Holy Monday
Jesus Flips Tables in the Temple
As Jesus entered the Temple he was angered to see it filled with stalls buying and selling items for sacrifices. He began to turn over the tables and chairs of the sellers. He said to them ‘The Temple is called to be a place of prayer.’
Having cleared the Temple, Jesus was approached by those needing healing. Many around saw the wonderful things Jesus was doing, the children even began to call out praise to Jesus.
The chief priests were unhappy with praise being given to Jesus.
Based on Matthew 21:12-17
Read.
On Holy Monday we see Jesus’ anger at the Temple. Often we assume anger is something that needs to be avoided. Physical outbursts of anger can cause damage. Although seen as more passive and sometimes go unnoticed, acts of power play, manipulation and speaking without thought, are also destructive.
Jesus’ outburst is intentionally disruptive and comes from a place of seeing injustice in the Temple practices. With stalls in the outer most parts of the Temple, there was limited space for those on the outskirts of society to come and pray. People on the edges would not have been allowed into the quieter inner parts of the temple. The belief at the time was that the Temple was the only place you could worship God, therefore when they were excluded from the Temple, they were being excluded from God.
Think About.
There are injustice situations happening all across the world. Think about how your anger might help to move you into constructive action to address injustice.
Prayer.
God, we pray for all those who are victims of injustice. We pray that you help us harness our anger to help bring justice to all people. Amen.
Take time to explore the other days in Holy Week
Palm Sunday Holy Monday Holy Tuesday Holy Wednesday
Maundy Thursday Good Friday Holy Saturday Easter Sunday
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