Righteous Anger

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. He was teaching and saying, ‘Is it not written,

“My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations”?

But you have made it a den of robbers.’

-Mark 11:15-17

Jesus here acts very boldly, even violently, to express a point. We usually think of Christ as someone ultimately peaceful, never defensive and certainly not violent. But I can't reconcile that image with the Christ in this story. I think of Jesus as someone willing to stand up for what he values, moved to anger, and if necessary a person who takes bold, open action as in this story.

We also think of Jesus as someone who is always tranquil and never angry, but in my opinion this vision of Jesus also doesn't really fit the gospels. I think we should remember that he's the man who told religious leaders that they were like whited sepulchres, for example. He gave examples in parables unflattering to Pharisees (as in the story of the Pharisee and the Publican). He wasn't afraid in his public teaching of saying or doing things that religious leaders considered insulting. So, when it comes to Christ, he certainly didn't shy away from confrontation, from expressing his anger, and even doing so boldly and - at least in this story - with violence.

So what are we to make of this bold Jesus? I think that first of all it's important to remember we are graced by man and God together, and for me this is humanity transfigured. His anger is a righteous anger, and it is in defense of doing the will of his Father. This is not action which is selfish. It is also action which is protective of a community - he is protective of worshippers who are being made to measure commitment to God by what sacrifice they can afford. This is what he calls a den of robbers.

We are also told in this story that it is after this incident that the chief priests and scribes began to look for a way to kill him, but that they were afraid of the crowds:

And when the chief priests and the scribes heard it, they kept looking for a way to kill him; for they were afraid of him, because the whole crowd was spellbound by his teaching. And when evening came, Jesus and his disciples went out of the city. Mark 11:18-19

So Jesus finds himself speaking with authority, acting with authority, and favored by the crowds. But those whom he has censured wish to get rid of him, silence him for good. Righteous anger in this case is an expression of his courage, his willingness to fight for what he believes by boldly standing for something publicly, and his willingness to meet the fate he knows is in store for him. Do we choose our expressions of anger for this sort of reason and with this type of care? Do we stand for what we need to stand for?