THIRD SUNDAY OF LENT B

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HIS ANGER LASTS A MOMENT

We love a friendly God, and so we have the laughing Christ, the smiling Christ, and the jolly Christ. These pictures of Jesus are more appealing and attractive to the young and old of today.

The gospel, Jn 2: 13-25, today doesn’t keep from us another facet of Christ, the angry Christ. He was so angry that he needed to make it explode, by making a whip of cords and venting his ire on the objects being sold and exchanged in the temple area. I can just imagine how people must have hidden themselves so as not to be found in Jesus path.

What transformed a meek and mild Jesus into someone with uncontrollable rage? To understand this, we need to recall the first reading, where we read about a jealous God (Exo 20: 1-17).  Jesus was angry for he was jealous; he was jealous for his Father’s sake.

Jesus became angry becase God was no longer the center at the temple. The people were close to the sanctuary, and yet, theye were blind to God’s presence. The people were so familiar with their concept of God that this did not make any difference anymore. Jesus became jealous like his Father, for the people were ignoring God for things that were passing and ephemeral.

Jesus anger did not lead to violence; he did not hurt people, or even animals. He just drove them away. However he wanted to express his emotion to shake up and rattle insensitive hearts. He demonstrated his passion in order to enlighten others. Some people certainly did not understand what he was doing but some people did indeed learn their lesson.

If Jesus came today to look into our hearts, the place where we truy honor God, will he find reason to react in the same way as in today’s gospel? Will his anger rise up because something or someone else is occupying God’s throne in our hearts? Let us allow the anger of Jesus today to teach us how to truly value relationship with the Father.

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