Hello Hello Hello!!!

Happy to have you here this fine Monday evening.

If you haven't read the intro to the Series please do, because everything will make so much more sense if you do.

But without further ado, let's dive into scripture shall we?

1.

Matthew 21:12-22

Jesus Cleanses the Temple

12 And Jesus entered the temple and drove out all who sold and bought in the temple, and he overturned the tables of the money-changers and the seats of those who sold pigeons. 13 He said to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer,’ but you make it a den of robbers.”

14 And the blind and the lame came to him in the temple, and he healed them. 15 But when the chief priests and the scribes saw the wonderful things that he did, and the children crying out in the temple, “Hosanna to the Son of David!” they were indignant, 16 and they said to him, “Do you hear what these are saying?” And Jesus said to them, “Yes; have you never read,

“‘Out of the mouth of infants and nursing babies you have prepared praise’?”

17 And leaving them, he went out of the city to Bethany and lodged there.

Jesus Curses the Fig Tree

18 In the morning, as he was returning to the city, he became hungry. 19 And seeing a fig tree by the wayside, he went to it and found nothing on it but only leaves. And he said to it, “May no fruit ever come from you again!” And the fig tree withered at once.

20 When the disciples saw it, they marveled, saying, “How did the fig tree wither at once?” 21 And Jesus answered them, “Truly, I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what has been done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ it will happen. 22 And whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith.”

Mark 11:15-19

Jesus Cleanses the Temple

15 And they came to Jerusalem. And he entered the temple and began to drive out those who sold and those who bought in the temple, and he overturned the tables of the money-changers and the seats of those who sold pigeons. 16 And he would not allow anyone to carry anything through the temple. 17 And he was teaching them and saying to them, “Is it not written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations’? But you have made it a den of robbers.” 18 And the chief priests and the scribes heard it and were seeking a way to destroy him, for they feared him, because all the crowd was astonished at his teaching. 19 And when evening came they[a] went out of the city.

Luke 19:45-48

Jesus Cleanses the Temple

45 And he entered the temple and began to drive out those who sold, 46 saying to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be a house of prayer,’ but you have made it a den of robbers.”

47 And he was teaching daily in the temple. The chief priests and the scribes and the principal men of the people were seeking to destroy him, 48 but they did not find anything they could do, for all the people were hanging on his words.

John 2:13-22

Jesus Cleanses the Temple

13 The Passover of the Jews was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. 14 In the temple he found those who were selling oxen and sheep and pigeons, and the money-changers sitting there. 15 And making a whip of cords, he drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and oxen. And he poured out the coins of the money-changers and overturned their tables. 16 And he told those who sold the pigeons, “Take these things away; do not make my Father's house a house of trade.” 17 His disciples remembered that it was written, “Zeal for your house will consume me.”

18 So the Jews said to him,“What sign do you show us for doing these things?”19 Jesus answered them,“Destroy this temple, and in three daysI will raise it up.”20 The Jews then said, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple,[c]and will you raise it up in three days?”21 But he was speaking about the temple of his body.22 When therefore he was raised from the dead,his disciples remembered that he had said this, and they believed the Scripture and the word that Jesus had spoken.

2.

On Monday of Holy Week, Jesus was leaving Bethany where they were staying and heading into Jerusalem. There were stops along the way that included parables and teachings. In fact, I even included a portion of Matthew that talks about Jesus cursing a fig tree. Which my sister/theology student refers to as Jesus' 'hangry' moment. I mean... it says he got hungry and then was mad that the fig tree (which Jenny says was out of season) yielded no fruit. He withered that tree and used it as a teaching example to his disciples. Profound and a little comedic all in one package.

As much as I love the fig tree moment, the big event that stands out that day is Jesus' visit to the temple. I personally resonate with the passage from Mark and Luke. In Mark, Jesus storms in and can see that they are trading in the house of God instead of praying. After Jesus' scolds the men and has a fit of anger, He leaves the city. It's as if Jesus feels defeated in this moment. As if He is too disappointed to stay.

On the opposite end, in Luke Jesus releases His anger and begins to teach. It says that the men who were trading were angry but could do nothing because the people were mesmerized by Jesus' words. So one account is complete when Jesus walks away, while the other draws our attention to Jesus staying and teaching.

In this time, you may be angry too. Maybe you are realizing your life was, metaphorically speaking, "trading and profiting". I look at my past year and see all the ways I have been "trading in the house of God". I can recount plenty of "Jesus table flipping" moments.

That being said... We have the opportunity to be the people from Luke. We have the chance to witness Jesus' righteous anger at our mistakes, and then sit still and listen to him teach. As silly as it sounds, we get to be yelled at and we get to learn a lesson. We have the privilege of being students.

3.

On Monday, Jesus felt Anger.

4.

For todays' practice I am doing something that is not at all traditional or found in any church. It may not even be therapeutic for you, but at the very least it should be fun!

I challenge you to do a 'blind continuous line contour drawing'. What is a 'blind continuous line contour drawing' you ask? Well, it is when you close your eyes and begin to draw without ever picking up your pencil! FUN right?!

So what I want you to do is draw a fig tree. Imagine the fig tree in your head and begin to draw it with your eyes closed. Do not pick up your pencil and NO PEEKING.

While you are drawing, try to imagine Jesus' anger. Try to imagine the disappointment and just rage He felt.

Think about things in your life that are causing you anger. Maybe you've made some mistakes. Maybe you've been "trading" things in your life you shouldn't have. The world isn't perfect, and justice is not always easy to come by.

Allow yourself to angrily draw your fig tree. When you think your drawing is done, open your eyes. Take a look at what anger created. Perhaps you will see something beautiful or perhaps you have a scary blob! I invite you to rip up your fig tree. Go ahead! Have your "table flipping" moment if you need it. Or maybe hang it up somewhere to remind you throughout this week that there are things we can be angry about, both rational and irrational. Because Jesus got angry too. On Holy Monday Jesus was angry.

I listened to Sandra McCracken's song "Letting Go" on loop while I was drawing and it helped me focus. I encourage you to do the same if it helps. I will attach the lyrics below.

Now please enjoy this video of me drawing my #angrylittlefigtree (use the hashtag or tag me on Instagram! We can start a little "out of season" garden party.)

"Letting Go" Sandra McCracken

Oh I feel like I've been trampled by a tempest I've been holding up the last of my defenses Rise up O my soul, love is letting go, O my soul Rise up, let go I will not let the darkeness have the final cadence So I decend holding a spotlight in the basement Rise up O my soul, love is letting go, O my soul Rise up, let go You've been trying to throw your arms around the east and west Drinking from the well of broken promises, That you know you cannot mend, knowing when to say when Planting rows of sorrow, waiting for the harvest Look and see how far we've come from where we started Rise up O my soul, love is letting go, O my soul Rise up, let go Rise up, let go Rise up, let go

-Hannah