“Anger” Matthew 5:17-24
So when I emailed Pastor Matt asking for the scriptures I was to preach on today I did not expect him to reply with “the hard sayings of Jesus.” Something more along the lines of “peace, love, butterflies and joy” would have sounded easier than “anger.” But, here I am, on the first Sunday of a new preaching series tackling a “hard saying of Jesus” and the topic of anger. And the truth is, diving into this difficult topic, digging into this seemingly harsh passage has been a gift for me this week and I hope that as you reflect, meditate and think on this passage you too will find it a gift … an insight into your soul … a way forward in a precarious situation.
So before this passage Jesus delivers the Beatitudes or the “blessed are the poor in spirit, those who mourn, the pure in heart, etc.” A very popular, powerful and beautiful sermon from Jesus. And then he talks about salt and light, how his followers are the salt of the earth and light of the world … important and needed. So you get the sense that what Jesus is saying is pivotal, meaningful. He really wants people to pay attention, understand and truly live out his words. I would imagine him impassioned, pouring his heart into each word.
So it may not be a surprise then that the passage we read from today is so strongly worded. From what he says, it sounds like there were people who thought he had come to do away with the law, erase everything the Old Testament teaches and lay out a new, maybe even easier plan. But he explains that this is not the case. He has come “not to abolish but to fulfill.” And he is calling on his followers to carry out the law too. To be devoted, righteous, even more righteous than the scribes and Pharisees he says.
I think that all of this is important for us to understand what Jesus says next about anger. It sounds as though he is trying to really convey the seriousness of his message, the commitment required and the higher calling it entails.
And that’s when he brings up the commandment “You shall not murder.” Jesus basically says “let’s take this a step further.” It’s not just about murder, it’s about anger. He says anger, insults, name-calling are all included in this- even someone having something against you. He explains that if you “remember that your brother or sister has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother or sister, and then come and offer your gift.” Basically, go and make it right, and then make your offering.
Does this make you cringe a little? Maybe you notice yourself slumping down in your seat a little lower? Perhaps it makes your stomach hurt or brings out a nervous tic? If it does, you aren’t alone because … we all get angry. Whether it’s a long-lasting family feud that consumes you or frustration at the guy who took your parking spot, we have all felt anger. And I’m going to go ahead and guess that many, maybe all of us have someone out there who has something against us. People we have made angry, people that have made us angry, people we avoid, or get upset when we think about. I’m also going to go ahead and guess that we have all insulted another, I think it would be generous to say we have called someone a “fool” and probably more realistic to use much harsher and less appropriate words. We have all been there, we have all done it. This passage is talking to us, to our hearts. It hits home.
Anger is natural, it is human, it’s part of the fight or flight instinct, right? Part of my training to become a pastor was to learn how to let people feel. Help people identify and express their feelings, talk through their hurts and feel safe and loved. So I have said to people “it’s ok to be angry.” It is a feeling. My 3 year old son has said to me “I’m angry mommy!” And I say “well that’s ok, I understand that you are angry.”
But something about anger also feels scary, painful and dark. Maybe it’s because we have all seen anger manifest itself in ways that are unhealthy, violent, dark and hurtful. Anyone who has ever been on the receiving end of an insult can tell you it does not feel good. Being called a fool hurts. And those aren’t the worst ways we have felt anger. Everyday we see anger turn into terrible acts on the news. Sometimes we are around people who are hurting and use their anger to make others hurt. Some people will say the meanest thing they can, try to cut deep, leave a scar … with words. And some people get stuck in the anger. It consumes them. Anger clouds their vision so that the world looks like an angry and hostile place. Every interaction just brings out more anger, and the person sinks deeper into the darkness of despair, loneliness and pain. Anger can hurt.
Jesus addresses this. This feeling that is common to us all, this emotion that can lead to so much more. Jesus explains that it’s not about a checklist of actions. It’s not about avoiding the really bad behaviors or doing a, b and c. Rather, it’s deeper. The way of Christ is deeper, soul deep. It’s about the roots. Jesus cares not just about our avoidance of crime, but he cares about what is in our hearts. He is calling us to follow a God who cares deeply, so deeply that God wants us to be in right relationship with one another. God wants us to go and make it right with our brothers and sisters. To purify our hearts and our world. And so Jesus explains that yes we are not to murder one another, but there is more to it than that. We need to be in relationship. We need to love one another. We need to check that anger, before it leads to the dark places.
Anger has a way of leading us to do things we might not normally do. We might say awful things or put ourselves into dangerous situations or burn bridges. We might really hurt people. And I’m sure we all have. Jesus believes in our ability to be more. To control our emotions rather than letting them control us. Jesus teaches us that relationships are serious, the way we treat one another is serious, and it is important to God.
Just recently I had an interaction that made me really angry. A conversation in which someone said things that were meant to hurt me and insult me. I felt my blood boil after. I thought of all of the mean and nasty and hurtful things I could have said. It felt awful to be in that place. The anger stayed with me for a while and even though I prayed about it and looked for answers, it just felt like I couldn’t shake it. And then I was reminded of the pain this other person is going through, the situations they are dealing with that caused the emotions I bore the brunt of. And I felt compassion and it was a relief. Compassion is a much easier place to live in than anger.
But I get it. I get the struggle. And Jesus does too. Jesus overturned tables and was disappointed by people again and again. The pharisees and scribes tried again and again to provoke him. The Bible tells us that God expresses anger with God’s people several times in the Old Testament. Anger is real. It is something we all experience. But it’s not stronger than the peace of God. In fact, when we let the Holy Spirit in on our anger then it can become a force for good. A force for justice, peace and love in the world. A voice for the voiceless, a heart for the oppressed, courage for the vulnerable.
On October 10, 2013 Malala Yousafzai was interviewed by Jon Stewart of the Daily Show. The Daily Show is typically a satirical, comedy show, but her interview was powerful and she said some very serious things. Malala is Pakistani teenager. At the time of the interview she was 16. She had been hunted and shot by the Taliban because she was fighting for education. She was watching as the Taliban closed down her school and many other schools, as she and others like her were told that education was wrong and that it was no longer a possibility for them. And she knew in her heart that education was important and so she fought for it. Imagine that, a teenager fighting to be able to go to school. When she found out that the Taliban wanted to kill her she thought about what she would do if they came for her. She said at first she thought “I’ll throw a shoe at them” and then she realized that would make her like them. Lashing out and hurting another in anger. She would have been acting out of hatred just as they were. So she decided that she would tell them the importance of education and that it is something she wants for herself and even for the children of her attackers as well. That she wanted something good, even for them. She would repay anger with goodness. And then she would say “now do what you want.”
It was powerful to hear a young girl who had been shot, who was simply fighting for the right to go to school, speak about overcoming hate with love, violence with peace, uncontrolled anger with intelligence and a call for justice.
Life is unfair and there is much to anger us. I get angry when I see terrorists doing the unthinkable to innocent people in Syria and Iraq. I get angry when I hear of the injustices in our own country against those who are poor or black or labeled as different. I get angry when I see people hurting each other. I get angry when people try to hurt me. I get angry when life seems unfair. When good people are hurting. When people I care about are struggling. I felt angry when my close friend lost her life to cancer. And sometimes it feels good to go with the anger, to brew, to go to the dark place, to say the nasty thing we think of, to bully or lash out. But Jesus cares about what is in our hearts. Jesus is calling is to something more, something deeper. Jesus is telling us to go and make it right. Love one another, make our relationships a priority. Don’t let the anger push out the love in our hearts.
In the end, I’m glad that Pastor Matt entrusted me with this passage and this topic. I would say it took me on somewhat of a journey. When I first read the passage I thought “come on! Don’t even be angry?? this is a little much.” I felt defensive and called out for the feelings of anger in my own heart. And then I started digging, into the passage, into my heart, into the world around me and it didn’t seem so difficult. It actually seemed incredibly gracious and hopeful. We serve a God who loves us so deeply and cares for us so intimately that God looks into our hearts. That God offers a better way than life with darkness, bitterness and isolation. Our God calls us to love one another with the kind of love that is so pure and so powerful that even our deepest darkest anger can not drive it out.
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