The Unsung Emotions of Christmas:
Anger
Pastor Mathew Magera – 12/16/15 – Sermon 134
St. Thomas Lutheran Church, Trufant, MI
To God be the Glory!
Grace and peace to you from God our Father, from our
Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
There was an elderly woman driving a big, new,
expensive car and was preparing to park it into a parallel parking space when
suddenly a young man in a small sports car zoomed in ahead of her. The woman
angrily asked why he had done that when he could tell she was trying to park
there. His response was simply "Because I'm young, and I'm quick."
The young man then entered the store. When he came
back out a few minutes later he found the elderly lady using her big new car as
a battering ram, backing up, and them ramming it into his car. He very angrily
asked her why she was wrecking his car. Her response was "Because I'm old,
and I'm rich!"
Why do we get fed up with things so easily? I mean, it
seems that our patience is wearing thin and our tension is wired so tight that
at a moment’s notice we might just lose it. We are looking for something to be
angry about. Any little thing. We scour the news for it. We look for it in
other people. If there is the possibility of one little thing to make an issue,
we'll find it.
For the most recent years, we get upset with the big
box stores taking Christmas out and putting the holidays in. Heaven forbid they
offend someone who doesn't celebrate Christmas? But seriously, we get angry
when it seems like someone wants to take away Christmas. If you followed the
news last month, the country went up in knots over Starbucks' new red holiday
cup that had no mention of Christmas or any holiday on it whatsoever. People
accused Starbucks of taking Christmas out of the season. It's like we're just
looking around for something to be against. We're waiting for someone to offend
us so that we can get in their face.
I'm not sure it worked quite that way for King Herod,
but he had a pretty unique situation. Here he is in power but rumors of a new
king make it to his doorstep as these three men from the Orient come seeking a
new king that has been born. His power is being threatened. And not only is his
power being threatened by a new king but this new king is just a child. How
embarrassing. Really. How embarrassing. For Herod to spend years climbing the
ranks to reach his current position now only to have it usurped by some child
from the little town of Bethlehem, it's unacceptable. Thus, he becomes
disturbed as the Bible tells us. Not quite angry at the moment, but disturbed.
Herod was later angry because something he worked hard
to get was going to be taken away. The wise men never returned and Herod had to
face his destiny. But, he thought he could escape. He was seeing that he wasn't
the top dog compared to God. And he didn't want to hear it. We get angry for
the same reasons. When we are made to feel like we aren't on top of the world,
just like Herod, it can be easy for us to fall into a trap of anger. Now, anger
isn't a bad thing. Like sadness, happiness, and fear, anger is an emotion that
is healthy for us to feel throughout the day. But, it's when our anger is
misplaced and when our emotions turn into negative physical action that anger becomes
no longer anger but vengeance.
Thinking about our favorite Christmas carols, none of
them talk about Herod and this anger. It could be because this happens many
months after the birth of Jesus, but if we were to use time as a reason not to
talk about Herod, we would hit a dead end when we are face to face with the
song, We Three Kings. So, we don't sing about Herod's anger. But, there is a
carol out there called the Coventry Carol. It's a lullaby. It speaks the words
of a mother comforting her child that is about to be slaughtered by Herod's
armies. It's on the Internet and it's a very creepy but well composed song. Not
one that I would recommend singing to your children or grand children, though.
Herod's anger turned to violence that caused lives to end. Herod was against
everything this new born king stood for. He was against it all because he
wanted the upper hand.
Christmas is not about being against the world.
Christmas is not about coffee cups or big box stores, and it's not about being
against those things. Christmas is about being for the world. God so loved the
world, right? That God sent his son. If there is anything we should be angry
about at Christmas time it's that some people won't be able to spend time with
their families for this holiday. If we're angry about anything it should be
that some people won't be able to afford a Christmas dinner. If we're angry
about anything it should be that some people don't have any gifts to give
during this giving season. The list goes on. We can be angry. Not angry that we
should continue to divide, but angry that we should aim to restore. We should
not let our anger take life away but our anger should work to preserve life in
this world. We should be angry about the divisions in our world and bring back
the Christmas spirit of being together, of seeing God in our midst, our
Immanuel, God with us. The only way to bring Christmas back into the season is
not to argue about whether not a store employee says Merry Christmas or Happy
Holidays. They only way to bring Christmas back into the season is for us to
start acting like it.
Don't fight back, love back. Let's not be like the
elderly woman who has everything in the world so that she can bust up a little
sports car because she can't have her parking space. Let's not be angry like
Herod and take out our anger on the lives of little children. Let's use anger
for good. Let's use it for peace. Let's use it for joy. Let's use it for hope.
Let's use it for love. To God be the glory, now and always. Amen.