#287 Anger Issues

I've been thinking about anger quite a lot over the last week. On Sunday I preached from Matthew 5:21-26, which begins like this: "You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘You shall not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’ But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to a brother or sister, ‘Raca,’ is answerable to the court. And anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of hell." Jesus interprets God's commandment against murder by teaching us that God wants us to get rid of the anger that's at the root of murder.

Jesus really doesn't give us much wiggle room here. He tells us that we're sinning if we're angry at someone else and so we deserve God's judgment. Now—before you object—it's true that Jesus doesn't mean to condemn absolutely all anger. There are examples of Jesus being appropriately angry, and the book of Ephesians instructs Christians not to sin in our anger, which implies that anger can be justified. But it seems that appropriate anger is extremely difficult to find. When Jesus gets angry, it seems to be about others being mistreated and not about Him being upset about what's happening to Him. He never loses control of His anger, and He doesn't stay angry for long. (That same passage from Ephesians also instructs Christians not to let the sun go down while we're angry.)

I know that I often want to excuse and explain my anger. Sure, I lost my cool, but do you know what he said to me? Yes, my words were harsh, but she had been aggravating me. Maybe I was spiteful, but they ruined my dinner or undid all that work I'd done. I want to believe that what I feel is right. But Jesus demolishes my excuses. Sometimes my feelings are not just wrong but sinful. I'm responsible for my reactions and responses; I don't get to blame others for my behavior. And even if I somehow have a legitimate reason to become angry, that doesn't give me the right to stay angry. If I'm angry at someone else, I'm already starting to murder her or him in my heart. I need to turn away from my sin to God.

I don't know how we can read Jesus' words and not be convicted. I don't know how we can look inside ourselves and not find sinful anger there. We can't save ourselves. We need Jesus to forgive us. We need Jesus to transform us and help us avoid anger. Thankfully, Jesus understands our temptation to anger. He not only calls us to way of perfect righteous, but He also goes on to give us a way forward when we fail and find ourselves in the midst of anger: reconcile. He tells to let go of our anger and make peace. Jesus' words aren't easy to live out, but He teaches us the path of life, the way that He Himself lived. I don't know about you, but I need to keep on working on following Jesus, and I need to keep asking for His forgiveness and help.

Grace and peace,

BMH

#286 Calvin and God

I've spent the last few months reading John Calvin's Institutes of the Christian Religion (Battle's translation of the 1559 edition if you care). Calvin has long been a favorite theologian of mine. When I was in seminary, I read large portions of the Institutes, particularly in my systematic theology courses, but with workload limits and the need to read other authors as well, we didn't get through the entire work. So I decided now was the time to go through the whole thing. I tried not to read too much at a time—no more than a chapter in one sitting—so that I could absorb and learn from my reading as much as possible. This seemed to be a solid strategy, though it did mean it took me a while to get through the two volumes.

Looking back, I think the thing that stands out to me most is just how big Calvin's view of God is. Calvin emphasizes God's control over all things, how He rules all events with His good will. And Calvin also stresses the immensity of God's grace, explaining salvation as only God's work from beginning to end. Now Calvin certainly isn't alone in thinking this way, but you can't help but notice how absolutely unwilling Calvin is to take anything away from God's greatness. Calvin would rather talk about God working out His purposes than about human freedom because he won't let us think our choices are able to thwart or be outside of God's plans. He'll emphasize our sinfulness and weakness again and again so that we don't trust ourselves in the least but only look to Christ to forgive us and make us new.

Hearing that we're broken and fallen and not in control, that we deserve death and hell for our sins is not pleasant. But hearing that God doesn't leave anything to chance, that He loves human beings and adopts them as His own just because He wants to, that He'll never let anything snatch His people out of His hands is beyond comforting. Such a big God is mysterious and mind-boggling, but only such a big God can give us the assurance that we are secure in Him, no matter what may come. Only such a big God can guarantee eternal salvation for mortal and morally deficient people. As further evidence of His love, this God stoops down to our level and communicates with us again and again in terms we can understand through the Scriptures and the sacraments. Only this great and gracious, infinite and tender God could be worth giving our selves to and living our lives for. Calvin talks about God in a way that fills us with awe and love and trust and devotion. I hope that my life and my teaching reflect such a high view of God.

Grace and peace,

BMH

#285 Girl Trouble

As the father of two young daughters, sometimes I just want them to sit on my lap and snuggle up to me. All the games and stories and stuff are fun, but once in a while it's nice to have them simply be with me. So when Lanie or Mia says she wants to do something with me, I'll often respond, "Snuggle?" Without fail, my suggestion gets shot down. So I've gotten in the habit of asking, "Why does Daddy have these little girls if none of them are going to snuggle with me?" Lanie and Mia normally just laugh it off, but now the joke seems to be on them. Tess and I found out we're expecting a baby boy. My girls—Mia especially—were disappointed by the news. (Mia actually asked Tess if she could change the baby to a girl for her.) But I'm telling them that this is what happens when they refuse to snuggle up to their daddy: they get a brother.

Grace and peace,

BMH