Anger

Epiphany 6A, February 13, 2011


Matthew 5:21-37
"You have heard that it was said to those of old, 'You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.' But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, 'You fool!' will be liable to the hell of fire. So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift. Come to terms quickly with your accuser while you are going with him to court, lest your accuser hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the guard, and you be put in prison. Truly, I say to you, you will never get out until you have paid the last penny.
"You have heard that it was said, 'You shall not commit adultery.' But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body go into hell.
"It was also said, 'Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.' But I say to you that everyone who divorces his wife, except on the ground of sexual immorality, makes her commit adultery. And whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.
"Again you have heard that it was said to those of old, 'You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform to the Lord what you have sworn.' But I say to you, Do not take an oath at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God, or by the earth, for it is his footstool, or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. And do not take an oath by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black. Let what you say be simply 'Yes' or 'No'; anything more than this comes from evil."

Every society has laws. The two basic laws perhaps are against murder and against theft: the Fifth and Seventh Commandments. "You shall not murder. You shall not steal." The Sixth Commandment about adultery is stealing someone else's spouse. The Eighth Commandment about false witness is stealing or murdering someone's reputation, which can cause financial or bodily harm. The Ninth Commandment about coveting the neighbor's house is about stealing in a way that seems legal.

It is possible to keep the Ten Commandments in their broad understanding. A person can live their whole life and never murder or steal or cheat on their spouse or lie in court. But Jesus says that life in the Kingdom of God is deeper. It is not just the outward appearance and behavior of a person that is important. God sees the heart. God knows the mind. Every thought, word, and deed is important to God. In Matthew 22:37 Jesus said, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind." God does not just want just lip service or empty ritual, he wants worship from the heart and life from love. When asked "Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?" 37 Jesus replied: "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself. 40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments." Love is something of the heart, and yet, it is something we can see in our daily lives. It is something that God wants in our lives.

This is what Jesus meant in the Sermon on the Mount. He said, "You have heard that it was said to those of old, 'You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.' But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, 'You fool!' will be liable to the hell of fire." Why are anger and hate so bad? It is because anger and hate want to kill someone. In our hearts we wish the other person would just die, drop dead, and disappear from our lives. Hate cuts the ties we have with others. It kills our relationship. When we insult someone, we are hurting the other person. We may not be breaking their bones, as the old saying goes, but we are trying to hurt a person's heart and soul. And those pains can often be more sever. When we call someone an idiot or a fool, or a word that must not be spoken in church or by a pastor, we are saying that person is an inferior human being, a person not being worthy of saved by Jesus Christ. Jesus says that if we judge other people and curse and condemn them to hell, then we ourselves will be judged and liable to the hell of fire that we condemn others to.

Then Jesus said, "You have heard that it was said, 'You shall not commit adultery.' But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body go into hell. It was also said, 'Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.' But I say to you that everyone who divorces his wife, except on the ground of sexual immorality, makes her commit adultery. And whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery." Here again it is not just the outward actions, it is the attitude of the heart that Jesus condemns. Jesus has a very high view of marriage. And he wanted to protect the dignity and honor of all people. Such dignity and honor come from love. And therefore the thoughts of our hearts are made pure by love. What we see and how we see others are important. Jesus knew the human heart. Jesus knew that it is hard for people to control what they see and how they feel and how they react. It might be easier to pluck out your eye or cut off your hand than to control the passions of the heart. But Jesus says the consequences are that the whole body goes to hell.

Martin Luther in the Small Catechism explains the Fifth and Sixth Commandments.

The Fifth Commandment You shall not murder.

What does this mean? We should fear and love God so that we do not hurt or harm our neighbor in his body, but help and support him in every physical need.

The Sixth Commandment You shall not commit adultery.

What does this mean? We should fear and love God so that we lead a sexually pure and decent life in what we say and do, and husband and wife love and honor each other.

The explanation of all the Commandments begin with the words, "We should fear and love God." And this is the key to understand the words of Jesus. The fear of God means that we fear the fire of hell. That may keep us from murder and from calling someone a fool. That may keep us from adultery and keep our passions in check. But it is the love of God which moves us to keep the Commandments in the wonderful way that Jesus would have us do.

It is the love of God. It is both that God loves us and that we love God.

It is the love of God that shows that God cares about this world. He cares that people are not murdered or harmed. He wants people to be secure both in their body and in their minds. He wants people's dignity to be honored. Therefore name-calling and hate and anger and judging are out of place. This love is shown in that God loved us so much that he sent his Son to show us what love is. He took our death upon himself. He gave us life and the promise of eternal life. He does not call us bad names, rather, in Baptism he gives us the Holy Name of the Triune God—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. We become members of the family of God. And so Jesus protects human families. He encourages spouses to be faithful to each other. He discourages divorce. He forbids adultery and impure thoughts and behaviors. He encourages love at the most intimate of human relationships.

We are guided in our Christian lives by fear and love. This is because we are at the same time sinners and saints. And we realize that we are saved from the fire of hell, not because of what we do, but because of what Jesus has done. He went through the fire of hell for us. He died on the cross. Then he triumphantly descended into hell to conquer the devil. Then he triumphantly arose on the third day. This is the faith that saves us. This is the faith we live by. This is the faith that can turn hatred into love and keep us faithful to those whom we love.

Amen.

Michael Nearhood, Pastor
Okinawa Lutheran Church

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