Epiphany 2 (NL4) John B. Valentine
John 2:13-25 January 16, 2022

“ANGER MANAGEMENT”

The afterglow of last week’s wedding feast has faded.

• The bridegroom and the bride have headed off on their honeymoon.

• The caterer ... the chief steward ... has knocked down all the folding tables and laundered all the linens.

• The servants ... the only ones who actually witnessed that whole turning-water-into-wine thing ... are still scratching their heads at it all ... are back to work ... and given their overbusy work schedules ... don’t have much time to focus on what happened that afternoon.

• And the disciples ... they and Jesus’ mom ... are still just taking it all in.

But then things change.

Actually ... things change rather dramatically!

Small town sleepiness in Cana of Galilee gives way to the hustle and bustle of the city streets of Jerusalem.

And ... if you but listen ... you’ll notice that the volume has been turned WAY up!

• There’s the sounds of animal hoofs clopping on cobblestones.

• There’s the sounds of pilgrims chatting with their companions.

• There’s the sounds of coins hitting the tables of the money changers.

• There’s the incessant sound of barkers offering deals of all sorts.

• There’s a sudden shout from the crowd when ... all of a sudden ... tables are overturned.

• And then there’s Jesus ... this itinerant preacher ... shouting “Get this junk out of here! Stop making my Father’s house a marketplace! This ... THIS .... is blasphemy!”

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You see ... this Jesus whom we see right here in the second part of John 2 is NOT the abundantly generous one whom we witnessed last week in the first part of that same chapter.

This is an abundantly irritated one!

This isn’t the Jesus who abundantly patient Jesus who made good on this absurd request that his mom had made ... even though “his hour had not yet come” ....

But an abundantly impatient one!

This isn’t the Jesus who is working behind the scenes to bring about good things for people who will hardly know ...

But an in-your-face out-in-public Jesus who is abundantly clear about the message he is trying to convey.

This is the abundantly ANGRY version of the Son of God!

And when I think about this beet-red-with-anger Jesus whom we encounter in this story my mind quickly flashes to a couple of quotations.

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The first comes from the ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle.

“Anybody” ... Aristotle said ... “can become angry. That is easy. But to be angry

• with the right person ...
• and to the right degree ...
• and at the right time ...
• and for the right purpose ...
• and in the right way ....

That is NOT within everybody’s power and is certainly NOT easy.”

Can you relate to that??

Aristotle was an astute observer of human behavior ... and he was of the opinion that anger is among the most complex and distinctive of the human emotions.

That anger is an emotional / psychological reaction that starts inside of us to be sure ...

But it’s a reaction that has physiological and social and moral dimensions to it as well.

“Anger happens” ... Aristotle might say. “But it’s how we deal with that anger that really reveals who we are as people. For anger can and ought to be felt ... and anger can and ought be acted upon in a number of right and healthy ways.”

If we look at this morning’s lesson from the second half of John 2 with that quote from Aristotle as our lens ...

We’re reminded that its okay to get angry ... for Jesus himself got angry ...

But we need to make sure that we’re getting angry

• with the right persons or institutions ...
• and to the right degree ...
• and at the right time ...
• and for the right purpose ...
• and in the right way.

And THAT is a pretty significant challenge.

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Now the second quote which this story from John 2 reminds me of actually comes from a fellow named Ken Russell ... who made a career of putting famous operas on film.

Now bear in mind that I am NOT a big fan of opera ...

In fact ... my feelings about opera tend to rank right up there with how I feel about tuna casserole and the L.A. Dodgers ....

But listen to this quotation and tell me if it helps you makes sense of what Jesus is trying to tell us:

"Opera is performed at peak volume because the feelings it surveys are big and deep. Matters of life and love and lust and death are too important to be spoken ... they must be sung, shouted, thundered, wept ... and shown in all their force."

“MATTERS OF LIFE AND LOVE AND LUST AND DEATH ARE TOO IMPORTANT TO BE SPOKEN ... THEY MUST BE SUNG, SHOUTED, THUNDERED, WEPT.”

That's what Jesus is doing here in the second chapter of the Gospel of John.

Jesus is shouting ... thundering ... weeping ... because the matters he is attending to because they are simply too important to be merely spoken.

SO PERHAPS WE'D BETTER LISTEN UP!

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Consider this.

WHAT IS IT THAT GETS JESUS SO TOTALLY WORKED UP?

• Is it some social-engineering issue of the sort which they rage against on FoxNews? NO!

• It is some moral-hypocrisy issue of the sort that they lampoon on CNN? NO!

• Is it some global finance issue that makes the pages of the Wall Street Journal? NO!

No ... in THIS case ... what get’s Jesus so worked up was people profiting ... and profiteering ... off the faithful intentions of another.

You see ... the Temple in Jerusalem was the place where faithful Jews came to make sacrifices.

In fact ... it was the ONLY approved place where one could come to make sacrifices.

And people who aspired to being faithful to the Word and things of God were expected to come and make those sorts of sacrifices as they could.

Which ... for some people ... meant a week-long journey each way that was not ... in and of itself ... an inexpensive undertaking.

And when they arrived in Jerusalem ... they were accosted by these money-changers and sacrifice-vendors who reminded them:

• that they couldn’t pay their tithes and offerings with any old coins ... of the sort that might have some Caesar’s face embossed on them ... but only with ‘approved temple coinage’ of the sort which they sold ... and ...

• that they certainly wouldn’t want to offer a blemished bird or lamb as a sacrifice to God when they could have an unblemished one of the sort that they sold ... would they??

In other words ... these poor families who’ve traveled far and at great expense to follow God's law are being extorted ... when they should have been being helped.

• They complicated the rules ...
• They profited off the best intentions of others ... and
• They made it harder for people to get to God.

And THAT made Jesus mad! REALLY MAD!

In fact ... if you study the Gospels ... it becomes pretty clear pretty quickly that:

A) Jesus rarely if ever got mad about injustices being done toward him ... and people certainly said and did some pretty nasty things to him. And ...

B) Jesus often ... dare I say always? ... got mad when he witnessed people putting up barriers that kept others from God.

• Rules being prioritized over people ..... THAT got Jesus angry.

• Kids being pushed aside ..... THAT got Jesus angry.

• Hypocrites belittling the sincerity of others ..... THAT got Jesus angry.

• People making it harder for other people to know God’s forgiveness ..... THAT got Jesus angry.

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Now I don’t know about you ... but I’m not like that.

Most of the time ... when I get mad ... my anger is directed toward people who have done ME wrong.

Maybe that’s you too ... and ... trust me ... I get it ... our reasons for being mad at others may certainly be valid.

But the kind of anger that Jesus models for us isn’t like that.

He got angry on behalf of others .... those who were being neglected .... those who were being abused ... those last and lost and little and least that we see throughout the Gospels.

After all ... anybody can become angry. That is easy.

But to be angry with the right person .... to the right degree .... at the right time .... for the right purpose .... and in the right way .... that is NOT within everybody’s power and is certainly NOT easy.