The Seven Deadly Sins: Wrath

In the name of Jesus. Amen.

Wrath. It is a frightening word. When we hear that word, it communicates something, a dangerous kind of anger.  Indeed, wrath is anger on steroids. It is anger that has lost restraint. It is anger that no longer seeks understanding but revenge. It is anger that rages and boils until it erupts. To make things worse, it is the kind of anger that can settle into a family and remain there for generations. 

If we are going to speak plainly, wrath is the breaking of the Fifth Commandment. The Fifth Commandment says, 

“You shall not murder.” 

Now, many people hear that commandment and assume it only deals with physical violence. But the Catechism teaches us otherwise. The Fifth Commandment is not merely about striking our neighbor with our fists. It is also about what happens in our hearts and minds. We break this commandment whenever we harm our neighbor, whenever we hate our neighbor, whenever we refuse to help and support our neighbor in every physical need. And wrath, dear friends, is exactly that. Wrath seeks harm rather than help. Wrath seeks destruction rather than protection. 

But here is the deeper problem. Wrath rarely stands alone. In other words, wrath is typically driven by the mother of sin - pride. Yes, pride is the fuel and energy behind wrath.  Pride feeds wrath. Pride breathes life into wrath.

You see, pride has a way of placing the self at the center of everything. Pride makes you believe that your reputation is the most important thing in the room. Pride makes you believe that your desires must be fulfilled above everyone else. Pride convinces you that you must be respected and honored above all others. In other words, pride crowns the self as king.

And once the self becomes king, anything that threatens that throne of self begins to feel intolerable.

For example, when pride rules the heart, even small insults begin to feel like major injuries. Pride takes a simple criticism and turns it into humiliation. Pride takes a disagreement and interprets it as an attack. Pride takes correction and treats it like disrespect. Pride whispers in the mind, 

“How dare they speak to you like that? How dare they question you? Do they not know who you are?”

And when those thoughts begin to swirl around in the mind, wrath begins to form.

At first, it might not seem very serious. It may feel like nothing more than irritation. Maybe it shows up as resentment quietly simmering beneath the surface. But those thoughts—those resentments—are like wrath in its infant form. They are like a child growing in the womb. They are not fully developed yet, but they are alive. And if those wrathful thoughts are left unchecked in the mind, they begin to grow.

Think about it this way. If wrath is the seed planted in the mind, that seed can take root and grow in the heart.  And as that seed of wrath grows in the heart, bitterness emerges.  

Please listen: as bitterness settles into the heart, it doesn’t stop.  That bitterness with its deep, restricting roots eventually reaches the eyes. And then, the eyes begin to change: you start seeing others differently. Instead of seeing fellow sinners in need of mercy, you begin to see enemies. Instead of seeing neighbors, you begin to see problems. Instead of seeing people created in the image of God, you see fools.

You know exactly what I am talking about. Contempt in the eyes is when we look at others as though they are beneath us. Contempt says, 

“That person is an idiot.” 

Contempt says, 

“That person is worthless.” 

Contempt says, 

“That person is nothing but trouble.” 

Contempt strips away the humanity of others and reduces them to obstacles or enemies.

And when contempt fills the eyes, wrath rarely stays hidden. It gets worse – it spills out. 

And the first place it usually spills out is the mouth.

Remember - wrath travels from the mind to the heart, from the heart to the eyes, and then it erupts from the mouth. You know what I talk about: words begin to fly. Harsh words. Cutting words. Insults. Slander. Shouting. Mockery. Sarcasm. The tongue becomes a weapon of wrath.

We have all witnessed this before: at work, at home, between you and your spouse, between you and your parents.  Each word is aimed to wound. Each sentence is crafted to tear down. Wrath turns speech into a weapon of destruction. It is like a thousand darts flying out of the mouth with the intention to hurt, destroy, and crush anyone standing in the crosshairs of contempt-filled eyes.

But dear friends, it does not stop there.

If wrath is like a boiling volcano and the pressure beneath the surface cannot find release through the mouth, that pressure moves somewhere else. It moves to the hands. And so, wrath can erupt in actions. Sometimes wrath shows itself when someone withdraws help. And in more severe cases, wrath erupts in retaliation: fists fly and violence occurs. Hands that were created to serve the neighbor become instruments of harm.

Dear friends, the seduction of pride that leads to wrath is incredibly dangerous.

Once pride takes root, wrath follows a predictable progression. Pride puffs us up, and wrath becomes a seed in the mind. That seed travels to the heart, where it grows into bitterness. From the heart, it spreads to the eyes, where contempt forms. Then it pours forth insults and slander through the mouth. And if it continues unchecked, it reaches the hands where it does harm.  

Lord, have mercy. Christ, have mercy. Lord, have mercy on us.

Baptized Saints, I do not need to convince you that wrath is evil. And I certainly do not need to convince you that this evil lives within us. Each of us carries this sinful nature. Each of us has felt the heat of irritation. Each of us has entertained bitter thoughts.

Who among us can say that wrath has never crept into our minds? Who here can claim that their heart has never hardened toward another person? Who can say that contempt has never flashed through their eyes? Who can say that their mouth has never unleashed words they later regretted?

None of us can say that.

So what do we do about it?

Should we take a cold shower to cool down our tempers? Should we swallow some imaginary chill pill to calm ourselves?

No. None of those things solves the real problem.

There is only one thing to do.

Repent.

We must repent of our pride. We must repent of the wrath that has lodged itself in our minds, our hearts, our eyes, our mouths, and our hands. We must confess the ugly truth that we have tried to put ourselves on the throne. We have acted as though we are the judge, the jury, and the executioner of our neighbor.

But we are not.

Vengeance does not belong to us. Wrath does not belong to us. Scripture says, 

“Vengeance is Mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” Justice belongs to God—not to us.

And that truth drives us straight to the cross of Christ.

For while we have been filled with sinful wrath toward others, Christ has borne the wrath of God for you and me.

Every ounce of divine wrath against sin—your sin and my sin—was poured out upon Christ. On the cross, the Son of God stood in our place. The wrath that we deserved fell upon Him. The judgment that belonged to us landed on His shoulders.

Dear friends, that is the Gospel.

The wrath of God against sin has been satisfied in Christ. Your pride is forgiven. Your wrath is forgiven. Your bitterness is forgiven. Your harsh words, your hateful thoughts, your vengeful impulses—Christ carried them all to the cross and made full satisfaction for all of them.  You are forgiven; your sins are atoned for.

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Now it must also be said, briefly, that there is such a thing as righteous anger. Scripture speaks of it. Righteous anger is not driven by wounded pride or personal insult. Righteous anger flows from the righteousness of God. It is anger toward sin and injustice that harms others and dishonors the Lord.

Jesus Himself displayed this righteous anger when He cleansed the temple. His anger was not selfish. It was not vindictive. It was holy zeal for His Father’s house. And so, as a quick side note: we must never repent of anger over the things that the Lord God angers over.  Sometimes it is good to be angry, but do not sin in that anger.  

* * *

Baptized Saints, each day we return to our Baptism. Each day, the old Adam is drowned through repentance. Each day, we hear the sweet words of absolution again: 

Your sins are forgiven.

And when those words land upon our ears and settle into our hearts, something remarkable happens. The Gospel softens what wrath has hardened. The mercy of Christ melts bitterness. The forgiveness of Christ frees us to forgive others.

In the name of Jesus. Amen.