anger, doodling in the sand, and other stuff ..

written and deleted
again and again
maybe this one will stick ..

Jesus was angry at times
he was angry
get that
   ( and yes, i've been here before .. )

so when you tell me i'm too angry
i consider it, process it
and then aim for balance

but i still go to angry
at times
it's part of balance
and there's value in anger when it's a good anger

when you know a husband is mercilessly beating his wife and children regularly
are you wrong to be angry  ?
is anger a wrong response  ?
is anger ever a wrong response to abuse  ?

when there is wrong in place
anger is only right
as part of a larger response ..

when people are beaten-down because of an unjust society and unjust economic worldview
anger is good
when people are killed for the sake of a nation-state preserving its ' interests ' in a foreign country
   regardless of the attached propaganda
anger is righteous

when we recognize people are being misled by church leadership
and we understand how we were indoctrinated in doctrines that actually went against God's intention
that we have hurt people in the pew
and turned people off
   led them away
many many people
treating them as if they were less somehow
   not ' in '
that anger is well-placed

in fact, i would dare to posit that if it doesn't anger me
i'm a poor example of a human
and worse
a poor disciple of Jesus
. . .......      .

it occurs to me that Jesus actually did stuff on the sabbath on purpose
to engender response from the pharisees and saducees and scribes and whoever-was-'in' ..
he specifically set out to confront the God-propaganda that led people down the wrong path
that left them with a bitter taste in their mouth
   their mind all tied-up in knots from the irreconcilable reality of
   church not living-out what Jesus preached ..

Jesus redefined God as only Jesus could
for he is the perfect expression of who God is in human flesh
so that we take our score from Jesus
he's the Man ..
don't forget that
...  ..     .

take this as an example .. another example ..
Another time Jesus went into the synagogue, and a man with a shriveled hand was there. 
Some of them there were looking for a reason to accuse Jesus, so they watched him closely to see if he would heal the man on the Sabbath. 
Jesus said to him, “Come, stand here by me.”
Then Jesus asked them, “Which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?”    
   But they said nothing.
He looked around at them in anger .. 
he was deeply distressed at their stubborn hearts.
He said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.”, and he stretched it out, and his hand was completely restored. 
   Then the Pharisees went out and began to plot with the Herodians how they might kill Jesus.

they probably saw and felt Jesus' anger
and they understood that he wasn't playing games
this man was for real ..

there are many examples of Jesus' emoting ..
we have named him soft, meek and mild, gentle
and that he was ..
but Jesus was a man of balance
and when the called-for response was anger
he angered

why do we run from that  ?

i see it in my Rabbi ..
i see his anger at hurt
at misrepresentation and lies about our Father
at pretense and posture
at abuse
and at the disregard for the humanity of each human regardless of their state in life
   regardless of their condition
   regardless of their sin
      or their skin
   regardless of their attitudes
   or how they smell
   or what drugs they're on
   or that they sell themselves for a living or ..
regardless

i love the story at John 8 of the woman the Jewish religious leadership brought to Jesus to be judged
she had been found in the act of adultery
Law says " stone her to death ! " ..
they wanted to know Jesus' take on it

and Jesus does judge
but not in the way they expect ..
he doesn't use words ..
he writes or draws something in the dirt at his feet
           ?
       ?

Jesus refuses to respond to their question
scribbles some meaningless lines in the sand
leaving them standing there in silence while everyone looks on expectantly
leaving them to think about what they were doing
   about who they were
   about their own sinfullness
   about the utter disgrace that attached itself to this fallen woman they were parading before all those people gathered in the temple courts..

he just left the conversation for a bit

it is only on their insistence that he reenters the conversation
and even then he doesn't respond to their question, but challenges them with their own sin
" whichever one of you is guiltless, let him be the first one to throw a stone at her " ..

and then he leaves the conversation again
returns to doodling in the sand
... . .. .      .

you think maybe Jesus was angry  ?
maybe  ?     ?
just sayin' ..

you think maybe he was so angry he didn't want to open his mouth right then because he didn't trust himself to answer right then
and so he went where he always went, every time
to his Father for support and encouragement
because he wanted his response to be worthy of his Father
and didn't want to fall into their trap ..  .  ?
  ?        
i mean, considering all the possibilities that have been mentioned by the scholars down through the years, couldn't this be another possibility   ?

i think Jesus is angry whenever we take the AdamandEve route
and reach for the fruit of the treeoftheknowledgeofgoodandevil
and pretend to be God
pointing out the sin(s) of other people
as if i'm God
as if
i
don't have sin ..

whenever i'm faced with that fruit hanging in from of my face
mine is to duckout
duckdown
scribble something in the sand
and ask God to change me
change my heart towards this person
so that i can be Jesus to them
embrace them
in their sin
and love them

period ,,
without strings or provisos ..
like " if you promise to change then i'll accept you " .. da dee da ..

embrace
in love
every one
every
one
without
prejudice
without
judging
for there is one judge
one ..

and he is my master
my Rabbi
i answer to him

i follow him
not religious leadership
not church
not doctrine
him only
and even he did not condemn that woman
he loved her
and told her, in effect, " i'm not condemning you;
go, and don't go back to your sin "

and when that Love is attacked or threatened or confronted
there is reason for anger
good reason
i can't think of better reason for anger

thing is                                                                        
don't run from anger
if it's a righteous anger
embrace it
control it
use it
for the kingdom
for Jesus' sake


for additional thinking on the subject read here
http://asthekingdomturns.blogspot.com/2014/01/slavery-humanitys-scarred-back.html

shalom