By Fr. Emmanuel Alfonso, SJ
(πβππ π»πππππ¦ π€ππ πππππ£ππππ ππ£ππ π
πππ¦π πΎππ‘πππ’πππβπ πΎπππ π‘βπ πΉπππ‘β πππ π ππ π½π’ππ 13, 2024.)
Do you remember the slap that was heard all around the world? It was Oscarβs night in 2022, and the comedian host, Chris Rock, was presenting an award on Best Documentary and he made a joke about actress Jade Pinkett. Laughing initially, Will Smith, Jadeβs husband-actor, shouted at Chris Rock and before anyone could react, ascended the stage, walked towards the host, and, before a world stunned and shocked, slapped him hard in his face. Wham.
As people commented afterwards, the consensus was, even if Will Smithβs anger might have been justified (he was defending his wife), his violent reaction was unforgiveable. His anger was simply out of control. Consequently, his stardom dimmed, the marriage eventually broke down and comedians demanded for bodyguards when they performed on stage. But the gist of the matter is that, many of us, admittedly, have certainly experienced times when our anger got the better of us. And for sure, we have regretted these incidences. They could have destroyed relationships, if not lives.
And this is the genius of Jesus Christ in the gospel today and through his sermon on the mount which we have been reading about these past few days. Way before Sigmund Freud, the father of Psychology, Jesus was already focusing on whatβs happening inside of us, in our mind, heart or soul. The scribes and Pharisees were all about the externals, he says in todayβs reading, the outward observation of the law. But that is not enough for what is happening inside is more important, more consequential, more fundamental. On the commandment against killing or murder, for example, not many of us would probably end up killing or even hurting anyone in our lifetime.
And yet all of us experience anger. And anger, if uncontrolled, can lead to violence, as Will Smith has aptly demonstrated. We must then attend to anger before itβs too late, Jesus admonishes us, and he tells us rather with a sense of urgency: be reconciled, settle quickly, βotherwise your opponent will hand you over to the judge and the judge will hand you over to the guard and you will be thrown into prison.β In other words, attend to that negative emotion lest it goes berserk and cause further damage or destruction.
This, I believe, is a well-timed reminder, if not a grave warning, for all of us today. According to the 2023 Gallup Global Emotions Report (yup, there is such a survey involving more than 100 countries), negative emotions in general ang anger in particular are on the rise. In western countries for example, air and road rage, grocery or consumer-related aggressive behaviors are surging. I am sure you watch with great delight on YouTube the so-called Karens just harassing and attacking strangers in public, and getting their comeuppance. Indeed, the report finds that 90 percent of aggressive incidents were caused by anger. Interpreting the data, Dr Kurt Ela of Psychology Today sums up that the reason for this rise is our modern technological life that has made life fast-paced and stressful. We are he says simply tired, and we feel overwhelmed, afraid, constantly competing, many are broke, agitated by the heat (yes, caused by global warming) and one-third of the worldβs population report being in physical pain every day. His advice, which echoes Jesusβ message in todayβs Gospel: one, be kind to yourself (As Jesus tells us, understand yourself, especially whatβs happening inside of you); second, forgive yourself, and forgive others (be reconciled to your brother, as Jesus admonishes us, before itβs too late; third, always observe the pause, that is stop and breathe rather than reacting instantly.
Friends, the world around us seems to be going up in flames. We can see that clearly in the conflicts raging on in many parts of the world, in social media, and in our politics. Let us not add to the anger. Let us, as Jesus reminds us in the Beatitudes, be peacemakers instead.
Amen.
