In my School for Christian Growth class, part of our homework this week is to reflect on our favorite stories about Jesus. What came to mind immediately for me was not the moment of tenderness with Mary in the garden on Easter morning, nor when Jesus calls Peter to courageously step out of the boat, nor his compassion on the woman who dared reach out to touch him, though all of these also made the list after further reflection.
No, my very first thought was: “the one where Jesus goes into the temple and flips over the tables and destroys everything.”*
I know this is an odd choice: why would my favorite anecdote about anyone, let alone Jesus, be a story about rage? Jesus is about love and healing and goodness, he is about making the world a better place through including and serving others. The fruits of the Holy Spirit, as far as I remember from the song I learned at Bible camp, do not include righteous fury.
But maybe they should. We are right to be wary of too much anger – it can consume us, body and soul – but I think the church tends to ignore the peril of not being angry enough. I’m afraid to act on my righteous indignation lest it not be fully, truly righteous – but meanwhile another black man is killed by the police, another family is evicted during the pandemic, another Haitian baby is deported back to a failed state, our climate passes yet another point of no return. At what point are my strongly worded letters to Congress not enough? And what is it doing to my soul to continue to tolerate so much wrong?
So Jesus, cracking his whip like a madman, is a comfort, an inspiration, even. I need not always be repulsed by, or afraid of, the depth of my anger at oppression. There is hope in harnessing the fire of my rage to burn away injustice, if only I am brave enough to do it.
–Erica Lloyd, Seekers Church
Questions for Reflection:
- What injustice makes you angry? What would it look like to flip tables on it?
- How do you feel about your anger?
