Palm/ Passion Sunday- Anger and Forgiveness
“Sin” is our word for soul disease. The saints taught that this soul-disease can be broken into a few types. All sin seems to have some element of Pride- That is why pride is often considered to be the chief sin, or the root of all other sin. The other types are Envy, Gluttony, Lust, Greed, Sloth, and today we are looking at Anger. Without a diagnosis it is difficult to find a cure. A lot of the brokenness we experience in our lives is a result of these sins- either as a result of the disease inside us, or because we feel the effects of someone else’s disease.
Jesus, along with the prophets, invite us to repent. Repentance is the beginning of healing. They call us to see the disease clearly, rather than deny it. In repentance we are invited to face Sin and then turn from it- Turn away from every unloving act and unloving thought. Don’t justify it. Don’t shrug your shoulders and say, “oh well”. Recognize the disease, and take it seriously. See it and then turn from it. Repent.
When we recognize the disease and stop denying it, then we are ready for the cure. The medicine is in the form of God’s grace- humility treats pride; kindness treats envy; charity treats greed; chastity treats lust; temperance treats gluttony; diligence treats sloth; and the medicine for anger is forgiveness.
As I said earlier, today we are looking at anger. Anger is not automatically sin. We will naturally feel anger when something doesn’t go our way. If something or someone we value is disrespected or mistreated we will naturally feel anger. If someone is not behaving the way we think they should, we might feel anger. That initial anger lets us know something is not going according to how we think things should go.
One of the problems with anger is that our anger makes us believe that everything actually should go our way. … We don’t have all the information, so we really can’t be 100% sure that our way is truly the right way. We can’t really be angry about an issue, AND think the other position might have a point.
Anger also comes easy when we are dealing with someone else’s sin. Look how David reacted when he heard about the rich man stealing to poor man’s beloved sheep. In anger he condemned the rich man to death. … David had just conspired to kill a man to cover his own adultery with the man’s wife. … Where was David’s anger for the sake of justice then? … That was the genius of what the prophet Nathan did. He allowed David anger to arise at an unjust situation, but little did David know that his anger was directed at himself.
God can handle anger in a way that we can’t (whatever anger might mean for God). Our soul is not fully healed, so our character cannot handle anger without being destructive. I would venture to say that all outward expressions of anger are sinful- they are wrath. Both words and actions that come from a place of anger are destructive. Even Anger held onto inwardly, which we call bitterness, is a destructive expression of anger. … So, anger is destructive not only for those on the end of our angry outburst, but it is also destructive to ourselves. It eats away at our souls.
When I speak about this, people usually fight against relating anger and sin. We want our anger. Sometimes we avoid it by simply renaming it- “I’m not angry. I’m frustrated”. Our first reaction to any sin is often to avoid defining as a sin and thus justify it. With anger we usually justify it by saying that it is necessary for justice. We feel we need to point out the wrongdoing so they will know that what they are doing is wrong, and our anger lets them know we are serious. We need to make sure they don’t get away with this evil. … The letter of James confronts our attempt to justify it saying,
"Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires." (James 1:19-20).
We try to justify our anger as fighting for justice or righteousness, but James says it is impossible. Use something else to get to that justice- use compassion, use kindness, use love, but not anger. Anger leads to destruction. Anything that can be done in anger can be done better when motivated by some other emotion. So, it is best if we can transform anger into some other emotion before we act or speak.
Jesus and his saints have given very strong teachings about anger. In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus says that anger in the soul is the equivalent of murder (Matt 5:22). We can imagine someone filled with murderous rage but unable to commit the act because of being in prison or because of a physical handicap, but the condition of the person’s heart could be the same as if they actually committed the act of murder. … Jesus correctly sees that anger is the seed of murder. How many murders would happen if we removed anger from the world?
Paul teaches the churches,
Jesus and his saints have given very strong teachings about anger. In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus says that anger in the soul is the equivalent of murder (Matt 5:22). We can imagine someone filled with murderous rage but unable to commit the act because of being in prison or because of a physical handicap, but the condition of the person’s heart could be the same as if they actually committed the act of murder. … Jesus correctly sees that anger is the seed of murder. How many murders would happen if we removed anger from the world?
Paul teaches the churches,
"Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice." (Eph 4:31; Col 3:8).
And throughout the ages the wisdom of the saints has cautioned against anger. St Augustine said,
“It is better to deny entrance to just and reasonable anger than to admit it, no matter how small it is. Once let in, it is driven out again only with great difficulty. … There never was an angry man who thought his anger unjust”.
Anger killed Jesus. The anger of the people shouting “crucify” and the anger of the religious and political leaders. But, it wasn’t anger alone. Pride, Envy, Gluttony, Lust, Greed, and Sloth were all there nailing him to the cross. … We shout “hosanna” as he enters the city. Part of us knows he is our king, but part of us rejects him. Part of us doesn’t want to change. Part of us doesn’t want the repentance that is necessarily part of submitting ourselves to his Lordship. Part of us doesn’t want to have a king because we want to be king or queen. … Very quickly our “Hosanna”s turn to “Crucify him”. Whenever we submit to our anger, or pride, our soul shouts “Crucify”. Whenever we allow Envy, or Gluttony, to have its way we are nailing his wrists to the wood. When we let Lust, Greed, and Sloth take over our lives we nail his ankles to the cross and mock him. It’s these sins that hold Jesus to the cross.
If ever there was a just reason to be angry … Jesus had it. As an innocent man tortured and nailed to a cross he had a right to anger if ever anyone had a right to their anger. He could have spit curses from the cross, … but he didn’t. Instead of a curse Jesus prayed,
“Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”
Jesus took all the damage human sin could do to him. And he responded not with anger, but with forgiveness. He lived what he taught and he opened a new way of life for his followers.
For those who saw that anger and revenge don’t work, Jesus opened a new way of life. Jesus loving from his cross made it possible for Martin Luther King Jr. to preach these words in the midst of violence and turmoil. In a sermon entitled “loving your enemies” he says,
For those who saw that anger and revenge don’t work, Jesus opened a new way of life. Jesus loving from his cross made it possible for Martin Luther King Jr. to preach these words in the midst of violence and turmoil. In a sermon entitled “loving your enemies” he says,
“To our most bitter opponents we say: ‘we shall match your capacity to inflict suffering by our capacity to endure suffering. … We cannot in all good conscience obey your unjust laws, because non co-operation with evil is … a moral obligation. … Send your hooded perpetrators of violence into our community at the midnight hour and beat us and leave us half dead, and we shall still love you. But be assured that we will wear you down by our capacity to suffer. One day we shall win freedom, but not only for ourselves. We shall so appeal to your heart and conscience that we shall win you in the process, and our victory will be a double victory.” (Strength to Love, p 40).
That is the power of Christ’s cross. That is the power of love that destroys sin. So journey with Christ this holy week and remember his suffering, but also open yourself up to the transformation he wants for your heart. Open yourself to the heart surgery he wants to correct your heart disease.
Helps with anger (these notes are from the Dictionary of Christian Spirituality):
1) "Temporary silence and containment that allows one to recall the mercy of others in light of one's own past transgressions, [this] widens the heart to offset the pressure that increases with anger's constriction, and allows a reappraisal (or reframing) of the situation that aroused the anger to consider whether the harm suffered was really done out of any forethought or ill will."
2) "One should not blame others for one's own inability to exercise the virtue of patience."
3) "People should seek the wisdom and exposure community provides"
4) "They should practice opposite behaviours, such as blessing persecutors and singing psalms."
5) "They must rebuff the need to be in control or possess."
6) "They must have self knowledge and recognize patterns and triggers so as not to be ambushed."
7) "They should Confront the injuring party (Matt. 5:23-26)"
Here are some notes I toke from a Lecture given by Dallas Willard. Dallas Willard has defined Anger as "will to harm", "an announcement of pain", "the will to change". Anger is caused by the will being crossed. We think circumstances should be other than they are and this causes anger. Human character in most cases cannot handle the fire of anger. Anger also produces more anger in the one we are angry at. Everything you can do with anger you can do better without it. Anger justifies itself in the moment and therefore justifies actions done in anger. Dealing with anger:
Helps with anger (these notes are from the Dictionary of Christian Spirituality):
1) "Temporary silence and containment that allows one to recall the mercy of others in light of one's own past transgressions, [this] widens the heart to offset the pressure that increases with anger's constriction, and allows a reappraisal (or reframing) of the situation that aroused the anger to consider whether the harm suffered was really done out of any forethought or ill will."
2) "One should not blame others for one's own inability to exercise the virtue of patience."
3) "People should seek the wisdom and exposure community provides"
4) "They should practice opposite behaviours, such as blessing persecutors and singing psalms."
5) "They must rebuff the need to be in control or possess."
6) "They must have self knowledge and recognize patterns and triggers so as not to be ambushed."
7) "They should Confront the injuring party (Matt. 5:23-26)"
Here are some notes I toke from a Lecture given by Dallas Willard. Dallas Willard has defined Anger as "will to harm", "an announcement of pain", "the will to change". Anger is caused by the will being crossed. We think circumstances should be other than they are and this causes anger. Human character in most cases cannot handle the fire of anger. Anger also produces more anger in the one we are angry at. Everything you can do with anger you can do better without it. Anger justifies itself in the moment and therefore justifies actions done in anger. Dealing with anger:
1)Surrender your will to God (you don't have to get your way)
2)Living in thankfulness to God, rather than complaints to God for how God has treated you.
3) Confront the situation, but not in anger. Confronting in anger produces more anger and then the situation is harder to deal with because communication breaks down.
4) Recognize that God love both you and the people who offended you. Do not see them as worth less than you.
5) The answer to contempt and anger is willingly love instead.
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