Creative Anger Resolution

Devotional Reflection, Thursday, April 25, 2024

The week of the fourth Sunday of Easter

The Rev. David W. Perkins, Th.D.

Key phrases for reflection from today’s Gospel reading:

23So when you are offering your gift at the altar, if you remember that your brother or sister has something against you, 24leave your gift there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother or sister, and then come and offer your gift.

You will find the full text of today’s Gospel at the end of this reflection.

Daily Office Lectionary Readings (BCP, 961)

AM Psalm 50; PM Psalm [59, 60] or 114, 115

Exod. 34:1-17; 1 Thess. 2:13-20; Matt. 5:21-26

Today we celebrate the  Feast of Mark the Evangelist (See below)

David’s Reflections

Jesus said in Matt. 5:17 that he came to fulfill Law and Prophets (the Hebrew Bible or Old Testament).  That phrase “to fulfill” has tantalized and puzzled biblical commentators.  Just what DID he mean?

Matthew gives us a clue to his understanding of “to fulfill” in the way he arranges the sayings that follow verse 17.  Matthew’s Sermon on the Mount collects sayings of Jesus from a variety of contexts around the theme of discipleship (Luke’s sermon, for example, is half as long and some of the sayings we find in Matthew 5-7 are scattered elsewhere in Luke.)  So, at least we are given a hint here about what the author of this Gospel understood by fulfill.

Here Jesus refers to one of the Ten Commandments, the command against murder.  He deepens and stretches the reach of that commandment by addressing the underlying roots of murder, unresolved anger and contempt for the other person.

Lines from Blake’s poem, “A Poison Tree,” come to mind.

I was angry with my friend;

I told my wrath, my wrath did end.

I was angry with my foe;

I told it not, my wrath did grow.*

Perhaps Blake had this passage and similar ones from Jesus’ teaching in mind.  Jesus plainly tells us that the keys to dealing with anger are resolution and reconciliation.  If we have wronged someone, we are not blithely to assume that our worship can proceed unhindered with a tattered human relationship in the mix.  Our relationship with God is all tied up in our relationships with one another, and the way we treat another is the way we treat Christ present in that other.

Do you not find Jesus’ realism appealing?  It is as if he were saying to us that anger happens in human relationships.  That’s a given.  The trick is not to avoid anger;  the trick is to acknowledge the inevitable and to take the risk of vulnerability, of openness.  If we have wronged another (here) or been wronged by another (Matthew 18), we are to take the initiative to seek the removal of that barrier and the healing of that breach.

Do you not suspect that if we level with God about the amending work we need to do and about the anger we may be harboring against others, that God will respond with compassion and will pour out love within us to enervate us for the risky and painful work of healing?  What blocks the flow of our love toward another also blocks the flow of God’s love to us.  The barrier is from our side, not God’s.  Once we acknowledge that block between another and us and seek divine grace to remove it, we have in that moment removed the barrier between God and us.

If the other rejects our initiative, the challenge then becomes keeping our heart open and not allowing their alienation to control our response. God becomes our model here and our source, our model in that God maintains openness and love for us throughout our periods of alienation. God becomes our source by continuing to nurture and pour love into our hearts. Jesus models a nonviolent response to the destructiveness of others. When he prayed from the cross, “Father, forgive them,” he embodied God’s way of responding to evil.

According to Blake, the alternative to telling our wrath is watching it grow into a poison tree that will have devastating impact on us and on the other.  That seems to be Jesus’ point in today’s reading.  I can think of all sorts of reasons to take whatever risks are demanded to avoid that negative outcome.  What reasons come to mind for you?

The one caveat here relates to abusive relationships. If you have fled from a relationship because you were being emotionally or physically abused, you will have to do this work from a distance with no hope of saving the relationship. Your aim will be to become free of the history and the wounding, free of those as connections to the abuser. Welcome God’s healing love for the healing of those wounds and of the memories of the wounding. The memories will linger but their ability to re-wound will be healed.

* William Blake, Blake:  Complete Writings:  With Variant Readings.  Ed.  Geoffrey Keynes (London:  Oxford, 1969), p.  218.

Collect of the Day, Fourth Sunday of Easter

O God, whose Son Jesus is the good shepherd of your people; Grant that when we hear his voice we may know him who calls us each by name, and follow where he leads; who, with you and the Holy Spirit, lives and reigns, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. (BCP, 225)

Today we celebrate the  Feast of Mark the Evangelist.

http://www.satucket.com/lectionary/Mark.htm

Collect of the Feast of Mark the Evangelist

Almighty God, by the hand of Mark the evangelist you have given to your Church the Gospel of Jesus Christ the Son of God: We thank you for this witness, and pray that we may be firmly grounded in its truth; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

A Collect for Guidance

O God, whose Son Jesus is the good shepherd of your people;  Grant that when we hear his voice we may know him who calls us each by name, and follow where he leads; who, with you and the Holy Spirit, lives and reigns, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.  (BCP 100)

A GAELIC PRAYER

As the rain hides the stars,

As the Autumn mist hides the hills,

As the clouds veil the blue of the sky,

So the dark happenings of my lot

Hide the shining of thy face from me.

Yet, if I may hold thy hand in the darkness,

It is enough.

Since I know, that though I may stumble in my going

Thou dost not fall.

(Theme prayer for the congregation of the Saxon Church of Escomb, England

Church constructed in 670-690 CE and still the site of worship for the parish.  The visitor's handbook attributes some of the architectural features to Irish Celtic influence.  Source: The Saxon Church: Escomb: A Guide for Pilgrims.  The Saxon Church.  Escomb, Durham County, England.)

In the Evening

O Lord, support us all the day long, until the shadows lengthen, and the evening comes, and the busy world is hushed, and the fever of life is over, and our work is done. Then in thy mercy, grant us a safe lodging, and a holy rest, and peace at the last. Amen.   (BCP, 833)

A Collect for Mission

O God and Father of all, whom the whole heavens adore: Let the whole earth also worship you, all nations obey you, all tongues confess and bless you, and men and women everywhere love you and serve you in peace; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. (BCP, 124)

Daily Office Gospel, Matthew 5:21-26

21 ‘You have heard that it was said to those of ancient times, “You shall not murder”; and “whoever murders shall be liable to judgment.” 22But I say to you that if you are angry with a brother or sister, you will be liable to judgment; and if you insult a brother or sister, you will be liable to the council; and if you say, “You fool,” you will be liable to the hell of fire.  23So when you are offering your gift at the altar, if you remember that your brother or sister has something against you, 24leave your gift there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother or sister, and then come and offer your gift. 25Come to terms quickly with your accuser while you are on the way to court with him, or your accuser may hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the guard, and you will be thrown into prison. 26Truly I tell you, you will never get out until you have paid the last penny.

Daily Offices in The Book of Common Prayer

Morning Prayer, Rite 2, page 75, The Book of Common Prayer

Noonday Prayer, page 103, Book of Common Prayer

Order of Worship for Evening (Vespers), p 109, Book of Common Prayer

Evening Prayer, Rite 2, page 115, Book of Common Prayer

Compline (Night Prayer), page 127, Book of Common Prayer

Daily Devotionals, page 136, Book of Common Prayer