GOOD ANGER

FIFTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST:

They are destroying the inside of a church.   These things happened in the 1500’s in England, in the 1790’s in France, and in the 1960’s in our country and many others.   It occurred many other places too, but as an armchair historian I’m most interested in these three locations.  

They destroyed not only the physical objects, but they destroyed much of the teachings, the practices, and the piety of ordinary Christians.   They still call the churches by the same names, but obviously these churches are not the same.   If they taught the same thing, they’d look the same way.

That’s my 100-mile marker.   It’s a game I play, as I said before in here.   If I fill up the gas tank at a certain gas station on Saturday night and set the trip odometer to zero, then  7/8 of the way home from church on Sunday I pass this 100-mile marker at the same time that my odometer turns to 100.

Lots of miles to go to find a church that is the same as it was before.   But so worth it. 

“Therefore, stand fast, brethren,and hold the traditions which you have learned…”    That’s what St. Paul admonished the Christian in Thessalonica.  (II Thes. 2:14)     Rather than smashing what you’ve been taught, hold on!

In the traditional liturgical calendar yesterday we were given a portion of the Gospel of Matthew to consider, the part in the Sermon on the Mount where Jesus warns about getting angry  with our fellow man.    (Matthew 5:21-26)

I know I was not the only one who heard the words of the Gospel and the words of the sermon and thought, “Oh, man, I’ve felt anger like that before!”    “I sure felt that someone deserved to be called that name!”   And then, “Yikes!!!   Hellfire?”   Could expressing such anger, calling someone a Fool, really lead to Hell?   And haven’t I…..?

Yes, Jesus speaks of Hell.

But then our priest, so full of gentle teaching, went on to explain that these are expressions of anger that come from hatred of the person we are angry with.   Hatred is opposite of the eternal love of God which we must receive and live within and express outwardly to others.   So…I don’t really feel hatred like that.     That would make Our Dear Lord so unwelcome.

And then the sermon went on to relieve us all.  He said there are indeed some kinds of “anger” that is a good anger.    One is the frustration and annoyance we feel about circumstances that is quite natural to feel.   Another is the personal hurts that come quickly to us, without thinking, when someone has committed an injustice against us.

These are normal human responses, but, as St. Paul says in Ephesians 4, “Be angry and sin not….”  or:  “do not sin in your anger.”   Anger happens.   But at that point we bring forth our virtues, stomp down the pride, let humility grow….and the situation takes on a calmer perspective.   

Not easy!  But possible!     

And then there is a third kind of anger that is “okay.”   It comes from zeal for the Lord, from understanding that there are certain things due to God our Creator, but people say and do  all kinds of outrageous things against God, and that kind of thing ought to make us feel a righteous anger.      And then we “do not sin” but we can do some things:    Pray.  Make reparations.   Old-fashioned terms like mortifications and penances on behalf of the one who so grieved God’s majesty.    And with great prudence, teach, instruct, be an example.   Drive 100 miles?

I’m wondering if the measure of our anger is proportional to the amount of our Love for God.