Today's Gospel - March 11, 2012 with Reflection

1^st READING - Exodus 20:1-17

P S A L M - Psalm 19:8, 9, 10, 11

R: Lord, you have the words of everlasting life.

2^ND READING - 1 Corinthians 1:22-25

GOSPEL ACCLAMATION

God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might have eternal life.

John 2:13-25

13 Since the Passover of the Jews was near, Jesus went up to Jerusalem. 14 He found in the temple area those who sold oxen, sheep, and doves, as well as the money-changers seated there. 15 He made a whip out of cords and drove them all out of the temple area, with the sheep and oxen, and spilled the coins of the money-changers and overturned their tables, 16 and to those who sold doves he said, “Take these out of here, and stop making my Father’s house a marketplace.” 17 His disciples recalled the words of scripture, “Zeal for your house will consume me.” 18 At this the Jews answered and said to him, “What sign can you show us for doing this?” 19 Jesus answered and said to them, “Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up.” 20 The Jews said, “This temple has been under construction for forty-six years, and you will raise it up in three days?” 21 But he was speaking about the temple of his body. 22 Therefore, when he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this, and they came to believe the scripture and the word Jesus had spoken. 23 While he was in Jerusalem for the feast of Passover, many began to believe in his name when they saw the signs he was doing. 24 But Jesus would not trust himself to them because he knew them all, 25 and did not need anyone to testify about human nature. He himself understood it well.

SABBATH

Is Anger a Sin? Many people accuse themselves of having a hot temper when they go to confession. In some religions and cultures, it is just impossible to express anger. One has to control his temper. In my 15 years in Japan, I have often admired Japanese people who still smiled and bowed politely even when they were boiling inside. Is being angry a sin? Are Japanese, Buddhists and disciples of Confucius more saintly than most of the disciples of Jesus?  St. Paul wrote to the Ephesians, “If you are angry, let it be without sin” (4:26). So, there must be anger that is not sinful. And that brings us to Jesus in today’s Gospel. He was obviously very angry when He made a whip, drove sheep and cattle out of the Temple, and knocked over the tables of the money changers. If that was not anger, I don’t know what anger is. Now I ask you: Did Jesus sin? Of course not, you answer, because from your catechism you know that Jesus was sinless. So, He must have done what St. Paul advises — being angry without sinning. But how? First of all, Jesus did not hurt anybody. He used His whip only to drive the animals out of God’s House without harming a fellow human being. Then, His anger arose not because of selfish reasons but because of the sacrilege that was done to the Temple of God. Let’s face it — anger is a fact of life. Anger is a common human emotion. We all feel it. And we feel it more often than we like to admit. Our world is filled with violence, hatred, war and aggression — and we easily react with anger. That is not sin. But we also feel hurt or irritated when someone or something obstructs our needs and we easily get angry when we don’t get what we want or when somebody insults us. Anger tells you that you are hurt and you don’t want to be hurt. Anger refers to the desire to “get even” with the cause of the hurt. And that would be sinful. Fr. Rudy Horst, SVD REFLECTION QUESTION: Do you easily get angry? What could be at the root of your anger? Lord, thank You for making me aware that there are two kinds of anger. Help me to follow always Your example and be only angry at what is evil in the world.    St. John Ogilvie, pray for us. Do you want to receive this in your email?  To get Bo Sanchez to send it to you personally, log-on to http://kerygmafamily.com. Lots of surprises await.