Tag: Anger

Sacrifice & Forgiveness

The Twelfth Day of Christmas!

We are reminded today that Jesus not only came to fulfill the prophecies of the Old Testament, but also to undo the Fall of humanity. The loss of Eternal Paradise by our First Parents came through sin, and death became its result. “This is the message you have heard from the beginning: we should love one another, unlike Caine who belonged to the Evil One and slaughtered his brother.” (NAB, 1JN 3:11-12) Murder is clearly a sin and violation of the Law, but Jesus brought us a new Law of Love, where even the sin of anger, the basis and motivation behind murder, leads to the same judgment: “But I say to you, whoever is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment.” (MT 5:22) “Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life remaining in him.” (1JN 3:15)

The Gospel of Jesus Christ IS the Gospel of Love, for Jesus is himself love eternal. We are all sinners and rightly deserve death, but we, as children of God, have received the Good News of Jesus with certainty, and “we know that we have passed from death to life because we love our brothers. The way we came to know love was that he laid down his life for us; so we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. Let us love not in word or speech but in deed and truth.” (3:14, 16, 18)

We have been culturally deceived by childhood movies and fairy tales, along with our cultural norms, into believing love should not entail sacrifice, that it’s supposed to be “happily ever after,” but the Truth of love can be found in the Passion of our Lord, in reflecting upon his great love, after having been physically and mentally tortured, beaten, humiliated, abused, abandoned, and crucified, while dying on the cross, he utters, “Father, forgive them.” (LK 5:34)

Lord, make me a person of forgiveness and mercy. I have been forgiven much, yet I hold back mercy, love, and forgiveness from others. Take away my anger and fill me with your love, your True love, love that knows sacrifice, love that knows You. To lay down myself means, at a minimum, to give up my selfishness, my desires, and my ego for love of you. Give me the grace and gifts I need, and when I am tempted, let me remember your Great Passion and see the Crucifix from which you spoke forgiveness. Amen.

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Gracious & Merciful

Oftentimes we forget that God is not only infinite in mercy and forgiveness, but he is infinite in justice as well. We see mere shadows and reflections of true mercy, forgiveness, and justice in our world. The closer we draw to the Lord, however, the better able we are to know “the Lord [who] is gracious and merciful; slow to anger and rich in kindness.” (cf. NAB, PS 145:8) The closer we draw to the Lord, the more we will imitate his perfection of infinite virtue.

This often-quoted verse from Psalm 145, is frequently used in weddings, and several Contemporary Christian songs are similarly titled. It would truly be an incredible world, and most certainly a godly marriage, if we were able to be gracious and merciful with each other, always being slow to anger and rich in kindness. This is our calling if we are to imitate our Creator, if we are to become most perfectly that which we have been created.

Father, teach me to be gracious and merciful with others in my life. I am impatient, selfish, offensive, quickly frustrated, easily angered, and unkind. Forgive my lack of humility. You know my imperfections and my sins. Heal me of them, so that by your grace, I may grow closer to you, and imitate you more and more each day. Amen.

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Hanging On the Word

In Luke’s Gospel, we see a rare side of Jesus where he exhibits justified anger because merchants have defiled the temple area: “’My house shall be a house of prayer, but you have made it a den of thieves.’” (NAB, LK 19:46) Jesus’ outrageous behavior incensed and angered many. He was viewed by them as revolutionary and anti-establishment, and he was clearly unconcerned with people’s opinions and positions; rather, he who is Truth, taught that same Truth in love, even though it would ultimately lead to his execution. Scripture says, “The chief priests, the scribes, and the leaders of the people, meanwhile, were seeking to put him to death, but they could find no way to accomplish their purpose because all the people were hanging on his words.” (19:48)

People were hungry for Jesus’ teaching. They thirsted for the Truth that only his words could quench. Those words are eternal and everlasting, and the reality is that people today have the same needs. Jesus’ words are just as applicable and needed today as they were 500 years ago, 2000 years ago, or 5000 years ago. Today, however, we are the voice of Jesus, and we are called to proclaim his Good News to our world – our families, friends, coworkers, and society. The Word of God will continue to create controversy and division, and will cause some to persecute us, precisely because Christ’s teachings are based in love, not selfishness and self-centeredness. Regardless of our fallen nature, our conscience is attracted to goodness, and those who are open to love, truth, beauty, and goodness, will “hang on every word” that comes forth from the mouth of Christ. All people are created in the image and likeness of God, and as the great St. Augustine reminds us, everyone’s soul is restless until it rests in the Lord.

May I seek you everywhere and in all things. May I hear your word in truth and humility, so that I may proclaim it to the world, in what I say, but most especially in how I live my life. Give me courage in the face of controversy and persecution to continue to proclaim to the world, the Good News of truth, love, mercy, and forgiveness revealed through your Son, Jesus. Amen.

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