Get Angry with Jesus

When we are angry – which is a very easy emotion for human beings – it is important to take time to think through what is behind the anger. Is it fear, frustration, grief, fatigue, uncertainty, disappointment, helplessness, pain, anxiety, woundedness, loss of control? Any number of things lie at the root of our feelings and can masquerade as anger. Moses’ anger as he smashed the tablets of the Law stemmed from, I think, sadness and deep woundedness that people he trusted had failed him and failed the God he loved. Jesus’ anger as he lashed out at the money-changers in the temple was grounded in righteous indignation, as he was often indignant at what was unjust, greedy, hardhearted, hypocritical or lukewarm (that is, lacking in zeal for God).

There is much we can and should be angry about, righteously indignant – the fact that innocent people die in the violence and warfare in this world when we have the capacity to stop it. That people die of hunger, thirst and preventable diseases, when there are more than enough resources to go around. That there are such inequities in access to education, employment and technology that we create a permanent underclass in this country. The fact that so many are denied basic human rights because of their color, religion, language, gender, gender expression, or sexual orientation. These things should make us angry. We should get hot enough under the collar to say something, and not only say something, but do something. Especially if we purport to call ourselves Christians.

Get hot under the collar for Jesus  — Pastor Carol