Anger Management

Bible Text: Deuteronomy 30:15-20, Matthew 5:21-37 | Preacher: Rev. Jenn Geddes |

In 1939 Harold Arlen and Yip Harburg were working on a musical score for an upcoming movie. Five minutes into the movie the main character fails to get her Aunt, Uncle and the farm hands to listen to an unpleasant story involving her beloved dog. Her Aunt replies in annoyance, “find yourself a place where you won’t get into any trouble.” Which prompts this character to break out into a song about leaving the black and white dull world of Kansas.  The fascinating fact about this song is that it was originally cut by the movie’s producer, Louis B. Mayer (formally of New Brunswick) who criticized the song for “slowing down the movie.” When Judy Garland’s voice coach heard that the song had been cut, he became irate and stormed into Mr. Mayer’s office demanding that the song be put back into the film. “Over the Rainbow” not only became Judy Garland’s signature song but the Recording Industry Association of America ranked it as the number one song of the 20th century. Imagine, if it had not been for the vocal coach’s anger this song would have been left on the cutting room floor. I share this story with you not only because it is an interesting tidbit for you to share at your next dinner party but because this song sings of a place where bluebirds fly and dreams come true and trouble melts like lemon drops, high above the chimney tops (that’s where you’ll find me).  It’s a song about ridding the world of all the division, anger, and frustrations and it is a song that was saved due to someone getting mad that it was cut. Sometimes anger is a good thing because it causes an action or reaction. Sometimes anger needs to be managed so that it does not cause harm. Today’s complicated Gospel passage is about anger and the Deuteronomy passage is about the choices that God places before us and  delves into God’s anger when we make the wrong choice.

As the people of Israel stood on the edge of the Jordan river and looked across to the land upon which they would settle I often wonder, did some of them get rather annoyed or angry that Moses broke out into a lengthy 3 part speech? Did they feel like his address was slowing down their progress in reaching the promised land? This land, a land of milk and honey, was where their troubles were expected to melt away like lemon drops…or at least that is what they had hoped. However, Moses’ lengthy speech makes it clear that only by choosing to follow the law will they be able to prosper.

The Book of Deuteronomy is a reiteration of the Law as found in the Book of Exodus and we are approaching the final stretch. As I mentioned in the introduction Moses is delivering this speech to the second generation. The first generation nearly reached this same point forty years earlier but forfeited the land because they feared the risk of following God over the Jordan. The result of their lack of trust was that, even though this first generation experienced God’s liberation from Egypt, they were denied the land and instead were forced to wander in the wilderness, in part because God got mad. As this book draws to a close so too do their years of wandering in the wilderness. They have endured forty years of wandering and along the way God provided for them but now Moses is reminding them that this future that they envision will not be just handed to them on a silver platter. These people will have choices to make and their choices matter. This is Moses’ exhortation to choose life. Several motifs are used to underscore what a faithful life in the land will look like; loving God, walking in God’s path and keeping the law. Moses is reminding them of their covenant.

It is this covenant that the prophets will consistently call upon whenever the people begin to stray. God promises that if they observe the commandments, live according to the decrees, walk in God’s ways then they will live and become numerous and the Lord will bless them. However, if their hearts turn away and they are led astray they will not live long in this land. Throughout the centuries of the Israelites living in Canaan, there were numerous times when the prophets told them they made the wrong choice and are being led astray and God gets angry. But in many ways this anger is required to solicit the return to the right relationship.

In anger management counselling it is not about suppressing anger. Anger is a normal, healthy emotion but like any emotion sometimes it can have a negative effect- particularly if anger is harming yourself or others. Anger management is about understanding why we are angry, what is lying behind this anger, and managing our responses. Although, I personally like the statement, “I wouldn’t have to manage my anger if people would manage their stupidity”. But then perhaps that is getting at the heart of Jesus’ words.

Jesus would have been an outstanding anger management coach. The verses from our Gospel passage deal with complex interactions where emotions could easily escalate. And because emotions are complex so too is this passage. Commentators often refer to verses 21 and 22 and other similarly formulated lines as “The Antitheses”because Jesus begins by saying, “You have heard it said that….but I say to you…” Jesus points out the literal law and then contrasts it with the appropriate response to the law. These verses provide a specific illustration of the “fulfilling” of the Law of which Jesus speaks and to which he calls us to live. What is important however, is that these statements that Jesus makes are not antithetical to the Law. Rather Jesus shows concern for inner attitudes and motives as well as outward observable behaviour.

Clearly Jesus saw that some of his followers, certainly the religious leadership, had no problem criticizing others as fools, trading insults and getting worked up, calling other people’s behaviour, stupid.  He then points out that of course it is a crime to commit murder and the penalty for such a crime should be severe but what Jesus goes on to tell them is that words too can kill and if those insults hurt the other than the penalty for insults should be just as severe. Jesus teaches that how we interact with our neighbours matters. We can choose to live harbouring anger or frustrations or we can choose to make things right which only one leads to abundant life. Jesus’ advice is to lower tensions- and be mindful of what we say to others, whether in daily conversation or in what we choose to say about others. Jesus isn’t saying we can’t get angry- Jesus is saying that how we get angry matters.

In the here and now it is hard to imagine that we will ever reach a time or place where troubles and anger transform into trust and relationships. One only needs to look at comments from internet trolls who throw insults from the safety of their anonymity to know that words can have very harmful consequences.  It is even more difficult as we see how world leaders choose to name call and bully and they perpetuate the divisiveness by ramping up aggressive language. Jesus is clear that social interactions are best characterized by considerate comments and that there is no place for wild and unsubstantiated statements about others.  Jesus then takes it further by  raising the stakes and saying, reconciliation is a prerequisite not only for the kingdom of heaven but for coming before God in worship. We are not talking about some imaginary world over the rainbow but a future envisioned by Moses as he delivered his final speech and a reality taught by Jesus in his sermon on the mount. Yet, we are also painfully aware that there are times when our anger gets the best of us. The good news is that as we meet Christ week after week in our prayers and worship, in Word and sacrament, we thankfully receive grace and can begin again. Amen