FEAST OF THE DEDICATION OF THE LATERAN BASILICA

Today’s feast celebrates an ongoing mystery of our Catholic faith:

• That God chose to reside in the Eucharistic presence in the tabernacle of our churches.
• That God chose to replace animal sacrifice with the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross.
• That we are all sacred because we are temples of the Holy Spirit.

Our faith calls us to believe in the holiness of every single person. As a Catholic community, we respect the sacredness of the born and unborn, the aged and the young, healthy people and disabled people.  All of us give glory to God by our very existence.  Every person deserves reverence and respect because of the divinity of God residing in them.

Then why did Jesus seem to disrespect the merchants who turned the temple into a marketplace of buying and selling?  Why was Jesus so angry?

Today’s gospel really shows how human Jesus is.  The account of Jesus cleansing the temple is recorded by all of the Gospel writers, which we know, signifies its importance.  Matthew, Mark and Luke place this account right before the passion and death of Jesus.  In John, it is at the beginning of his Gospel.

Jesus’ actions do not seem justified when considering that the merchants were just serving the needs of the people.  It was a legitimate business to sell animals for sacrifice and to act as a money changer.  People coming to the temple from a distance arrived without an animal to sacrifice.  Others had only Roman coins, which needed to be exchanged. Coins with an image of Caesar or another Roman emperor were forbidden in the temple.

Jesus, being a Jew himself, knew full well that the animal sales and coin exchange businesses were essential to the temple.  So, what provoked his anger?

First of all, the businesses were conducted inside the temple precincts, in the actual space designed for worship, rather than in the outside gathering areas.  This turned a place of prayer and worship into a den of thieves.

Secondly, Jesus was aware that the merchants and money changers were cheating the people.  It was like the proverbial butcher with his thumb on the scale.  We know about the greed of those who exploit the poor.  Who isn’t upset with price fixing, gouging and dishonesty?

Jesus seems to be telling us that anger might be needed to correct what is wrong.  The issue in today’s world is to express ourselves in a constructive way.

Anger is a primary emotion.  It is natural.  Look at the way we express our anger as a newborn: the baby screams or cries to show that it needs something.  As the infant becomes a child, the cries subside and are replaced with biting, kicking or temper tantrums.  Pre-teens express their anger by fighting, name-calling, teasing and bullying.

Teenagers will use the silent treatment, avoidance behavior, negatively criticizing, gossiping or being moody. They can be inflexible and unforgiving. As adults, we express our anger similarly to teenagers, only more discreetly.

Anger is a feeling, an emotion or an energy, and as such, it can be a spontaneous reaction to a thing, place or action.  You can feel it inside.  Blood pressure rises, and your heartbeat accelerates.  Some people turn irritable with bouts of insomnia, headaches and depression.

How well do you cope with anger?  For myself, sometimes I do well and other times, poorly.  I know what I need to do: 

• Recognizing and admitting that I am angry.
• Realizing that I am choosing to be angry.  No one can make me angry.  It is my choice.
• Identifying the source and the type of anger.  Is it destructive, hidden or displaced?
• Dealing with it constructively.  Sometimes that means not reacting immediately.

The best thing for me when I experience anger is to pray the Our Father.  Constructive anger will always involve forgiveness.  Apologize.  And forgive yourself.  You are not going to be able to forgive another if you don’t forgive yourself.

To feel anger or to be angry is not a sin.  It is what one does with anger. If it destroys your life or the life of another, then that is a sin.

Remember, we are all sacred because we are temples of the Holy Spirit.