What gets your goat? What makes you angry? Perhaps it happens when one of your electronic devices refuses to co-operate and do what you want. Perhaps it’s when you hear politicians argue with each other rather than address the needs of ordinary people. Or perhaps it’s when the world watches on with apathy as countries are torn apart by war.
Usually Jesus is pretty controlled and cool. Yes he gets frustrated with the disciples who are sometimes slow to catch on, with the religious authorities who put protocol and procedures above people and their needs, and with the crowds who seek signs rather than being prepared to commit to following his ways. But one day when visiting the temple in Jerusalem, Jesus really lost his cool. The temple was the focal point of Jewish worship. It was the place people travelled to in order to pray and to meet with God. What got Jesus mad was seeing how commerce had entered and taken hold within the temple itself – with money changers and stalls selling animals.
Greed and commerce and quite possibly injustice were intruding on the worship of God. And so Jesus confronted the money changers and drove out the animal sellers. But the priests who were in charge of the temple were not impressed. Some of the Gospel writers suggest this action by Jesus was the straw that broke the proverbial camel’s back. After this incident, they actively look for ways to kill Jesus.
Jesus was clearly passionate about worship. Nothing was to distract or prevent people seeking to approach God to worship – whether commerce, religious rules or sickness. And so here in the temple, Jesus took a stand. What he did was controversial and personally costly. I wonder if we ever ‘lose it’ for Jesus? What aspects or expressions of our faith are we so passionate about that we will take a strong stand and be willing to bear the consequences? How can we help each other to have both wisdom and courage to confront greed and injustice?