Holy Week and the Deadly Sin of Anger

Park UMC April 17 2011
The deadly sin of anger or wrath is all over the story that we just read.
and we can literally see just how deadly it can be
this is the deadly sin that leads to murder, vengeance and violence
Jesus is at least indirectly killed by an angry mob...or angry leaders.
but what is behind this wrathful anger?

it's usually about some unmet expectations
we get angry when we do not get what we want or what we expect.

but even before this final week this holy week story
there has been a buildup of anger this smoldering anger has been there all along

there has been anger in t he voices
of the of the religious leaders
who accuse Jesus of blasphemy
and for challenging their authority and power
they have been angry with Jesus because HE DID NOT FOLLW THE accepted rules of community
and who is in and who is out
who is worthy and who isn't
Jesus ATE WITH TAX COLELCTORS AND SINNER

AND SOEM PEOPE WERE ANGRY ABOTU THIS
AS IF HE WAS MAKIIGN THESE Commoners
..THESE SINNERS.. EQAUL TO THEM...and equal in the eyes of God

Jesus was not meeting there expectations of religious teaching or piety

now ON palm Sunday I SEE this PENT UP anger OF THE Crowds
it in the crowds shouting hosanna
this may seem to be a day of praise and celebration but we are mistaken
there is something in the back ground
HOSANNA MEANS SAVE US
saves us
WAHT THEY Meant WAS save us from the Romans
save s from these ungodly people
who occupy our land
save us
from the armies that t march though our towns
saves us
from the burdens and the corruption
from the tyrants who tax us UNFAIRLY and take our food
where the rich get richer and the poor get even less.
save us Jesus
save us now..
be the messiah Savior who will exercise the wrath of God. and bring justice
be the conquering hero...
you have got to hear that IN THE he palm Sunday crowd
it is what they hope...what they expect!
but this is not what Jesus will do
and so IN FEW DAYS we see anger again.
of unmet expectations
.wrath rage..vengeance retaliation
anger is in the crowd shouting crucify him
give us Barabbas instead
but crucify this Jesus

are they angry
because Jesus refuses to be that angry kind of a messiah
Jesus refuses to embody the wrath of God against the enemy
instead we HAVE Gotten the savior on a donkey
who says turn the other cheek
we get the savior
who said love your enemies
pray for those who persecute you
blessed are the peacemakers
we get the savior
shows us a path of forgiveness
and a path of the cross
we have got to get this point
Jesus does not give us the wrath of God. that
we think we want God to be and to do

Now I know that Jesus
Jesus did show a level of anger in his life
in mark 3:5 the people were more concerned with following the Sabbath law
than they were with healing the man with a withered hand
it said that Jesus got angry with t hem
when we make our laws
more important than the needs and wellbeing of others..
there is a place for anger
and the most the most famous scene of anger form Jesus
is when the he is driving the money changers
out of the temple
he saw this abuse of religious power
as if access to God had to be brokered
or when people were being taken advantage of there is sense of righteous anger
and its there when people are e left to hurt without compassion
when there is no sense of justice for the poor.
read the Hebrew prophets
s and wee too are invited into Gods anger
when the poor and the weak and the foreigners are oppressed
when religion and piety is used as pretense to cover our greed
and religious language is abused to cover our prejudices
yes there are things wrong with he world
enough to be anger about it
at least a righteous indignation.
but what
we are talking about here as deadly
is wrath
..anger that is out of control...gone too far..
that doesn't know when to stop
anger that forgets to keep some humility
that does not understand its limits
. anger without mercy
anger that really is not redemptive.
Because it is also clear in Christianity
that we cannot take the wrath of God into our own hands
that's the great insight that Paul gives us in Romans 12
where he says never avenge yourselves
leave room for the wrath of God
vengeance is mine says the lord..in other words
it's not in our human ability to do this
we can't make that judgment of vengeance.
step away from the wrath

Jesus himself gave several lessons warning us about anger
Ephesians 4: 6 also says be angry but do not sin
James 1:19-20… “Let everyone be quick to listen,
slow to speak, slow to anger;
for
your anger does not produce God’s righteousness
you anger..my anger... does not produce Gods righteousness!.
.what a powerful insight
this is trying was to teach us a different spirit
and behavior in life
a life e that is not ruled by anger..
even when we see it as moral crusade..watch out.
with the rise of fundamentalism today in so many religions including Christianity we need this warning
we are directed away from this destructive violent anger that can kill us
it kill s us internally and it leads to the violence
the cycle s of violence and retaliation
that our world can't seem to break out of .
and what we are ultimately shown and taught is that
wrath is not the will and character of God

because God will is life and God's character,
god s holiness is love
.we are told clearly in I John that God is love.
I'm remembering the story
Two monks were washing
down in the river

when they noticed a scorpion that was drowning
. One monk immediately scooped it up

and set it upon the bank

. In the process he was stung.

He went back to washing his bowl and again the scorpion fell in.

The monk saved the scorpion and was again stung.


The other monk asked him,

"Friend,
why do you continue to save the scorpion
when you know
it's nature is to sting?"

"Because," the monk replied, "to save it is my nature."


it may not be our character to save
and in fact tit may be our character to sting
but this steadfast love this mercy is the very character of god
and that the gospel I'm not making this up
and all you need to do is look at t he cross
Gods character is to save US .EVEN WHEN WE STING
that is the story of this holy week
but we should not be surprised because
we can back up all the way to the start of the story
in Luke's Gospel especially
we are being told right away that this Jesus story
will
not be about the wrath of God
oh yes
it will be about a revolution and a different reality
the last shall be first .....the first shall be last
read... Mary's song in the magnificent
the mighty will be brought low
the powerless will be lifted up
but the great gospel is about peace
the shepherds at Christmas hear the words...of peace on earth..
peace is our gospel..not wrath.
.God we are told comes to us in good will
that's the message of all our strained and differing doctrines s of atonement
are simply trying to say that we are at peace . God is not at war with us.
God has made peace with us

atonement at one ment..

if God's wrath needed satisfaction
however you want to understand it..
it's done..
and we are invited to believe it, God has made peace..
so as you enter the story of holy week
can you accept a peaceful God as your God..your Lord and Savior..
we too are invite to follow Jesus.
. face your own expectations and struggles with anger
we too are invited to see Jesus
who will not embody or call out the wrath of God on us
even when we cry out in anger crucify him
or when we betray him as Judas did
when we pull out a sword as Peter did or deny him as peter did ..
run a way as the disciples did
with all of that...
.still ...we do not see the wrath of God
even when we strike out against god..
in the death of Jesus ....
the response of Jesus...
to all of this was
father forgive them
they do not know what they are doing

where is the wrath of God in this story?
Jesus and his cross tells us that mercy ...forgiveness is the way
not wrath
love is the way
not vengeance
salvation is the way... not destruction
Jesus saves us from our own anger

I believe the idea of an angry God is meant to die at the cross
Gods anger ends at the cross
Your mediation for the week is this
look at the cross .what do you see?
do you see God's wrath ?
or a God of grace
then,,, take up your cross and follow him.
being set free day by day from the deadly sin of wrath