Mark 11: 15-16 Then they came to Jerusalem. And he entered the temple and began to drive out those who were selling and those who were buying in the temple, and he overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold doves; and he would not allow anyone to carry anything through the temple.
This is our only glimpse of Jesus being physically violent. He is taking the strongest of action against a corrupt enterprise that was allowed to exist within the temple.
I've heard this scripture preached on a number of times but have never really made peace with it. The fact that Jesus reacted this way indicates that there is a time and place for this kind of behavior even though I have never found it. Not that I haven't thrown several nasty temper tantrums in my time! Oh, I have. They were never constructive or righteous though and I always wished I could have a re-do when it was all said and done. In the last couple of years I have felt a desire to rage against mediocrity and the status quo within the church but have decided to put that on hold for awhile. It was something that Shane Claibourne said in his book, The Irresistible Revolution: Life as an Ordinary Radical, that changed my thinking. I can't quote him exactly since I can't find my copy right now but the gist of his comment was that as Christians we can't just rage against things. Our rage and actions have to be based in the love of God and our fellows.(See Mark 12: 28-31) That's pretty heavy stuff. It more or less takes rage off of my plate. I have been told that justifiable anger and righteous indignation are better left to other people and, in my case, I agree. There are lots of situations where I am not happy with the way other people are behaving but I'm not sure that whacking the tar out of some silly sinner has ever been the best way for me to let the love of Christ shine through. Maybe someday, but for now I am struggling with freshman level love and service classes. I really don't mean to make light of this story from the life of Jesus Christ. I do however, feel that after considering all of His teachings, we should weigh any inclination to rage against Christ's commandment to love one another.
Almighty Lord God, please lead me to love You by loving my neighbor, even when that is a terribly difficult thing to do. Amen.
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