May 27thSeeing Red
To my dear TFMC family,
What gets you mad? What makes you angry? We’ve been dealing with a lot of anger and frustration in our home as of late. When things do go according to her plan, in her way, at her timing, Chloe gets quite angry. Her feelings are quite big these days, as is to be expected for toddlers. But I don’t think that big feelings and angry outbursts are limited to toddlers and preschoolers anymore.
It does appear that our society is getting angrier. People on the road seem to be angrier or more impatient, or at the very least increasingly inconsiderate and rude. We’re reminded when dealing with customer service to be kind, and that abusive language will not be tolerated.
I think the anger that surrounds us is a symptom of a festering ailment. I think people are feeling increasingly out of control. I think people are feeling misled. The world they knew, the opportunities that were promised, are no longer there. By no fault of their own. I think people are finding that they are constrained, bound by structures, policies, and economies that are largely out of their hands. And how do folk react? They get mad. So what are we to make of all this anger around us?
It probably sounds counterintuitive for me to suggest that we probably need to get mad, too. Just maybe for different reasons. It can be argued that anger is not helpful, that when we ‘see red’, it’s an unhelpful emotion that simply gets in the way. But I would suggest that we do need to get mad, to a point. I would argue that we need to be a bit mad to move us into action. You see, for me, anger is an emotion that tells me that something isn’t right; something unjust is happening. For me, anger is a clue; it’s an indicator; it’s a call to action.
Jesus was not afraid to disrupt the status quo. He overturned tables in the temple; he wept over the city; he confronted the religious leaders. Jesus regularly stood up and spoke out against the structures that bound people to a way of life that was in opposition to God’s dream for them.
We’re approaching the end of our book study, and I’m beginning to see the author’s arguments come into focus. Their call to peace and justice begins with recognizing what makes us mad. So that we may identify the injustices around us, those powers and principalities which imprison, harm and maim people. And then the call to work for peace and justice moves towards breaking these structures, powers, and policies.
Our book study has pushed buttons for all of us, readers. We have found the author challenging us to consider the place of anger and enmity in the call to justice and peace. Some of us agree with the author that there are some things worth getting mad about, recognizing that indifference is perhaps the true enemy of the Gospel message. While others feel that getting mad doesn’t help solve the problem, and instead it only raises the temperature without helping the situation.
I would agree, anger isn’t the solution, but it’s a starting point; it moves us to do something, to witness to something. In a recent article in the Canadian Mennonite, author and theologian Derek Suderman writes: “In my view, our most important witness in a time of polarization and hate lies in developing and equipping vibrant, engaged communities where people who are diverse—culturally, theologically, socio-economically—regularly come together to worship, study, reflect and act. It is in this mix that we can discern together what faithful discipleship consists of in our time and place.” Can our anger at the injustice around us move us to further engagement in both our faith community and the communities in which we live, engaging in the slow and steady work of discipleship and peace in the world?
Yours,
Craig Janzen Neufeld, Pastor