This week’s theme is anger. The second sign in the Gospel of John is the cleansing of the temple, which is located in other Gospels at a very different point in Jesus’ public ministry. Whether you believe this is a “historical happening” or not — many credible Biblical scholars do not believe it is — this story contains a powerful message about anger and injustice.

John Sanford writes, “There is such a thing as healthy anger. It has been described as a healthy response to an intolerable situation.” We will explore whether this is the case in this story. There is definitely a relationship between love and anger. For example, both the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950’s and The Black Lives Matter movement since 2015 are grounded in love for a people, love of freedom, and an intolerance for continued oppression and injustice. People feel angry because they want our society to do better, to be better. I think of these examples as productive anger that creates more possibility, that longs for renewal and transformation.

There is also a slippery slope between fear and anger. When our fear is left untransformed — fear of the other, fear of losing power and position, fear of scarcity —we find ourselves in reactive anger which is often harmful and violent. This kind of rageful anger is on display in our country today.

There is a third kind of anger turned inward that manifests as depression. We could call this stagnated anger that does not have a release.

This story gives us a good opportunity to reflect on how we deal with anger and whether we are using it to transform injustice or transmit more of the same. Thanks for listening and we’ll “see” you Sunday!