deliverance from slavery under the Egyptian pharaoh who for many years had oppressed them. Going to Jerusalem to worship in the Temple had become an annual event for the Jewish people. Passing through the Eastern Gate (believed to be the Golden Gate, but today it is now closed), Jesus went straight to the Temple and saw it to be a marketplace. He found people selling cattle, sheep and doves, and the money changers seated at their tables (verse 14). In the Lukan account, Jesus wept when He saw (19:41) what was happening on the Temple ground/courtyard.
In our Gospel reading, the person of Jesus was presented differently, the ANGRY JESUS. One could ask why? What made Jesus mad? I remember one time after the Holy Eucharist, somebody asked me, “Did Jesus really get mad and even whipped those people?” I simply said, “Yes, it is our Gospel reading today.” Many among us feel uncomfortable to hear or to even imagine that Jesus really got furious: made a rod out of the cords, whipping and driving the money-changers and those selling animals for sacrifice out on the temple courtyard. He even over-turned the tables and chairs, and made people scattered as well as the animals running around, thus bringing about the total chaos.
May I invite the readers: to pause for a minute, close our eyes and imagine Jesus’ whipping and driving the money-changers, the merchants, and those involved including the priests who permitted the business in the Temple grounds. Maybe Jesus was swearing too: “Take these things out of here! Stop making my Father’s house a marketplace (verse 16)!” and retorted to the Jews who questioned him, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up (verse 19).”
I recall during our Bible Study in my high school days: My very first reaction, after I read about Jesus’ cleansing of the Temple, was, “Really! So He was just like us?” But I was told instantly, “Jesus did not sin. He was angry because of wrongdoings by those around Him.” I kept it in my mind. Later, in the seminary, I kind of grappled with the answers to why Jesus became very angry. Anger is bad, we are taught (smile), and in the list of sins posted on the cloth-cover of the Crucifix during Lent on the seminary altar, I, among the new seminarians, recognized that anger was not godly. However, after having my “Salubong” (exposure program at St. Andrew’s Theological Seminary) in various sectors in society I was able to understand and relate to the response I got before: that what made Jesus so angry were the ungodly attitudes and actions by those around Him especially the religious authorities and leaders.
In Psychology, we learned that “anger is an emotion characterized by antagonism toward someone or something you feel has deliberately done you wrong.” But excessive anger can cause problems such as: Increased blood pressure and other physical changes associated with anger making it difficult for one to think straight which can harm our physical and mental health. There are four types of anger shaping our reactions to situations when angry: Assertive, Aggressive, Passive-Aggressive and Suppressive. When angry, the best approach is the Assertive Anger. People who react to anger with silence are often afraid to stand up for themselves and confront people who hurt them. Sitting on their anger and waiting for the perfect moment to bring it up, they eventually stop feeling angry and later act as if nothing happened. Anger itself is not classified as a mental disorder in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM–5). For this reason, there are no diagnostic criteria for anger issues. However, there is also anger associated with many mental health conditions, including antisocial personality disorders.
So yes, Jesus was angry at times, yet did not sin (Hebrews 4:15). Likewise, believers in Christ are taught, "Be angry and do not sin" (Ephesians 4:26). While anger is often viewed as a completely negative emotion, there are times when a person can be angry for appropriate reasons. In the case of Jesus, His anger was the result of ungodly attitudes and actions by those around Him. In addition, God the Father often displayed anger in the Old Testament when people sinned against Him and when injustices took place in the world. Still today, when Christians witness sinful actions taking place, especially by those who claim to be religious leaders, it should cause anger. Why? Because such anger reflects the attitude of Christ in these situations (Philippians 2:5).
Anger that reflects the anger of Christ requires two aspects. Firstly, it must be properly motivated. In other words, anger caused by not simply getting our way in any situation does not really count. Religious hypocrisy or injustices of poverty or oppression are appropriately, godly reasons to become angry. When we react, question, and critique the impoverishment of the Filipino people and the world, it is simply right to be angry. Why is society, despite its development and modernization, result in more inequalities? When large-scale mining, logging and explorations legally permitted by the Philippine Government and protected by Law resulting in land abuse, Indigenous Peoples’ uprooted from their ancestral lands and becoming internal refugees allowed, why do we remain silent? Being the major Christian country in Asia, are we proud of the Philippines as having one of the highest records of extra-judicial killings?
Secondly, our anger must reflect Christ's anger to act appropriately on the situation. Jesus healed a man even when He was angry; revealing that we are called to do good even when we are upset. In addition, the passages referring to Jesus’ overturning the tables in the Temple showed His anger properly expressed to remove people who were breaking God's Law by making a profit from the system of animal offerings rather than focusing on the worship of the Lord. Meaning, when we act accordingly as our faith-response to the ungodly deeds of our supposedly-trusted servants in the government, it is rightly justified. While we continue to pray and support the victims of floods and other calamities through relief and other kindly gestures, we must also continue to demand the halt to excessive abuse of the land and environment: stopping the large-scale destructive mining, quarrying by flattening mountains, large-commercial “legal” logging and Chinese explorations in the Philippine Seas.
However, there are still churches claiming that Christians must not take part in worldly-matters because our concerns should be relegated to the four corners of the church. In my opinion, it is wrong to preach that way. The church locale is the society and it is not separated from the context of where we are in. After attending church service and partaking of the Holy Communion, we go back to our respective homes and places. Outside the gate or door of our churches, we are confronted with the realities of our daily lives. While many of the priests, pastors, or ministers do not bother with utility bills (and other house bills) unless confronted with parish deficits and the like, many of our parishioners suffer from daily sustenance. That is why Jesus is against the religious hypocrisy when church leaders have acted as if there is nothing wrong in our society comprising 85% Christians of its population and yet many are below the poverty line; when extra-judicial killings keep rising; when those who act on their prophetic ministry like Jesus are charged with dissent, trumped-up charges, and branded as terrorists and communists for speaking about human dignity, human rights, injustices, and poverty. Yes, Jesus’ anger was an emotion that resulted in proper actions. We Christian believers must follow the same response, though being Jesus-like is always coupled with risk. Beware of the new law like the Anti-Terror Law and the many laws in our land which are not only suppressive but also selective for the moneyed and those with influence.
With the upcoming celebration of the 500 Years of Christianity in the Philippines, the churches must not only celebrate and give thanks but also be ready to humble ourselves of our wrongdoings, mistreatment, disrespect and disregard committed against our Indigenous Peoples, our women, our LGBTQI++ community, and our environment. Without recognition, acceptance and rectification of our wrongdoings, these celebrations and thanksgivings are merely superficial actions.
In summary, Jesus became angry on some occasions; yet He was not known as an angry person. Further, His anger was not an excuse for sinful actions, but rather for positive actions that helped others and honored God. So why was Jesus very upset then? The scene that Jesus saw in the Temple ground was a total disrespect of the Temple where people were supposed to be preparing themselves for worship; the very scene of injustices with the permission of those in authority in broad daylight.
The Church as an embodiment of Jesus Christ is not only challenged but is compelled to realize and to live out the very reason of Jesus’ anger. We are called to be angry with Jesus when the situations call for us to be more loving, compassionate, and just; to act as advocates and doers in eradicating the surmounting injustices in our society, economically and politically. Jesus demands us to be like Him. In this Lenten season, let us continue on our reflection and discernment as followers of Christ. May the Holy Spirit bring us to the full enlightenment and total awakening to the realization that Jesus is calling us to be responsive to the needs of our time.
In the Name of the Holy Triune God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.
References:
New Revised Standard Version
Internet
Notes from previous reflections
