Anger is a natural part of human life. In scripture, we see many examples of anger. Psalm 145:8 sings, “The Lord is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.” The text does not say that God is never angry. The psalmist reminds us that we have a loving, gracious, and merciful God, who also can be angry. A natural part of the true depth of life is anger.
Jesus famously overturned the tables in the temple–in anger. Jesus’ anger is triggered by injustice. In flipping the tables, he calls into question practices that were embedded into the culture of the temple. That culture could not be sustained without the exchange of currency and the selling of animals for sacrifice.
Like all human beings created in God’s image, we are faced with anger. Anger is not to be ignored, but instead can be seen as an invitation to be united in and ignited with a passion for justice. What we do with it is a response to God’s grace.
This message is excerpted from “You’ve got me feeling emojis” by Kristin Glass Perez in the June 2017 Cafe; online magazine.
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