Jesus and Anger

Homily for the Twenty-Third Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C
Wisdom 9.13-18b Psalm 90 Philemon 9-10, 12-17 Luke 14.25-33

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It seems to me that if there is one emotion that is prevalent in our society these days more than anything else, it’s anger. We are an angry people, all around. Think about it. The struggling economy of the past few years has made virtually every US citizen angry at someone – we’re angry at politicians or corporate executives or banks for the mess we think they have gotten us into. At the same time, we find ourselves angry over things like the oil spill in the gulf, or health care reform, or the proposal to build a mosque near Ground Zero in Manhattan – whatever side of that issue you fall on. And our anger isn’t just directed at public controversies – it’s right in the middle of our personal relationships. Children are angry at parents whose marriages have fallen apart or who focus so much on work or play that they’re never home. Friends get angry with one another so easily over petty things. We’re angry at the doctor who’s always running late, at the teacher who seems to treat our child unfairly, at the coach who should have retired years ago, at the child away at college who never calls home. And when there’s so much anger in the air, it becomes almost natural to take out that anger on the drivers around us on the road who aren’t driving the way we think they should – or the cashiers in the grocery store who just don’t understand that we’re in a hurry – or the family member who constantly has to listen to us vent about everyone who makes us mad. We don’t have to look very far to see that anger is all around us.

Now, it’s true that some anger is justified. And it’s also true that anger is an emotion, a natural response – which means that, in and of itself, it’s neither good nor bad. It’s just there. But when anger becomes our dominant emotion – when it gets so powerful that we’re angry all the time – when anger turns into a deep seated rage or hate – well, then anger starts to control our lives. And that is not a good thing.

And on the surface, today’s gospel doesn’t seem to help. It sounds like Jesus is telling us – even requiring us – to be angry, to hate. And even more, he’s telling us that in order to follow him, we must hate our family and even our own life. Those are harsh words. And it doesn’t make sense coming from the same person who always tells us to love all people, all the time. What’s going on here?

It’s really all about priorities. If you think about it, anger most often comes when things don’t go our way, when something happens that is not the way we think it should happen. Sometimes we’re right and justified in that anger, sometimes we’re not. But the emotion itself comes from putting ourselves and our priorities and our desires first. The people or things we are angry at are less important than what I want. And I think that’s what Jesus is getting at. To follow him – to be a disciple – we have to put Jesus and his priorities first all the time. Everything and everyone else must be less important than Jesus. To hate our family or our own lives is not to be angry at them because of what they have done, it’s to recognize that they are less important in our lives than Jesus Christ. It’s all about priorities – Jesus first, then everyone else, ourselves included.

So what about all that anger? I bet, if we really put Jesus first in our lives, then most of the unproductive, pent up anger that has become so dominant in our society will go away. And once we calm down the powerful feelings of anger, then we will be able to work together constructively and peacefully to heal the brokenness in our families, in our relationships, and in our country. It’s all about priorities: Jesus first, then others, then yourself.