So he made a whip out of cords, and drove all from the temple area, both sheep and cattle; he scattered the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables.

those who sold doves he said, "Get these out of here! How dare you turn my Father's house into a market!" His disciples remembered that it is written: "Zeal for your house will consume me." - John 2:15-17.

We live in a world where it is commonplace for one to get angry and subsequently become violent. Just the other day, I was driving along and cut in front of another car to get into the turning lane.

 That person flew into a rage. He stopped alongside my car and gave me a tongue lashing. I did not do anything wrong. I needed to get in the turning lane and there was a wide gap between his car and the car in front.

He did not see it that way. What I had done made him angry. He was carrying on so badly, I turned up my window. Then he got out of his vehicle to check my license disk

That is the kind of people we meet on the street nowadays. They get angry about everything. All I can say is don't engage them because it can end up violently. We all get angry at times

However, our anger is normally about things that make us look bad. We often get angry because we can't have our own way. In the above text, we see Jesus in an unusual way. He became angry.

 This is unusual because Jesus lived a gentle and humble life. However, in the lesson he became angry and drove people from the temple. Why did Jesus get angry? He got angry because the temple was a place to proclaim God's mercy and renew a right relationship with God.

 Unfortunately in Jesus' time, it, instead, became a place of profanation. Worship had eroded into a self-serving activity. The religious authorities had permitted the temple area to be used for profiteering. During Passover, Jews from all over the world, converged on Jerusalem to take part in this most holy feast

While in the Holy City, they needed to offer sacrifices and to pay the temple fees. Consequently, merchants set up shop in the temple and transformed it into an international money exchange and a marketplace.

 They, obviously, were making a fortune from this trade in the temple. The temple authorities also profited because they charged the merchants exorbitant rent. Instead of using the house of God as a place of worship, they used it to cheat and exploit people

Jesus was in Jerusalem at the time and noticed the chaos and marketplace atmosphere in the temple. This infuriated him, therefore, he acted. He got angry not because someone had crossed him.

 He got angry because the authorities were making a mockery of God's house. Therefore, he used his anger to make a point. At the same time he demonstrated his authority. Jesus was not a maniac on the loose

He was the Son of God reclaiming his house as a place of prayer and for prayers. The text tells us that the disciples remembered that it is written: Zeal for your house will consume me. - Ps. 69:9. The message calls us to clean up our act, not only during our Lenten journey.

 We are to do so during our life's walk. It is appropriate to get angry, but not because someone cut you off in traffic or that you are not able to have your own way. It is time to get angry and stand up for the things of God.

 Yes, get angry, not for selfishness, but because you have a zeal for that which is of God. Amen.

oRev. Samuel M. Boodle, pastor at The Lutheran Church of Nassau, can be reached at P.O. Box N 4794, Nassau, Bahamas, or telephone 323-4107; E-mail: lutheranchurch@coralwave.com; Website: www.nassaulutheranchurch.org.

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