And Jesus says, ‘Go ahead. Get angry!’

There was a professional golfer in the 1950s by the name of Tommy Bolt. Because of the temper tantrums he used to throw on the links when he made a poor shot, he earned the nickname Thunder Bolt. He would even throw his golf club in anger at times, but he justified it by saying he never threw a club that didn’t deserve it.

The public display of anger 70 years ago was rare. Unfortunately, today it is not. We Americans seem to be angrier than ever. Why?

Perhaps the primary reason is the great decline in weekly Mass attendance and the practice of the faith over the past several decades. The dispensation from attending Mass during the coronavirus pandemic will likely contribute to this trend somewhat, but the continued secularization of our culture will remain the greatest factor. Protestants have not been immune to this trend either. In fact, the greatest growth in recent years has been with the “nones,” those who practice no religion at all and do not even identify with a religion. That is a tragedy because religion is not only a guide for moral living, but also a great source of meaning for our lives, for hope, equanimity, and peace.

There are a number of other reasons too that provoke anger within us. Among them are:

— Twenty-four hour cable news stations. They are in competition with each other for ratings, so they often focus more on commentary than on news. To maintain their financial viability, it is to their advantage to pit themselves squarely against their competitors and to keep things tense, in a state of perpetual crisis.

— The evening news on the major networks seems more biased than it was years ago. They tend to ignore or diminish important stories that do not fit their agenda.

— Big tech is dominating our lives more and more. Google, Amazon, YouTube, Facebook and Twitter are determining what information and items we have access to.

— There are disturbing trends in public education and higher education. Much has been discarded in the areas of literature, history, and civics. The ability to think critically, to state a proposition clearly and defend it, is at a low ebb. Students are often indoctrinated about what to think rather than taught how to think. Debating skills are deplorable so that, if you disagree with someone, the tendency is to attack the person rather than the idea.

— Cancel culture is rampant. News reporting, big tech and education are major culprits here.

— Politicians enact policies and pass legislation that fly in the face of common sense and decency. Surely many of those things do not reflect the will of the majority of citizens.

We usually think of anger as a sin, and so it is. In fact, it is numbered among the seven capital or deadly sins.

However, there are times when it is right and necessary to get angry. Affirming that not all anger is sinful, Saint Paul wrote, “If you are angry, let it be without sin” (Eph 4:26). This emotion is referred to as righteous anger. It is the type of anger that serves as a corrective and remedy for evil.

Jesus got angry in the Temple of Jerusalem because the practice of humble people’s faith was being exploited for material gain. Commerce in sacrificial offerings and money exchanges were normal in the outer precincts of the Temple, the Court of the Gentiles. However, people who were coming to the Temple to pray and offer sacrifice were often cheated. The business enterprises in the Temple area were controlled by four prominent families who had dominated the high priesthood for years, and they were corrupt.

So we too have the right and the duty to get angry at times. Anger is justified in the face of acts of inhumanity and injustice: abortion, racism, and sexism. It is justified in the face of blatant lies and falsehood. We have the right to get angry at news reporters, business persons, educators, and politicians who do not do what we expect them to do. Such persons have been invested with a public trust, and when they defy that trust, anger is warranted. At the same time, we must express such anger individually or collectively, without rancor, out of love for one another and for the betterment of the human race.

Today we should ask ourselves: What am I angry about? What can I do about it? (Hint: Prayer accompanied by fasting and almsgiving is the best place to start.) So go ahead. Get angry!

Father Edward Kolla is parochial vicar at Christ the Good Shepherd Parish, Vineland.