There's a story about the famous painter Leonardo da Vinci. During the time when he was working on his famous painting “The Last Supper,” he became angry with an acquaintance of his. The two men had words and parted from each other on very bad terms. Leonardo returned to the church on whose wall he was painting the fresco. It was no use. Leonardo could paint nothing he was happy with. He had reached the point in the project where he was doing the face of jesus. Time and again he tried to render a likeness of the Lord, but he was unable to do so. Finally the great artist realized that he had work to do, but it was not in the church he had been commissioned to decorate. Leonardo put down his brushes and sought out the man who had been the subject of his wrath. He asked the man's forgiveness. The man accepted his apology and offered an apology of his own. It was only then that Leonardo was able to return to the church and finish painting the face of Jesus.
St. Paul wrote a letter to the church at Ephesus because he knew that the church was engaged in quarreling that threatened to tear them apart. He counseled them: “No more lies, no more pretense. Tell your neighbor the truth. In Christ's body we're all connected to each other, after all. When you lie to others, you end up lying to yourself. Go ahead and be angry. You do well to be angry—but don't use your anger as fuel for revenge. And don't stay angry. Don't go to bed angry. Don't give the Devil that kind of foothold in your life.” Sometimes we feel we should never be angry, we should repress our true feelings. However, when we do that, our anger continues to simmer within us and ultimately festers or blows up and can be terribly destructive. Avoidance of conflict makes room for the devil. Anger is a natural part of our emotional makeup as humans.
Think back on your own life and reflect on what role anger has played in your relationships—was it healthy anger or destructive? Are you a spewer or a stewer? Anger itself is not a sin. Sometimes we are called to be angry. The world would have lost much without the blazing anger of William Wilberforce against the slave trade. If martin luther king had not been angry at racism, the civil rights movement would not have flourished. If Gandhi had not been angry at oppression, India's independence might not have happened. Anger, channeled in a positive way, can be a catalyst for change. The famous writer Dr. Samuel Johnson was once asked to temper the harshness and anger in a book he was about to publish. His answer to that request was that “he would not cut off his claws, nor make his tiger a cat, to please anybody.” There is a place for the tiger in life; and when the tiger becomes a tabby cat, something is lost. How many relationships have been forever destroyed because some small issue was left to fester, grow, and divide the best of friends? Resolution of differences may take a long time but Paul is telling us to put aside our anger quickly. If we have been in the wrong, pray to God to give us the grace to go and admit that it was so; and even if we have been right, pray to God to give us the graciousness which will enable us to take the first step to put matters right.
Get involved!
Comments