Sermon on the Mount
“Don't make me angry”
There is a movie entitled “Minority Report.” It is set in the future and in this futuristic setting there is a police task-force that has the ability to solve murder before it happens. So they rush to a scene and arrest a suspect just before they commit the murder. Then the full force of the law is brought to bear as if they had actually committed the crime. It’s the stuff of movies. Fiction and could never happen. Kind of a bit crazy. Imagine that. Being taken to court and found guilty for a crime you didn’t commit. Well – you might have intended to – but you didn’t actually go through with it. That’s hardly fair! But – as I say – at least its fiction. Just the stuff of movies.
Who would ever take you to court and lay charges against you for the thoughts and attitudes that you harbour? Thoughts and attitudes that could lead to a crime so to speak? Fiction isn’t it?
There is a radical thought coming through here. Jesus reaches back to the Law and recites the commandments about not commiting murder. At one level its pretty obvious stuff. Why wouldn’t murder be prohibited? It’s great that God is on the case. No argument there. But now – Jesus – the “Fulfiller of the Law” comes along and says “You have heard it said “You shall not commit murder” but I say to you that if you are angry with a brother or sister you have a case to answer. You are charged with murder.” Now in advancing the intent of the Law (love) He is challenging the intent of our hearts. Anger constitutes murder. And for that “crime” we find ourselves on trial.
With murder as the reference point – Jesus goes on to state that if anyone is angry with a brother or sister they are liable to judgement; if someone calls someone Raca (empty-head; blockhead) they will go before the council; if they call someone a “fool” they are liable to hell. One thing is clear. No one in Israel was ever going to be taken to court because they were angry. Yet here Jesus is saying it as if that was the case. That anger is enough to have you before the courts – and worse still – in danger of hell. Jesus is saying, such an attitude will have you in God’s court. It is above the human level.
There appears to be a scale of increasing seriousness and progression as Jesus says if you are angry, then its judgement; if you say “Raca” then it’s the council; if you say “Fool” its hell. Its best to just step back and view it all as anger is punishable. Anger towards a brother or sister in Christ means you have a case to answer. It is murderous and in the courts of God will be treated as such.
Now anger is a fact of life. And in and of itself – as an emotion – anger is not sinful. It’s what you do with it that determines whether it becomes a problem. Whether it is a sin. Anger can be expressed in different ways – obviously. Some of us explode with anger; some of us simmer with anger. Sometimes anger is close to the surface because of tiredness or stress in life. When our reserves are low and we can’t cope anymore. Some of us are blind to our anger.
About ten years ago I was in a pastoral care workshop as part of my training. And as part of the discussion I referred to an incident that happened to me when I was about six years old. And the facilitator excitedly turned to the rest of the group and exclaimed “Did you see the anger?! Did you see the anger?!” And the rest of the group all nodded in rapt agreement. I sat there stunned saying “What?! What anger?!” I hadn’t felt anger; I maintained I wasn’t angry but that was a moment of insight and I was able to deal with it. Thirty years after the event.
For some anger is a deep and enduring issue. It dominates their life and controls them. It scares them and it scares others. The process and working through anger issues can be painful and complex. And for all this, what Jesus has in view is the situation when you are angry at a brother or sister in Christ. And your anger is taking the form of attitudes which result in passionate and “meaningful” name calling which is violent in essence, and murderous in intent.
What to do? How as Christians do we handle anger? How do we somehow break the cycle? How is this anger resolved? How do we avoid a court appearance – so to speak? How can you manage anger?
Jesus is masterful. You don’t even see the solution coming. Having established that anger is a murderous offence; having gotten our attention about the seriousness with which God views it – Jesus now counsels and directs what we are to do about it. He begins to talk about the context of worship; and the context of a civil lawsuit. Or to put it another way - He talks about anger with a Christian brother or sister; and anger with someone who is not a Christian. Both are situations to be dealt with. So how do we handle “anger”? Did you notice the shift in Jesus’ teaching? It’s so seamless I didn’t notice it. I needed a commentator to draw my attention to it.
Jesus makes the shift from pointing out “my” anger (Matt 5:21-22) to “their” anger (Matt 5:23-26).
The problem is described by speaking about my anger; the solution is found in engaging with people those who I have angered. Or to be more pointed – having described the problem in terms of “me being offended”; the solution lies in “me attending to those who I have offended.” From “who has offended me?” to “whom have I offended?”
To borrow and adapt the quote from JFK – “Don’t ask what can be done for me; ask what can I do for others.” Isn’t that just typical of Kingdom living. Jesus calls us to do look to others and serve them. Isn’t that typical! We initiate the reconciliation.
So taking the examples Jesus gives – here you are in a worship service. And here we are talking about the issue of anger and the seriousness with which Jesus takes it. Here today we consider that it is tantamount to murder insofar as trying to fulfil the Law by loving others. And having absorbed that, we consider what to do next about “my anger.” So we begin to draw towards the end of this sermon, and we sing the final song and it would probably seem to be the thing to do would be invite members of the prayer ministry team up the front; and extend an invitation to any one here who would like to come forward and have prayer for their anger problem.
That sounds like a plan. A good plan. Except – Jesus is suggesting an entirely different kind of altar call isn’t He? Instead of approaching the altar, He suggests that you leave it and go and be reconciled to the one who is angry at you. To the one you have offended. Here the altar call is not “If this morning you believe you need to attend to anger please come to the front”; it’s more “If this morning you believe you need to attend to anger would you please leave or turn to the person next to you and be reconciled.” Your anger, and attending to it, is secondary to your brother’s or sister’s anger. Maybe in reconciling with someone else, in disarming their anger, by apologising and healing – maybe something profound happens for us in that moment. Maybe somehow our anger is defused over time. Maybe I need to trust that the person who has caused me to be angry will also do what Jesus is calling for here.
The second example widens the call to be reconciled. Up until this point it has been located within the community of faith. But then Jesus begins to draw our attention to those who have been offended you are maybe not of faith. Who are taking you to court. It’s not an exercise in self-preservation. “Oooh! I better appease this person in case I lose the case.” It’s more about – “I had better humble myself and admit my error. I had better be reconciled.”
The two examples cover off the offended Christian brother and sister; the person who doesn’t profess a faith; and even – and maybe especially – your enemy. It just all seems to be around the wrong way doesn’t it. But this is the business end of what Jesus means when He talks about fulfilling the Law. This is the business end of loving your neighbour. This is what it looks like to be the salt of the earth and the light of the world. This is the fruit of living as people of the Kingdom who are desrcibed in the opening verses of the Sermon on the Mount. This is how the poor in spirit; the mourners; the peacemakers; the pure in heart; the meek etc – this is how they are called to live. In one sense – it’s not so especially spectatular is it? But here is where the Kingdom of Heaven breaks in. Here is where the grace of God transforms relationships and lives. Where life is lived incredibly differently.
Presented By: Rev. Geoff New