But if we ignore the God who is angry in the scriptures, we miss a lot of the story. In particular, we miss the God of justice, the God who demands justice, the God who will not let humanity rest in apathy, but who propels us into just action, if not for the sake of God’s love, then in the face of God’s righteous indignation.
Yet, we must be very careful when we interpret this imagery. The stories which we have handed down to us are complex and situated. They come from particular times and particular places; and they come from very human hands—human hands attached to human hearts and human minds with their own particular perspectives, and biases, and prejudices, and outright hatreds.
It’s been easy for the people of God to take hold of God’s wrath when we believe it to be directed at others. We have often missed the point of God’s righteous laments when they have been proclaimed over us and our unjust behaviours.
Be appalled, O heavens, at this, be shocked, be utterly desolate, says the LORD, for my people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the fountain of living water, and dug out cisterns for themselves, cracked cisterns that can hold no water. (Jeremiah 2:12-13)
“O people, you have turned your back on the water of life which I offer and looked for alternate sources in places that are barren,” proclaims Jeremiah in the name of God. “You have deceived yourselves and neglected your calling.”
“Who us? Surely, not us? We’re good people. We’re righteous people. We’re the people of God.”
And yet certainly, it is us! It is us who looks upon the devastation of our world, apparently powerless in the face of natural disaster, and economic folly, and global warming. It is us who try as we might still manage to identify enemies and threats, and chase after shadows. It is us who pick the best places; and leave the worst to the littlest and the least. It is us!
If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us… If we say that we have not sinned, we make [God] a liar, and [God’s] word is not in us. (1 John 1: 8, 10 NRSV)
O God, we are not the people we pretend to be. We say, “I do not lie, I do not cheat, I do not steal.” Yet, this cannot be true, for we hide our real selves from others, we compete with our friends for position and prestige, we take praise and honour that is not ours. In human frailty, we confess to you that our sin is so deep that we cannot even recognise it.
O God, we are not the people we want to be. We say, “I am not racist, I am not sexist, I do not offend anyone.” Yet, this cannot be true, for all around us people are in pain. Unintended, unrecognised injustices stem from our sin as individuals, as a community and as a nation. As the letter to the Romans reminds us:
I can will what is right, but I cannot do it. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I do. (Romans 7:18b – 19)
If God is angry, and God’s anger is righteous, then we must face the very real possibility that it is direct at us. It is directed at us who say we know God. It is directed at us who claim to follow God’s will. It is directed at us who dare to think that we might know or understand or recognise that which is of God and that which is not.
God’s anger is not directed against the stranger. It is not directed at those who have no inkling that there is a greater call on our lives. God’s anger is directed at those whom God has called—at us!
And perhaps that doesn’t sound much like good news to us! But it is to those who know they have nothing, who have no idea where the next meal or the next coat will be coming from. It is good news for those who are the poor and the humble, the littlest and the least. It is good news for the homeless, and the landless, for the destitute and the weak.
In the scriptures, God is depicted as being angry when the people of God turn away from God; and when the justice of God is transgressed by ill-treatment of those in need—those without the necessary social support required for survival and for thriving. In the scriptures, the classic picture of those most in need is “the widow, the orphan, and the stranger”—the ones who do not have any family or community to support them; the ones who rely on the kindness and goodwill of others; the ones who know their need and must throw themselves of the mercy of others.
God’s call to the people of God is to provide hospitality to the stranger, having received hospitality from the God who is strange to us. God’s anger is not directed towards the people with whom we feel uncomfortable, or whom we find different. God’s anger is not directed at those who do not know any better or who are at their wits’ end. God’s anger is directed at the people who should know better—the very people of God; and it is directed at the people of God when we turn away from God’s call to hospitality, and God’s offer of hospitality in our own wretched states.
In our readings for today, we have 2 pictures of God’s judgement. In Jeremiah, God is lamenting a people who left the God who loves them behind. And in the Gospel reading, Jesus warns about thinking too highly of ourselves and too little of others:
For all who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted. (Luke 14: 11)
To be sure, God is always merciful, but merciful has never meant wishy-washy. God is concerned about what happens in God’s creation. God is concerned with our world. And God has every reason to be angry.
If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. (1 John 1:8b)
But we do know the state of our predicament. We do know that we don’t always see what is wrong and what is right. We do know that even when we try to get it right, we can get it wrong because we don’t see the big picture. And we can choose for ourselves the place of humility rather than exaltation. We can recognise who we are and humbly offer ourselves to God, for…
If we confess our sins, [God] who is faithful and just will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1: 9)
O God, in the depth of our sin, we ask you to grant us forgiveness for the wrongs we have done and the good we have failed to do. Help us to recognise and receive your mercy that we might help others to do the same. And hold us as a loving parent holds a wayward children until we have found again the love and security we have within your will.
The God of Jesus is an exceptional parent. Love and mercy do not overlook the need for justice and reconciliation. Acceptance is not given without direction and boundaries. God loves us; and we know it. Therefore we have a responsibility to the people who need God most. So…
When you give a luncheon or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors, in case they may invite you in return, and you would be repaid. But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind. And you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you… (Luke 14:12-13)
But God will see and God will know, because this is exactly what God has done for us!
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