Flipping tables and chasing people away. I’ve always liked that story. What story? The Gospel story from this past Sunday, from John 2:13-22. It’s the story of Jesus arriving at the temple in Jerusalem and not liking what he sees, he starts chasing merchants and money changers out with a whip and turning their tables over, sending money and livestock scattering. It’s such a welcome contrast to the often preferred images of Jesus. This is not a scene from a Hallmark movie, nor is it a scene Thomas Kincaid (ugh) would paint. Thank goodness because neither would do it justice. It would get softened and prettied up.
I like hearing about that other side…that very human side that gets fed up, angry, frustrated, and just plain done with the whole thing. Which makes me wonder, where would Jesus be flipping tables and breaking up bad and unfair practices today? Who would he be chasing out of their positions of power and control?
And let’s not get stuck on the notion that anger and flipping tables is inappropriate, that a calmer approach would be more productive. That’s the reply of those who are in control…stay calm and don’t get angry, don’t upset things, don’t make people uncomfortable. Let’s just be “nice” and get along. I’m calling BS on that. Sure, try that approach first. But at some point, when you get tired of being strung along with empty gestures and promises, when “nice” isn’t making any progress, or when your words keep hitting a brick wall or falling on patronizing silence, something will need to cause a jolt. Sometimes, flipping tables is the only way to get peoples’ attention, force a reaction and action, and get things unstuck.
So, would board tables at corporate headquarters be flipped? What about the tables/desks on the House and Senate floors? Would faith communities such as Lakewood Church and their pastor, Joel Osteen, see their places turned upside down? Which of our current issues would elicit such a reaction? I imagine that state legislatures that are working to reduce peoples’ rights would be targeted. So might companies who demand more of their employees but don’t pay a living wage or limit hours worked to avoid providing benefits.
But it’s not enough to wonder about the big, powerful, and public tables and spaces. Are there smaller tables that merit Jesus’ flipping them? What tables am I sitting at that need to be flipped and become settings that are more accepting of others, places of more generosity, and more ready to say yes to engagement?
Last summer we saw weeks of protests across our country due to racial injustices, especially in the area of policing. The vast majority were peaceful, many were small and only made the very local news. But which protests got most of the visibility? The ones that saw the destruction of property, saw things being thrown by both sides, the ones where the tables got flipped. After the dust settled, it was revealed that many involved in the violence at those protests were outside agitators or opportunists.
But regardless, the point being is that flipping tables gets peoples’ attention…that or showing up in large numbers. It’s easier to dismiss the quiet individual or small group who is trying to play by the “nice” rules. There’s a quote by Martin Luther King Jr. from 1967: “A riot is the language of the unheard.” And maybe the frustrated, angry, exhausted, desperate? He goes on to say:
But at the same time, it is as necessary for me to be as vigorous in condemning the conditions which cause persons to feel that they must engage in riotous activities as it is for me to condemn riots. I think America must see that riots do not develop out of thin air. Certain conditions continue to exist in our society which must be condemned as vigorously as we condemn riots.
On the flip side, it is not always big, physical actions like burning property or flipping tables that will get noticed. Sometimes it is a very simple quiet act that is completely contrary to societal norms that has the same impact as actually flipping tables. It is that act done in a very public way that will be viewed by many. In 2016, it was Colin Kaepernick who took that approach by first remaining sitting, and then going down on one knee during the National Anthem at the start of football games. It had the same affect, it created an uproar, putting attention on social issues.
In the Gospel of John, this story of Jesus clearing out the temple comes at the beginning of Jesus’ ministry. In the other three Gospels, it’s at the end of his ministry. It’s easy to imagine that after three years of speaking about living a life of compassion and love, of caring for the most vulnerable, and giving up ways of living that create divisions that make some people “others” and leave many to suffer…maybe, just maybe, he had had enough of not being heard or understood. The “nice” imagery and stories weren’t getting through.
Where are we called to make a dramatic statement in our lives that will wake others from apathy? Is there a truth that bears repeating again, in a different way so as to be noticed? Maybe there is a “quiet” approach that will shock others out of their stupor. When “nice” doesn’t work, don’t be afraid to be more like Jesus and upset the proverbial applecart. He was pretty good at it actually. Sometimes, that’s just what is needed.
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