All of us get angry. It is a part of being human. Unfortunately, when I was a child, I was taught in religion class that to be angry is a sin. That is baloney. Having angry feelings is a part of being human and we can’t keep them from coming. What is important is how we handle the anger and what we do with it. There is destructive anger and constructive anger. Let’s look at them:
Destructive anger: if someone cuts me off in traffic and almost causes me to hit parked cars, I am going to feel angry. I have been threatened and anger is a natural response. There is no sin in that. It is what I DO with the anger that is important. If I engage in road rage, if I get out a gun and shoot the person, that is allowing the anger to be destructive and is sinful. But if I manage to control myself, if I can remind myself that I have done stupid things in the past, and if I manage to say a prayer for the person, I have channeled my anger to be constructive. Bottom line: anger isn’t the sin, but rather what we do with it. In our Gospel, Jesus gives us another example of constructive anger, that is, being angry that the poor and vulnerable are being abused by those in power. The poor had to bring doves for sacrifice. Upon inspection, they would be declared imperfect and the people would have to buy other ones at an exorbitant price. They also had to exchange their money for special temple money, again at exorbitant prices. And, of course, this was allowed because the religious leaders got bribes or kickbacks. Jesus displayed constructive anger in our Gospel, doing his best to stop the scamming of the poor. It was the last straw that led the religious leaders to have him arrested and crucified. A modern reflection of this is those whose anger at racial discrimination led them to participate in the civil rights movement. My friends, it is important to understand that anger is not the problem: it is what we do with the anger. When someone confesses to me that they were angry, I ask them “why” and “how did you handle it?” That gets to the crux of the issue. When someone confesses that they got angry and hurt someone, I know they are understanding the real issue. I invite us to reflect this week on how we do at handling anger. We all will get angry; there is no way around that. Making sure we respond in a constructive way is the challenge we have to rise to, as disciples of Jesus. With the help of God, we can do it. Church sign of the week: Love difficult people. You are one of them.
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