John 2:13-22 (NRSV)
Read John 2:13-22 on biblegateway.com
Verse 13The Passover of the Jews was near, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. Verse 14In the temple he found people selling cattle, sheep, and doves, and the money changers seated at their tables. Verse 15Making 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. Verse 16He told those who were selling the doves, "Take these things out of here! Stop making my Father's house a marketplace!" Verse 17His disciples remembered that it was written, "Zeal for your house will consume me." Verse 18The Jews then said to him, "What sign can you show us for doing this?" Verse 19Jesus answered them, "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up." Verse 20The Jews then said, "This temple has been under construction for forty-six years, and will you raise it up in three days?" Verse 21But he was speaking of the temple of his body. Verse 22After 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.
Devotion
Frederick Buechner wrote, “Of the seven deadly sins, anger is possibly the most fun … in many ways it is a feast fit for a king. The chief drawback is that what you are wolfing down is yourself.”
We all face times when we get angry. It’s how we deal with our anger that reflects our faith. Does our anger feed upon itself, crowding out the possibility for forgiveness and reconciliation? Or does our faith diffuse the anger in our hearts so God has room to work in our lives?
Jesus certainly seems to be angry in this text. But his anger is motivated not by personal grievance, but wrong that needs to be righted. Paul writes, “Be angry, but do not sin …” (Eph. 4:26). The sin seems to come not with the feeling itself, but when we let the feeling get the best of us. When our anger leads us to hurt others, to lose perspective, or to say things we don’t mean, it leads us away from God. We best be careful that our anger does not come at the expense of love of neighbor.
Prayer
Lord, stir anger in us when we see injustice, oppression and violence. And channel that anger to productive action in your name. Amen.