You may not know it, but I have a little side hustle – preaching to the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship at the Collington retirement community. Collington is where Ruth Schrock, (Brett Sherman’s mom,) and Jim Gingerich live. (Joyce Fish lived there too for about 10 years, until her death this past spring.) The UU fellowship invites me to preach about once a year, when they meet on the third Thursday of the month. The other week it was suggested that I might want to preach about anxiety and fear, since it feels so immediate these days. So I did that – though I did not use the bible as my text.

But here at HMC, we have the bible as part of our spiritual practice and the bible addresses not only fear – “Don’t be afraid,” and anxiety – “Be still and know that I am God,” but also anger – “Vengeance is mine, I will repay.” 

There is a tradition of fire and brimstone sermons in some churches, “sinners in the hands of an angry God” and all that. Here at Hyattsville Mennonite we talk about love and joy and kindness in worship – not anger. Maybe it’s a reaction to what some of us grew up with. I am grateful that people feel free to share deeply in worship, to cry and laugh. I wonder, does anger show up in our worship or do we save that for the foyer and parking lot?

There is so much to be angry about these days: unjustified ICE abductions and killings, genocide in Gaza and the West Bank; ongoing war in Ukraine; war in Iran, leading to high and higher gas prices and food prices; environmental regulations being lowered or eliminated; people losing health insurance; threats to upcoming elections; the rollback of rights for Queer people and women…There are what might seem like smaller things as well: getting cut off in traffic; missing a train or bus; friends that disappoint us … The list goes on and on of all the things that can make us feel angry.

I have been thinking about anger – and then I had such sweet experiences this past week: traveling to PA with the comforter group to make our delivery to Mennonite Central Committee; visiting my parents; starting choir rehearsals for the Requiem; happening upon an outdoor party Friday night under the full moon. It almost feels hard to call up anger this morning. 

Sing – How can our anger give life, anger give life.

Inspired by our reading of Ellen Davis’ book in adult ed, I wonder what the bible, specifically the Psalms, might say to us in these days when anger, fear, and anxiety are in the air and all over the airwaves.

Five of us from the congregation were at a senate panel and hearing this past Tuesday. We were there to support the panelists – family members of those killed by ICE. There was horror, sadness, and deep grief in that room. Also anger, controlled anger. Hearing from family members and allies how innocent loved ones were terrorized, brutalized, and gunned down by government agents was horrifying. It took incredible courage and control for family members and witnesses to share their experiences and feelings. Anger did seep out, in tears. 

I was struck by some of the comments by Rachel Reyes, the mother of American citizen, 23 year old Reuben Martinez. Reuben was shot and killed by ICE officers in his car in March 2025. Rep. Subramanyam asked Mrs. Reyes a question about what she would say to the president. She was silent as she searched for words. Then she said, “Yes, I did vote for him… I can’t even formulate my sentences right now, I am so frustrated and very disappointed. He lied…” She went to say a few more things but she was clearly trying to find the words to express what I can only imagine was tamped down anger.

Her frustration, disappointment, and anger are unfortunately not new, not unique. I wonder if this psalm from generations and generations ago is one that gives voice to what Mrs. Reyes was trying to say. From Psalm 94: 1-7

God our avenger – 

reveal yourself, God our avenger. 

Rise up, judge of the earth, 

and give the arrogant what they deserve!

How long will these violent gangs, O God, 

how long will these violent gangs be jubilant? 

Arrogance pours forth from their speech

as they boast about their crimes. 

They crush your people, O God. 

They oppress those most dear to you!

They prey on the elderly and attack foreigners,

and murder children who beg in the streets. 

They say, “God doesn’t see us;

the God of Israel doesn’t notice.”

Sing – How can our anger give life, anger give life?

The psalmist names the problem: how the powerful run rampant, acting unjustly against people who are powerless against them. These powerful people think they are accountable to no one. The psalmist describes so well what was said over and over again in the senate hearing: 

How long will this ICE violence be allowed to go on? 

They keep killing our loved ones and no one is held accountable! 

There is a clear pattern of violence and no one is doing anything about it. 

The violence keeps happening and they think they can keep getting away with it!

Then the psalmist really leans into their anger.

Psalm 94: 8-11

Wise up, you fools!

You idiots! When will you ever learn?

Can’t the One who fashioned the ear, hear?

Can’t the maker of the eye, see? 

Do you think that the One who disciplines entire nations won’t punish a guilty individual?

Do you think the Teacher of humankind doesn’t already know?

Our God knows what people think-

and knows just how vapid their reasoning is!

“Take that! God sees, God hears. And we all see. You are not invincible.”

Does knowing that God sees the injustice sooth our anger? Does knowing that justice is not all up to us but is shared with God, help to be able to move on? On Tuesday, Donna Ganger, the mother of 37 year old Renee Nicole Good testified. (You will remember that Renee was shot and killed by an ICE officer while she was in her vehicle in January 2026.) Ganger said, “Far more than being a Republican, I am a Christian. Jesus teaches us to forgive and I have.” 

I wonder, does that forgiveness remove the anger? the grief? the longing to hug her daughter? Her testimony spoke volumes about her grief and pain. I wonder about the anger.

Sing – How can our anger give life, anger give life?

Injustice by the powerful is one thing. But we can also feel angry at those who are close to us, who we thought had our best interests at heart. The psalmist has words for those situations too.

Psalm 55: 13-15 ( tr. Ellen Davis, p 25) 

Violence fills the city,

fraud and deceit never leave its marketplace.

It is not an enemy who reviles me; that I could bear.

It is not an opponent who vaunts themself against me, I could hide from them.

But you, someone just like me, my companion and my intimate;

We shared sweet fellowship in the house of God, we walked in the crowd.

Let destruction seize them without warning!

Let Sheol swallow them alive. 

That is some rage, especially considering it is directed at a friend, a close spiritual friend who shared fellowship in the house of God. What kind of betrayal must have occurred to call down that kind of retribution? This is indeed a “cursing” psalm, as Ellen Davis calls it. 

Davis says that this psalm gave her the words she needed when she felt betrayed by a close friend while in seminary. A professor saw her pain and anger. He gave her a list of psalms and recommended that she “go into the chapel when no one else is around and shout these at the top of your lungs.” (Getting Involved with God, Ellen F Davis, p 26)  

Davis says, “It was the most helpful advice anyone gave me at the time – especially the part about shouting.” This practice helped her move “beyond blind rage.” After a few days, the psalms began to speak not just for her but to her. The psalms became the company she needed and she began to hear the psalms as if they were coming from a friend or even from God. Eventually the psalms took another turn; did the psalm also have an indictment of her?

I am fascinated by the way that these ancient words can give voice to our feelings thousands of years after they were written. These words are not so holy that we cannot shout them. We can whisper them as a mantra, we can speak them to others, we can pray them aloud or in our hearts. Is that what makes them sacred?

I participate monthly in an even more ancient tradition – Chinese medicine. (I receive acupuncture.) In Chinese medicine, anger is considered springtime energy. It is an energy that can burst forth quickly and might lead to blooms. In this tradition, anger is neither good or bad; it is a part of being human and must be kept in balance. It is how we use our anger that we need to pay attention to. Holding onto our anger, ruminating and stewing can lead to depression and other health issues. Letting the anger out? We are all too familiar with explosive and uncontrolled anger that can lead to violence.

Anger does not need to be violent but it does need to be released. The energy of anger can lead to creatively thinking about how to resist injustice. It takes some practice and maturity for anger to be used to resist injustice without becoming violent. This is why we practice non-violent resistance. 

Is it violent to pray a psalm as a curse when we cannot find our own words?

Psalm 109: 8, 10, 16, 21-22 (translation by Ellen Davis, p. 28-29)

May their days be few;

let another take their possessions. 

May their children wander about and beg,

going in search away from their hovels. 

Let their memory be cut off from the earth,

because they did not remember to act in covenant faith 

but hounded a person, poor and needy, 

crushed in heart, even to death…

But you O Lord, act with me as befits Your Name.

Because your covenant faithfulness is good,

deliver me.

For I am poor and needy, 

and my heart is pierced within me.

This is a desperate plea, cursing parents and their children, begging for the cruel one to be forgotten, any memory of them wiped from the earth. But somehow, then the psalmist relinquishes control, acknowledges their place in the order of things. They let God be God as they seek balance. //  I wonder how that happens. //  I wonder how long it takes to let go, to get to that sense of balance.

Davis suggests that even as we read this psalm as a curse, we check ourselves. She says we need to read with humility, recognizing our place in the developed world, in a country that starts wars, and takes whatever it wants for itself, that contributes mightily to climate change and wastes food when people are starving. 

What if we read this psalm from the point of view of someone 75 years from now who in anger, curses us, curses the wealthy Americans who did not act in good faith? For anger (and scripture) to be creative companions, we need perspective – and humility.

Psalm 109:16, 21-22 (translation by Ellen Davis)

Let their memory be cut off from the earth,

because they did not remember to act in covenant faith 

but hounded a person, poor and needy, 

crushed in heart, even to death…

But you O Lord, act with me as befits Your Name.

Because your covenant faithfulness is good,

deliver me.

For I am poor and needy, 

and my heart is pierced within me.

(silence)

This is not the last word on anger, certainly these are not the only scriptures about anger. These texts don’t remove the anger we feel though they may give voice to it. Can our anger bring life? Can we find our joy again? Can our body hold joy and anger together? 

Let’s sing together, creating an angry, unruly choir, letting our bodies feel the anger we may be carrying. This will not be that “Joyful noise unto the Lord” that we are told is for church. This is our shouting in the chapel moment – only we are not alone. But God is with us in our anger and our joy. 

Don’t worry about beautiful singing; this is a time for authentic singing. Don’t worry about getting it right or what other people hear. We can support each other in our anger, respecting our own anger and the other’s anger. 

I will lead us through this time, so try to listen for my direction but if you miss it, oh well. How can our anger give life?

Low note – how/grunt/drone  – E

add melody – E

add 5th above drone (or below) – B

If there is a word that you want to repeat for emphasis, feel free to do that.

That might mean that you are changing the rhythm

end on drone/ hum

 

Other resources – 

https://aestheticsofjoy.com/joy-and-anger-how-to-hold-on-to-joy-amid-strong-emotions/

https://mendacupuncture.com/anger-the-emotion-of-spring/