Be Angry (But Do Not Sin)

Ephesians 4:25-5:2
Second Reading for the Twelfth Sunday after Pentecost (Year B)

My mind works in strange ways sometimes. I have been to seminary, have an M. Div., am ordained, etc. There are times when I read scripture and I think about the layers of context behind the words. Of civilizations long past and centuries of theological wrestling with the text.

And there are times when I think about a cartoon character. We’ll get to that in a moment.

I have never really been comfortable with the emotion of anger. I don’t know if I internalized the teaching from the Sermon on the Mount that being angry with someone is akin to murder. Or maybe it’s because I am a fairly even-tempered person who was raised to treat others with kindness. All I know is that it has always felt wrong to be angry.

Yet anger is a natural emotion. You cannot avoid it. And honestly if you don’t get angry about certain injustices in the world, then you might come across as uncaring. For example, if a follower of Christ was not angry when a person was dehumanized or treated like crap then what are they even doing? Even Jesus, who preached that line about anger and murder got angry at times so there is obviously more nuance to this whole anger thing.

I know all of this in my head yet it probably wasn’t until I saw a Pixar film that all of this began to connect with me. Inside Out and its sequel are well loved because of their ability to personify the many complex emotions which we experience. The first movie spends a great deal of time highlighting that we need all of our emotions. Sure, we want to be joyful all the time, but there are places for sadness, anger, fear, etc. We cannot just shut ourselves off from these parts of us. In fact, these emotions can actually help us in times of need. Fear keeps us alive, anger is tied to a sense of justice, and so forth.

So when I read the exhortation in Ephesians 4:26 “Be angry but do not sin,” I think of this fire-headed ball of rage perfectly voiced by Lewis Black. Scripture is reminding us that it is okay to be angry. Just don’t let the anger hijack your being and compel you to do something that will harm yourself and the people around you. Don’t repress your feelings and pretend that everything is fine when it is not. You can be angry. Just don’t let the anger take over.

This passage ends with the encouragement: “Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children, and walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.” We are to be bearers of Christ who experienced joy, sadness, anger, and the full range of human emotions yet grounded it all in love.

So I write this to myself as much as anyone else: It is okay to be angry or sad or whatever else. Don’t bottle it up, but move through it in a way that imitates Jesus as best as we can.