By Fr. Roy Cimagala *
THAT gospel episode where Christ drove away those who
converted the temple area into a market place (cfr. Jn 2,13-22)
reminds us of what is known as righteous anger and of our duty to love
the Church, not only as a physical building but most especially as the
very People of God, the very Mystical Body of Christ of whom we are
members.
Yes, there is such thing as righteous anger which we have to
understand well since it is a very delicate emotion or passion that
can easily turn bad if we are not careful. Remember St. Paul saying,
“Be angry but do not sin. Do not let the sun go down on your anger,
and do not make room for the devil.” (Eph 4,26)
Anger is one of our God-given emotions, locked into our
nature as persons. It has its legitimate use. But precisely because of
our precarious human condition here on earth, we have to be wary of
it. In fact, anger is also considered one of the capital sins, along
with pride, envy, greed, lust, gluttony, sloth, that can beget many
other sins.
If ever we have to be angry, let’s try our best to be angry
in the spirit of Christ who showed anger over the self-righteous
Pharisees and scribes, and over those who turned the temple area into
a market place. Christ’s anger is what is called righteous anger, one
that is done always in charity and in the truth, and not just due to
opinions and biases. It’s an anger that is meant to correct, purify,
heal.
Besides, Christ’s anger is only momentary. It does not last
long. As a psalm would put it, “his anger lasts only a moment, but his
favor lasts a lifetime. Weeping may stay for the night, but rejoicing
comes in the morning.” (30,5) He is slow to anger, and quick to
forgive. We need to have a strong grip over this particular emotion.
But more importantly, the gospel episode referred to here
reminds us that we should develop a great love for the Church not only
in her physical dimension as in her buildings and all the materials
used in her liturgical celebration, which is already a tall order, but
more so in her real essence as the very Mystical Body of Christ and
the very People of God.
We need to be more conscious and skillful in our Christian
duty to love the Church. This cannot be taken for granted anymore,
especially these days when the world is developing in a very rapid
pace that often leaves behind our spiritual and religious
responsibilities.
The Church is nothing other than the people of the God,
gathered together at the cost of his own life on the cross by Christ.
This is because we from the beginning are meant to be God’s people,
members of his family, partakers of his divine life.
We have to understand that this gathering of the people of
God is not achieved merely by some political, social or economic
maneuverings. It is a gathering that is described as “communion,”
where our heart and mind work in sync with the mind and will of God.
It is a communion where the love of God for us is
corresponded to by our love for him. And this is done not only
individually by each one of us, but also collectively, all of us
together in an organic way. Thus, we need to help one another in this
common, universal concern.
* Chaplain Center for Industrial Technology and Enterprise (CITE), Talamban, Cebu City
Email: roycimagala@gmail.com
