Homily Thirty-Third Friday of Ordinary Time (Luke 19:45-48) “Chanel Emotions”
Homily Thirty-Third Friday of Ordinary Time (Luke 19:45-48) “Chanel Emotions”
There are often arguments in Christian circles over whether Jesus believed in violence or not or whether he was a pacifist. Many times, the passage concerning Jesus driving the money changers out of the temple comes up. He seems angry in this episode. There is anger and there is righteous anger. What is the difference?
Flying off the handle over some perceived slight or insult is symptomatic of someone who does not have control of their emotions. We see a lot of this type of anger in our society today. People are angry especially when the elections come up for example. And consequently, they say and do things that are very disrespectful. Once we use hurtful words or are physically violent it is hard to take back what we have said.
We usually have a filter in place some where in our subconscious that reminds us not to speak without thinking, but every once in awhile we all fly off the handle, some of us more than others. Was Jesus like that? Is this an example of him losing control?
Jesus was involved in a prophetic action here. The prophets would often engage in symbolic actions that would try to make a point. John the Baptist would wash people with water to show them that their sins were forgiven for example.
I would imagine that Jesus thought about what he was going to do here. He was angry, but he did not lose control. He felt that the merchants in the temple were not only out of place, but also gouging the people who came to pray. He thought that the temple should not be an economic enterprise. His actions were a threat to the commerce of Jerusalem. Religious festivals were big business. Jesus wanted profound change. He channeled his anger in a meaningful direction. As a result, he sent a powerful message to the faithful of his day.
Reflection Questions:
- Can anger be channeled for a higher purpose? Have I ever seen this happen?
- What are some prophetic actions that people have used in history? Did any of those actions change the course of history?
Dear Parishioners,
Yesterday was “National Catholic Principles Day.” I would like to thank Jane Barrett and Mary Cornelis for their hard work at Seton School and Sara Stroud for her hard work at Alleman High School. The last 9 months have been a big challenge for all educators. Children have gone from distance learning to classroom learning back to distance learning. This has required a lot of extra planning for all teachers and staff. We all should respect the hard job they are trying to do.
We will be distributing missalettes and reflection materials for the Advent season soon. Please pay attention to this Facebook Post to find out how you can receive these resources.
May Our Lady and All the Angels and Saints watch over you Today.
Fr. Mark