Be careful with anger

Matthew 5.20-26

I wonder when you last got angry about something, or someone, or were on the receiving end of someone else’s anger? Such times are uncomfortable because anger is a strong emotion. Our own anger can distort how we respond to a person or situation, and someone else’s anger towards us can make us defensive and hasty in our response. Anger has the potential to cloud the way we see things.

However, anger is not a sin. We know this because Jesus was the sinless one. As with temptation, anger is something that we all experience at various times in life, and therefore it is worth reflecting on how we deal with it. Anger can be a catalyst to help bring about positive change.

For example, anger about climate emergency may prompt us to get involved with environmental concerns; anger about the fact of so many people living in poverty might encourage us to help out at a foodbank or to agitate for change politically; anger about the mistreatment of asylum seekers and refugees might be the prompt to campaign on their behalf. Anger rightly channelled can be a force for good.

The flip side of anger can, of course, be hugely destructive in our relationships and to our personal wellbeing. When anger gets out of proportion it takes on a life of its own. Jesus warns against this in the gospel reading. He stresses the danger of anger and how easily it can get out of control, speaking of judgement if we allow our own anger to diminish the humanity of another person by disparaging them with insulting words.

If we are not careful, even the flame of righteous anger can become a raging and all-consuming fire. Jesus reminds us of the importance to always be on the lookout for reconciliation; to let go of our anger once we have recognised it and not allow it to take hold in us like a cancer. Never letting the sun go down on our anger might not always be possible, but it is certainly a good aspiration.

So, perhaps, a message to take away from today’s gospel reading is this: Anger can be a force that helps bring about positive change if it is generated in response to injustice; it can also be a devastating force that quickly gets out of hand, causing harm indiscriminately, if we allow it to continue unchecked. May each of us reflect on how we acknowledge, face up to, and manage the anger that life sometimes sparks in us.