Lately some Christians have been using the temple cleansing to justify waging culture wars against… whomever they think is their enemy.
Like this one former secret service agent who accused me of suffering from “unreasonable patience” (he didn’t mean it in a good way but I decided to take it as a compliment).
Do I think Jesus was wrong to fashion a whip and flip tables in the temple? Not at all!
But here’s the thing—the temple cleansing was a prophetic act aimed at his own people.
So I say to this former secret service agent, name a time when Jesus hurled stones at someone outside his own faith and culture—because he never did, nor did he ever ask his followers to do their best secret service impressions and defend him.
Instead he said,
“let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.” (Matthew 5:16 NRSV)
Moreover, Jesus didn’t say go and do likewise after he went all Real Housewives in the temple that one time.
He said go and do likewise after the Good Samaritan showed mercy to his neighbor.
We are sometimes called to enact the prophetic, but we are always called to love our friends… and enemies.
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Thank you for taking the time to read this. We plan to post at least one reflection per week and we want to be as interactive as possible. Please share your thoughts and questions—we’d be thrilled to hear from you!
The story of the Good Samaritan has always been a favorite of mine as an example of mercy and compassion. These are traits we want to see more of rather than the hate we see so often on social media.