Rev. Stephen E. Stults
St. Barnabas Anglican Church
6th Sunday in Trinity
2012
July 15, 2012
Have you ever been angry without a cause? Have you ever been angry, and then felt justified in your anger? “I felt this because this person did this to me”, you might say?
Of course you have. I
know that we all have. While we don’t condone anger, we know that it seems to
be part of our human natures.
Our Gospel selection for the day puts anger in a new
light. It also teaches us about the power
of words and how we use them. This passage also gives the lie to the old
childhood axiom: “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never
hurt me.”
We all know how totally untrue this is; in fact, it could be
argued that, while physical damage will heal over time, usually, the emotional
scarring that words can inflict may be permanent, This is true especially if one is lacking a
Christ-like spiritual orientation. If one is able to forgive, one may be able
to forget. On the other hand, without
forgiveness, there can be little possibility of forgetting.
Our passage from Matthew shows how powerful words can be,
both in this world, and even potentially in the next. Christ gives several
examples of angry words that have heavy consequences. First, He speaks of those
who are angry without a cause. This type of anger merits judgment. This
judgment might possibly be before an earthly court, like the Sandhedrin, but probably
not. Christ most likely has in mind the heavenly court, which sees all and
hears all that men say, even in the most casual of situations.[1] Recall this, from Matt. 12:35-37: “A good man out
of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man
out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things. 36 But I say unto you, That every
idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of
judgment. 37 For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy
words thou shalt be condemned.” Thus,
our speech is powerful, bringing with it a just recompense of reward. It is
difficult for us to imagine that what we say is as important as what we do, for
just as the Word of God spoken forth on the day of creation brought forth
light, so our words, if they be corrupt and fallen, can bring forth very negative
consequences. After all, think of all the fistfights, battles, and even wars
that have begun because of words.
In this passage, our Lord seats himself to teach the multitudes, in good
Rabbinic style, and uses a classical scribal technique to begin his discourse
about words. He says, (Matthew 5:21): ”Ye have heard that it was said by them
of old time, Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger
of the judgment: “ He follows this with His own interpretation and emphasis: (Matthew
5:22) 22 But I say unto
you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in
danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be
in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger
of hell fire.”[i]
These are strong words, indeed.
Christ is not just condemning anger, but he is condemning angry words
with intent. Here, we talking about
anger expressed in words that if left unchecked, could lead to murder. In other
words, people can easily be angry enough to kill. This kindled anger and hatred
is akin to murder in Christ’s eyes, for it can very easily lead to it.
Here, one might ask, “Well, wasn’t even Christ angry? Did not even He give vent to anger and
frustration through words?” The answer is yes, but with a vast difference. Christ’s anger was righteous, and it was
without sin. On one occasion in Mark 3,
he looked around on the Pharisees and Scribes with anger “because of the
hardness of their hearts”, as He was about to heal the man with the withered
hand. Recall that Jesus had just asked
them if it was lawful to good on the Sabbath, even if this involved “work.” Recall that the Pharisees regarded Him with
stony silence, for to speak at this point would have invalidated their
position. Instead, they were silent, and
irritatingly so.
Another example was immediately after His resurrection, as He assumed the
role of the mysterious stranger who suddenly joined himself to two of the
disciples as they walked the road to Emmaus in Luke 24. They were sad and walked heavily. When the
“stranger” enquired about this, the two told him about Jesus’ crucifixion and
about their crushed hopes that He would deliver Israel. At this point, Christ says to them, Luke
24:25-27:
“Then he said unto them, O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the
prophets have spoken: 26
Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into his
glory? 27 And beginning at
Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the
things concerning himself.” Christ actually used the word “fools” here.
The difference here is in this situation, Jesus’ anger was used for
instruction. We don’t even believe He was really angry here, but He gently
upbraided the disciples for their failure to “connect the dots”, so to speak,
concerning all prophecy and Himself. In
the case of the Pharisees, Christ was angry because of their sinful
obstinancy. They simply would not let
themselves see the inherent good in the situation at hand, but instead clung to
a ritualistic precept for its own sake. Recall
Christ’s comment about man not being made for the Sabbath, but the Sabbath being
made for man, in Mark 2.
The point is that Christ was never angry with intent to do harm. He did not
become angry through hate and wish to destroy. If there was ever a case of
righteous or justified anger, only Christ exhibited it. As incredible as it may
seem, Christ was angry without sin. How
man of us can say that?
As an aside, this priest does ponder the magnificence of Christ’s life in
this respect: how could a man, any man, go through this life without sin? We know the theological reasons why Christ
could not sin, namely that He was born without the taint of original sin,
because He not born of the seed of Adam.
Thus, through His immaculate conception, Christ’s seed came from God and
not man. Imagine being born without the inclination to sin. Imagine that… This
does not mean that Christ was not tempted as we are, for the Word of God tells
us that. Yet, He was without sin. It is
amazing and it has to be one of the reasons we worship the Christ, perfect man
and perfect God.
Christ has a final word about anger, worship, and our acceptance before
God. He tells that if we have a quarrel with someone, or we realize that we
have a problem with another person, we should not attempt to make a sacrifice
or a gift to God unless we are reconciled. The ancient Jew usually offered a
lamb, a bullock, or some other animal as a sacrificial offering to God. He also gave money, as we witness from our
Lord’s parable of the widow’s mite, as she saw great and powerful men casting
in their offerings. These gifts and offerings were prescribed by the Law and
were meant to bring favor to the giver.
In the New Testament era, we do not have to offer animals anymore. There is no more need to shed animals’ blood,
as the One Perfect and Sufficient
Sacrifice has already been offered for us.
Yet, even so, we are called to make a sacrifice each time we worship in the
context of the Holy Communion. This sacrifice is personal, and it is one that
each person must make individually. This
is, of course, our “sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving.” This is the
outpouring of each individual soul as it rejoices in the presence of God though
holy worship. This is the sacrifice for
which God most cares, and it is precisely the one that He does not want to be
tainted with hatred, or malice, or ill will.
God desires our sacrifice to be as pure and holy as our fallen natures
will permit. While he knows our natures only too well, as he knows the number
of hairs we have on our heads, he wants us to strive towards the purest and
finest sacrifice we can give. If we come to church angry, or become angry
during the service, all we can give is a
tainted sacrifice. Surely, this is not pleasing to God.
It all begins with our orientation in love. Are we striving to love God
with all whole heart, mind, soul and strength?
Are we striving to love our neighbor as ourselves?
That is a question we can only answer individually, in the recesses of our
own souls. May this happen, as we surrender to the Spirit and seek His will and
His peace in our lives.
In the Name of the Father and of the
Son and of the Holy Ghost.
AMEN.
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