Anger

In our first reading from Ezekiel, we “hear” God say (through the prophet), “If the wicked person turns away from all the sins they committed, and keeps all my statutes and does what is right and just, they shall surely live, and shall not die.” The passage goes on to say, “And if the virtuous one turns from the path of virtue to do evil…None of their virtuous deeds shall be remembered.”

God knows we’re going to bristle when we hear this and complain that God’s way is not fair. So God goes on to say, “Is it my way that is unfair, or rather, are not your ways unfair?”

While I certainly have some struggles with the passage from Ezekiel (especially what appears to be God’s binary and somewhat petty thinking!), what I take away from it is that the folks we think are lost in terms of living in God’s kin-dom have just as much access to it if they turn their lives around.  And those who are convinced that they are living righteously have just as much chance to get lost as anyone else!

Jesus picks up on this theme in the gospel reading and invites the listeners to reconsider some things.  This is part of a famous series where he says, “You have heard it said…but I say” passages in which he challenges conventional wisdom of his day.  In this passage, Jesus says, “You have heard that it was said to your ancestors, You shall not kill; and whoever kills will be liable to judgment. But I say to you, whoever is angry with [another] will be liable to judgment.” 

What I always love about Jesus is that he gets to the heart of things!

Of course he knows that killing someone is a terrible thing.  But most of us will not find ourselves in that situation and could go away feeling justified.  So he goes deeper and speaks about anger (which, clearly, is related to killing).

Jesus knows that anger is the kind of emotion that, when acted upon, can fracture relationships very quickly – interpersonally and collectively.  His admonition is not that we do not get angry.  He knows that this is going to keep happening because we are human and human relationships are challenging.  But he says do not let your anger fester or grow.  Don’t feed it or let it morph into resentments.

I saw a quote attributed to Buddha that has the same sentiment, “You will not be punished for your anger.  You will be punished by it.”

Lent is a good time to reflect on our anger.  Who or what makes us angry?  What does our anger stir in us?  Do we remember why we are angry or what we think will address our anger?  Do we hold on to our anger? Do we know when we are even angry or let ourselves express it?  Is there anger that we need to release somehow? Did we witness healthy models related to anger?  How do we bring our anger to God (or maybe we are even angry with God)? Just hold all this in prayer today.

Note: Anger is clearly a complicated topic and not one that I can address fully in a blog. I can imagine some readers saying, “But what about…,” and offer a reflection on a particularly painful or difficult situation. I would just say that It’s important to remember that anger is a signal and one that deserves our attention.  It gives us information that we need to explore, and can tell us that some boundary or limit has been transgressed.  Yet it is an emotion that requires scrutiny and care because it is a powerful one.  When harnessed, it can be a great force for change, yet it can also tear up the fabric of our social connection. And it is always important to remember that the emotion of anger is different from the expression of it (as much as they may be related). We may not be able to control the emotion, but the expression is ours to address.