Mt 23:13-22
[or Is 9:1-6
Ps 113
Lk 1:26-38]
[Jesus said,] 13“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites. You lock the kingdom of heaven before human beings. You do not enter yourselves, nor do you allow entrance to those trying to enter. [14]
15“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites. You traverse sea and land to make one convert, and when that happens you make him a child of Gehenna twice as much as yourselves.
16“Woe to you, blind guides, who say, ‘If one swears by the temple, it means nothing, but if one swears by the gold of the temple, one is obligated.’ 17Blind fools, which is greater, the gold, or the temple that made the gold sacred?18And you say, ‘If one swears by the altar, it means nothing, but if one swears by the gift on the altar, one is obligated.’ 19You blind ones, which is greater, the gift, or the altar that makes the gift sacred? 20One who swears by the altar swears by it and all that is upon it; 21one who swears by the temple swears by it and by him who dwells in it; 22one who swears by heaven swears by the throne of God and by him who is seated on it.”
Reflection:
Woe to you! Is this an angry Jesus whom we hear cursing? There is such a thing as holy anger. It is never for one’s self but for the weak and the poor who suffer. Holy anger does not lift up arms or fists against the despised party but opens one’s heart in mercy for the other to recognize their sin and repent. Holy anger concretely identifies the wrong and tries to correct or heal it.
We often get angry and need to check our anger. Is it for our hurting egos only? Do we want to strike back at the other party? Is it anger without any basis or reason? Our elders advise us to count from 1 to 10 before giving in to anger, not to decide on anything when we are angry, and to cool off our anger somewhere. These may be good advice after all. A friend told me how his parents fought when they were younger. They would go out in the field where no one else could see or hear them and would shout their hearts out there. Then they would come home pacified.
Have a box in your room. Write down your anger and frustration and keep them locked in the box.