Whipping us into shape?
“He made a whip out of cords.” John 2:15
Jesus made a whip. Making something with your hands can be therapeutic. Making a whip shows his anger did not impair his judgement.
Writing an angry letter is a good way of bringing our feelings out so that we can see them. Just don’t mail it! It’s better than "stuffing" one's feelings. If I don’t face my stuff, I’m going to stuff my face. Stress spelled backwards is desserts.
Obsessive-compulsive personality disorder can hinder one from feeling anger because there is a fear it will overwhelm. However, anger, like all emotions, follows the law of rising, falling, and disappearing. Feeling anger is healthy and is not a sin if the cause of the anger is just and if it is no greater than the cause demands. St. Thomas Aquinas teaches that the only evil in anger is in its excess or defect.
“Do not let the sun go down on your anger” (Ephesians 4:26).
Anger feels and is done. Resentment re-feels. He that carries bitterness to bed with him will find the devil creeping between the sheets (William Secher).
The Jesus I Never Knew--
He “spilled the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables.” John 2:15
Jesus is doing disruptive even violent actions here, shocking me out of my consumerist mentality.
No wonder my Savior hangs on a Cross.
He is criticizing, condemning, and replacing the whole Temple system of the buying and selling of sacrificial animals starting with the money changers that are necessary for this transaction.
For light sins, you bought a bird.
For medium sins, a lamb.
For grand theft auto, you had to buy a bull.
Jesus body is new the Temple. His body is now the sole, once and for all sacrifice for atonement and expiation of sin.
Hebrews 13:16 “And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.”
Almsgiving to the poor cleanses our temple from the spirit of consumerism.
Tobit 4:7 “Give alms of thy substance”
Sirach 29:15, “Store your alms in the hearts of the poor, and it will obtain help for you against all evil.”
Acts 10:31, “Cornelius, thy prayer is heard, and thine alms have been remembered in the sight of God.”
During Lent we do some spiritual cleaning. The sacrament of reconciliation is necessary for any desecrated house of our Father. Reviewing the Ten Commandments is a good place to start, which were mentioned in the First Reading.
We are the temple with the Lord God almighty dwelling within us.
Bishop Barron asks, “What shape is the temple of your soul in? Suppose that Jesus has made a whip of cords, knotted with the Ten Commandments. What would he clear out of you.?”
Lastly, “His disciples recalled the words of Scripture, Zeal for your house will consume me,” from Psalm 69:9.
When the early Christians read some biblical texts like Jesus as the literal over turner of tables, they knew that God is communicating an allegorical truth.
Like them, wrestle with it; let it cleanse your house; and yield meaning.
Amen.
