“Be angry, but sin not.”
Some Considerations
In today’s Gospel, we have the Pharisees and Jesus facing off, in an argument that will eventually lead to Christ’s death next week. Yesterday’s Gospel ended with the Pharisees growing so angry with Jesus’ message that they picked up stones to throw at him. Here, they’re about to do it again.
Their anger against him was so great, it was about to lead to violence. In a few days, it will lead to his trial and crucifixion.
They believed their anger was justified.
“The Jews picked up rocks to stone Jesus. Jesus answered them, “I have shown you many good works from my Father. For which of these are you trying to stone me?” The Jews answered him, ‘We are not stoning you for a good work but for blasphemy. You, a man, are making yourself God’” (Jn 10:31-33).
There are two important considerations to take into account when we look at anger.
First, there is justifiable anger in the face of an injustice. People often point to Jesus’ cleansing in the Temple as an example of this. It’s impossible that Jesus was sinning in his anger; he was reacting properly to the injustice and even desecration that was happening in the Court of the Gentiles. We can have righteous anger against racism, abuse, or sin. It is anger that is motivated by a love of God and neighbor, funneled toward action to right the wrong.
This is vey different than the deadly sin of anger, or what we could also call wrath. Wrath is irrational desire for vengeance. It is irrational either in cause or in amount. Do I lose my temper over things that I shouldn’t? Wish others harm? Hold grudges?
Second, it’s also important to note that there is a difference between the immediate response of the feeling of anger and then choosing to dwell or act on that feeling. This why some people will differentiate between “anger” as a feeling, a ‘passion,’ a natural human emotion which is neither good or evil in and of itself and “wrath” as a sin.
When we talk about the sin, we’re not talking about the immediate gut reaction to something. In order for it to be sinful, we have to choose to embrace that feeling. We choose to act on that anger or we choose to nurture or hold on to that anger. Padre Pio writes, “Remember that it is not the thought that makes the sin, but consenting to those thoughts. Only the free will is capable of good or evil. But when the will groans under the trial presented by the tempter and does not want it, there is not only no sin, but there is virtue” in the struggle to resist sin.
The sin of anger or wrath occurs when I lose my temper, lash out or lose control rather than have the discipline to harness my passions and allow my reason to control them. If I lose my temper enough to cause damage or to wish someone actual harm, it may be a grave sin.
Be careful not to try to justify your angry behavior. Remember, the Pharisees thought they could justify stoning Jesus. Instead, follow the example of Jesus. Think of how many times we see him patient, gentle, and loving towards the disciples with their foolish questions, the people with their misunderstandings, those who were about to stone him, and even towards the people who killed him, and how often we saw him turning tables over in the Temple. Perhaps that ratio should tell us something.
Perhaps you have every right to be angry. Is your anger helping you? Is it helping others? Or do you need to emulate the witness of Jesus, who prayed from the Cross. “Father, forgive them…”
Examine
- Do I lose my temper at my spouse, my children, my coworkers, or fellow drivers on the road?
- Do I harbor resentment, grudges, and hatred in my thoughts? Am I slow to forgive?
- Do I easily get frustrated with people? Do people easily get on my nerves?
- Am I impatient or frustrated with people, family, events, sufferings, sicknesses?
Eradicate
This week, try to emulate the gentleness of Christ. Take your anger to prayer and ask the Lord to show you what to do with it. Instead of immediately trying to justify it, follow the example of the Psalmist who writes, “Be angry, but sin not; commune with your own hearts on your beds, and be silent” (Ps 4:4).
Take time in silence with the Lord. If you are struggling with forgiving someone and do not feel in your heart you can, start by trying to pray for them.
And thank God for his mercy. In our anger towards others, we forget that we are sinners who hurt others every day. Every day in the Our Father, we tell him to forgive us the way we forgive others. Are we holding on to our anger? If so, what will happen when we need him to forgive us?
Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash
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