BE ANGRY, BUT DO NOT SIN

A little old lady was on her way home from church one Sunday morning when a rather youthful, but very earnest policeman stopped her for speeding.
“Good morning, ma’am. Do you know you were going 75 mph in a 55 mph zone?”
Angry at this unwanted interruption, the lady offered no response.
“Ma’am, can I see your license and registration?”
“My license was suspended 6 months ago for a few DUIs. The car is stolen, so I don’t have the registration.”
“Ma’am,” the officer says incredulously, “you stole this car?”
“Yep. I had to transport the dead body in the trunk.”
The officer draws his gun, takes a step back and says sternly, “Ma’am, please step out of the car.”
The lady steps out of the car while the officer calls for back up.

Within minutes, four police cars envelop the lady and her car. While the other officers remain in close range with their guns drawn, a senior officer approaches the lady,
“Ma’am, this officer says you have no license and registration.”
“Oh, they’re in my purse . . . if you care to look,” comes the nonchalant reply.
The senior officer checks her purse, and sure enough, he finds her license and registration.
“Ma’am, this officer says that you have a dead body in the trunk of your car.”
“Well, why don’t you take a look,” the lady says offhandedly.
The officer opens the trunk and is amazed to see how neatly its contents – minus a dead body – are arranged.

Looking very flustered, the junior officer tries to defend himself. “Sir, I swear she . . .”
Her eyes blazing with anger, the lady interjects, “Liar!” Turning her back on him, she smiles warmly at the senior officer and purrs, “I bet the liar told you I was speeding too.”

The moral of the story: “Never Mess with A Little Old Lady.”

Although most contemporary scholars do not think that Paul wrote the Letter to the Ephesians, the actual author conveys – with as insightful a mind as Paul’s – the fact that, whether or not it is justified, anger is a normal aspect of the human condition. So even though the letter likely was written sometime in the 8th decade of the Common Era, its teaching on anger is as applicable

in the 21st as in the 1st century,
in the contemporary Middle East as in the ancient Near East,
in our Christian home as in their Jewish households.

If anger is a natural human response to actual or perceived injustice, what does the author’s assertion to “be angry” tell us about God? Is this a God who creates us with the capacity for feelings – even seemingly overwhelming, potentially out-of-control ones like anger – and then expects us to minimize, suppress or deny them? Or can it be that God may be inviting us to approach anger as a teacher – as one who teaches us about what’s happening in us, our relationships, our world?

In fact, I wonder if there are times when God is frustrated by complacently lukewarm “Christian” anger –

Lukewarm anger at the sight of an elderly man in tattered clothing, pushing a shopping cart filled with empty soda cans, wondering if he’ll be as lucky today as he was yesterday – that blessed day when he discovered a half-eaten sandwich in the corner trash can?

Lukewarm anger at the news of a pastor who “allegedly” impregnates one of his teenage parishioners, and then denies it – in spite of the DNA evidence – and continues to receive the support of several “loyal” parishioners – in spite of the DNA evidence?

Lukewarm anger at the sight of the pictures of fifteen young men between the ages of 18 and 37 – the latest U.S. soldiers to be killed in the “war on Iraq?”

But doesn’t God know how threatening anger can be. . .to us and to others? Isn’t it better to stifle it than to lose control? What if we express our anger and bad things happen? Well, bad things are happening while some of us – self included – fine tune the pros and cons of expressing our anger.

But how do we express our anger and still be “good Christians?” The author guides us in our quest by reminding us to “be angry . . . but do not sin.” Sin – separating ourselves from God – somehow makes room for the enemy to enter. Aligning ourselves with the enemy – out of fear, hatred, or a desire for revenge – places us under the control of the enemy. And, as most of us have noticed, the enemy’s goal is to destroy God’s creation. The consistently escalating crisis in the Middle East gives us a mere glimpse into raging hatred – the white hot fire that consumes everything in its path – one of the consequences of making room for the enemy.

So how do we make room for the enemy? According to the author, “by letting the sun go down on our anger.” Not literally as in, “I can’t be angry once it’s dark,” but metaphorically, as in “how long am I going to hold on to this anger - savoring it, feeding on it, becoming engorged with its venom.”

It’s hard to be nourished by God and hatred at the same time. And in that is the good news. It’s hard to be nourished by God and hatred at the same time. . . because whatever we feed on grows – becoming a part of who we are, shaping, forming or distorting us into people of the enemy or people of God.

If we choose to feed on God – without denying our feelings of anger – we become better equipped to engage in nonviolent resistance to evil – not by becoming doormats, or trusting those who are untrustworthy, or participating in our own victimization – but by choosing to trust that God is still in control of God’s world, that God can be trusted to bring forth justice, that God’s way is the way of life, and that we can make a positive difference in our world when we choose God’s ways –

When we learn the value of praying for our enemies
When we recognize the power inherent in repaying evil with good
When we believe the life-changing effects of conquering hate with love

But if we decide that hatred is stronger than love, then it will be.
If we think that evil is stronger than good, then it will be.
If we believe that violence is stronger than prayer, then it will be.

Not because they are – but because either we will not engage them or engage them in a lukewarm manner. But God is neither lukewarm nor evil. The enemy is evil, but, like God, he is not lukewarm. Both God and the enemy invite us to be on their team. The way of the latter leads to bitterness, violence, and death. The way of the former leads to peace, self-control and life. During a funeral service yesterday, a bus stopped in front of the cathedral. The ad on its side gave the address of a website – www.myboss.com –
Every time we are tempted to move from anger into sin, we are faced with that decision – who will be my boss – the enemy or God?