By Amalraj A csc –
Readings: 2 Cor 3:15-4:1,3-6; Mt 5:20-26
In today’s gospel, Jesus says that the one who calls his brother a fool or a traitor will be liable for judgment, to the council, and to the hellfire. But the same Jesus got angry with people who changed the temple of God into a marketplace and scolded Peter harshly saying ‘get behind me Satan’ when he tried preventing the plan of God. We read several times about God getting angry with his chosen people. This prompts us to question ourselves if getting angry is good or bad.
I would say that getting angry is not at all a sin. At times, we need to get angry and express it for our betterment. The anger should be oriented towards betterment of humanity. It is good to get angry when witnessing an injustice taking place. It is a sin when we get angry for a personal cause as per the gospel reading. Getting angry for personal issues is not valid in the sight of God and such anger is condemned.
Showing unreasonable or inappropriate anger towards others will always lead to greater destruction. In such anger, either we or others will suffer. It is against such anger that today’s gospel reading warns us about.
When we let our desires control us, our lives can go wrong. It is in such moments that we can easily lose control over ourselves and our anger. We need to nurture self-control as one of the fruits of the Holy Spirit and have certain principles in our lives to be able to take control of ourselves without getting angry unnecessarily. We cannot make a promise that we will not get angry, and we cannot avoid the circumstances of getting angry. However, in all those moments we shall ask the question that the Lord asked Jonah, ‘Do I have a good reason to be angry?’