The following is a part of a meditation series that I write with my wife, called Somedays’ Meditations. We started it in our home parish for our tweens, and we thought it would be helpful to folks online as well. You can read the meditations here, or you can visit https://christchurchmanlius.org/somedays-meditations to see them as a collected volume.

Scripture:

Then Jesus entered the temple^* and drove out all who were selling and buying in the temple, and he overturned the tables of the money-changers and the seats of those who sold doves. He said to them, ‘It is written,

“My house shall be called a house of prayer”;
but you are making it a den of robbers.’

Matthew 21:12-13

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Meditation:

Sometimes even Jesus got mad. In this bit of Scripture from St. Matthew’s gospel, he was angry with people who were using the Temple to make money for themselves. Jesus was mad because people were using something that was supposed to be for prayer and for everyone for selfish reasons. For us today, though, the important thing to see is that Jesus got mad.

We all get mad. Being mad isn’t a bad thing, necessarily. It’s not a fun thing, nor is it something that we set out to do (we don’t start the morning saying, “Okay! Today I’m gonna get mad!”). Anger is something that happens to us. It’s natural.

There are certain times when anger is appropriate, but we always need to ask ourselves, “Was anyone hurt by my anger?” If we’ve hurt someone with our feelings, then we need to reconcile with them and maybe apologize. Often, angry feelings come from believing something very deeply, and the only way those beliefs can come out is through being mad. We also may need to explain to the person why we were so angry.

Remember that the goal of all things is to love our neighbors and God more fully. If we need to be mad about something in order to explain our feelings, then that’s okay. If we’re mad just to be mad, then maybe we need to find another way to express ourselves. Whatever we do, we seek to grow closer to those around us and to God, who is both inside and outside our hearts.

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Prayer:

Try using this prayer next time you’re mad: “God, I am so angry right now. I feel my anger bubbling up inside me. Please help me know what to do with my anger. Help me express my feelings and my heart to those near me. Please bless me, O Lord most high.”