2 Samuel 18:5-9, 15, 31-33 Psalm 130 Ephesians 4:25-5:2 John 6:35, 41-51

Be angry, but do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and do not make room for the devil. [Ephesians 4:26-27, NRSV] Anger is often justifiable. Jesus was justifiably angry when he cleared the temple of the moneychangers in Jerusalem.

The writer of the letter to the Ephesians (who was Paul or more likely a very close associate), is warning us that prolonged, unresolved anger, like acid, destroys, not the object to which it is directed, but its vessel from within. Absalom, about whom we read in today’s Old Testament lesson, was an angry young man who made room for the devil, and the story of his relatively short life is filled with chilling irony. Born the third among the six sons of King David who are listed in 2Samuel as being born at Hebron by six different mothers, Absalom is said to have been faultlessly beautiful, without blemish. In addition, and most noteworthy, he possessed a wealth of abundantly luxurious hair – a particularly significant attribute in the culture of the day.

So, as you can imagine, Absalom grew up surrounded by many who idolized and adored him. The effects of growing up in an environment of adoration and prestige had secured a healthy sense of obnoxious superiority within him. And, though the third born, he began to feel a sense of entitlement toward succeeding his father David as king. But, Amnon was oldest; as the years passed, his feelings of resentment toward Amnon, the oldest of his half-brothers, festered. There is no further mention of the second-born son, and it is assumed that this son died young moving Absalom’s position to second in line to the throne in direct conflict with his half-brother Amnon.

Adding to the intrigue, Amnon further enrages Absalom by deceitfully enticing Absalom’s sister Tamar into his chambers. Feigning illness, Amnon had convinced their father David that his only hope for recovery was to be nursed back to health by his stepsister Tamar whom Amnon desired most passionately. As you would guess, her innocence is violated and her life shattered by the ordeal. Fuel is added to the flame of Absalom’s hatred toward his half-brother. And, his resentment toward his father for not taking actions against this brother’s wrongful acts begins to seize his inner being. His anger was justified, and he does use some of the energy gleaned from this anger to comfort and care for his sister, but Paul would say that as time passed, the room he allowed for the devil grew beyond his control.

The story is that Absalom harbors this anger in silence for two years until an opportunity for vengeance presents itself at the annual festival celebrating the year’s first sheep shearing. Upon Absalom’s suggestion, his father King David has remained at home sending Amnon as his representative. Amid the celebration of thanksgiving, Amnon, drunk on the wine and his own seniority, is attacked and slain by Absalom’s servants.

In response, Absalom is banished from court by his father. For five long years, the displaced anger that Absalom had directed toward Amnon is turned to his father David as he is continuously denied an audience with him. Finally, in a childish scheme to attract his father’s attention, Absalom sets fire to the barley field of Joab, David’s trusted general, and gains the audience with the king that he so craves.

But, no sooner does Absalom return to his father’s court than he begins to organize an uprising. David loves his son; he seeks to frustrate his rebellious son and avoid violence, but, despite his efforts to reestablish harmony, a battle ensues and Absalom’s forces are slaughtered. Fleeing the battle, Absalom is caught by the head in the fork of the low-hanging branches of the terebinth tree. In fact, the historian Josephus reports, that it is his much exalted head of hair that becomes entangled in the foliage as his mule continues on, leaving Absalom suspended from the tree limbs – the culmination of anger – deeds of the devil have exceeded all expectations. Coming upon the scene, the words of King David are fresh in the mind of the trusted subordinate Joab regarding David’s wayward son, Deal gently for my sake with the young man Absalom. But, the warrior Joab, unscrupulously considering what he thinks best for himself and for the king, thrusts three spears into the heart of Absalom.

Upon receiving the news of the death of his rebellious son who had threatened his rule and his life, David is inconsolable. O my son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom! Would I had died instead of you, O Absalom my son, my son! [2Samuel 18:33, NRVS].

Anger when given to the devil wastes our actions and saps our energy, and may even lead to our total earthly destruction; given to God it can bring us closer to a world that is holy and without blemish a world of restorative justice rather than retributive justice.

The great mystic Evelyn Underhill writes:

“The death of personal anger does not mean mere limp acquiescence. But it means getting rid of the psychic hurricanes which always have self at their centre and which dissipate our real strength and in which we cannot be quiet with God. This brooding anger is like the ground swell persisting after a storm; it is not very obvious on the surface but utterly destructive of peace and quiet.”[2]

As Christians filled with the Bread of Life, the world is watching our response to injustice; the world is watching to see how we channel our anger. We are justified in being angry at injustice, but we are the ones who must direct the anger toward healing. We learn from the past; we keep the memories fresh, but we model constructive remembering that brings restorative justice rather than destructive remembering that keeps us mired in the demand for insatiable retribution and reparation and foresees our own destruction as it did for Absalom.

If you are wearing a cross around your neck, be sure the light of Christ shines through your smile. If you sport a “The Episcopal Church welcomes you” bumper sticker, be particularly mindful of good driving etiquette. As representatives of Christ, we bear a huge responsibility to show others what it means to have the Bread of Life – the bread that fills and fulfills. We are called to share the Bread of Life in the most earthly physical sense and in the most heavenly spiritual sense. The world is watching to see if we make room for the devil or if we seek to fill the world with the Bread of Life.

We are to be imitators of God as beloved children, to remember that we are the Church serving Christ in the world, rather than Christians serving the Church. There are times that we are to be angry. Jesus clearly tells us the world is wrong, and, thus, at times our anger is justifiable. Be angry, but make no room for the devil. Fill that room with the Bread of Life, for whoever eats this bread will live forever.

[1]Evelyn Underhill, “Anger,” in Love’s Redeeming Work, ed. Geoffrey Rowell, Kenneth Stevenson and Rowan Williams (New York: Oxford University Press, Inc, 2003) 572-573.