{"id":2207,"date":"2012-09-29T15:10:00","date_gmt":"2012-09-29T19:10:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/oldsandals.net\/?p=2207"},"modified":"2012-10-01T08:24:25","modified_gmt":"2012-10-01T12:24:25","slug":"keep-in-mind","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.oldsandals.net\/?p=2207","title":{"rendered":"Wrestling"},"content":{"rendered":"

Are You not from everlasting, O Lord my God, my Holy One? We shall not die. O Lord, You have appointed them for judgment; O Rock, You have marked them for correction.\u00a0 You are\u00a0 of purer eyes than to behold evil, and cannot look on wickedness. Why do You look on those who deal treacherously,\u00a0 and hold Your tongue when the wicked devours a person\u00a0 more righteous than he?\u00a0\u00a0 Habakkuk 1:12-13<\/em><\/p>\n

The prophet is wrestling with God.\u00a0 We can identify with the prophet, if we have any kind of relationship with God at all.\u00a0 In my wrestling with trying to understand the “wrath of God”, I came across the following blog post\u00a0by Monsignor Charles Pope, pastor of Holy Comforter-St.Cyprian in Washington, D.C.:<\/p>\n

Not long ago I saw a bottle of hot sauce with the creative name \u201cWrath of God!\u201d Now that\u2019s gotta be some hot sauce! But what is God\u2019s wrath? It is spoken of often in the scriptures and it is a concept with which we have to be careful. On the one hand we cannot simply dismiss the concept as contradictory to the fact that God is love. But neither can we fail to see God\u2019s wrath apart from his love….<\/em>What are some ways that we can explain and understand the wrath of God? Let me propose a few.<\/em><\/p>\n

The wrath of God is not merely an Old Testament Concept<\/strong>. In fact we find it mentioned quite frequently in the New Testament as well. For example consider the following:<\/em><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Jesus said, \u201cWhoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God\u2019s wrath remains on him. (John 3:36)<\/em><\/li>\n
  2. The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness (Rom 1:18)<\/em><\/li>\n
  3. Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God\u2019s wrath, for it is written: \u201cIt is mine to avenge; I will repay,\u201d says the Lord. (Rom 12:19)<\/em><\/li>\n
  4. Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of such things [i.e. sexual immorality] God\u2019s wrath comes on those who are disobedient. (Eph 5:6)<\/em><\/li>\n
  5. For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. (1 Thess 5:9)<\/em><\/li>\n
  6. The angel swung his sickle on the earth, gathered its grapes and threw them into the great winepress of God\u2019s wrath. (Rev 14:19)<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    And there are at least a dozen other texts from the New Testament that could be referenced but allow these to suffice. So it is clear that the \u201cwrath of God\u201d is not some ancient or primitive concept that the New Testament has dispensed with. And notice too that the wrath of God is not something simply for the end of the world. It is also spoken of in some of the texts above and others not listed as something already operative in certain people.<\/em><\/p>\n

    So what is God\u2019s wrath? And how can we reconcile it with his love?<\/strong>\u00a0 Consider some of the images, explanations of God\u2019s wrath. None of them all alone explain it but together a picture and understanding may emerge.<\/em><\/p>\n

      \n
    1. Image: God\u2019s wrath is his passion to set things right<\/strong>. We see this image of God\u2019s wrath right at the beginning in Genesis when God cursed Satan and uttered the protoevangelium (the first good news): I will make you and the woman enemies\u2026.one of her seed will crush your head while you strike at his heel\u201d (Genesis 3:15). God is clearly angered at what sin has done to Adam and Eve and he continues to have anger whenever he beholds sin and injustice. He has a passion for our holiness. He wants what is best for us. He is angered by what hinders us in this regard. Surely all sins provoke his wrath but there are five sins that especially cry out to heaven: Wilful murder \u2013 [Gen. 4:10]; The sin of the Sodomites, [Gen. 18:20; 19:13]; The cry of the people oppressed, [Ex. 3:7-10]; The cry of the foreigner, the widow and the orphan, [Ex. 20:20-22]; Injustice to the wage earner. [Deut. 24:14-5; Jas. 5:4] (cf Catechism of the Catholic Church # 1867). In terms of all sin and injustice and anything that afflicts or hinders the possibility of salvation,\u00a0 God has a wrathful indignation and a passion to set things right. This is part of his love for us. His wrath may be manifest through punishments, disturbances of our conscience, or simply by allowing us to experience some or all the consequences of our sin and injustice.<\/em><\/li>\n
    2. Clarification: God\u2019s wrath is not like our anger<\/strong>. In saying that God is angry we ought to be careful to understand that however God experiences anger or any passion, it is not tainted by sin. God is not angry like we are angry. When we get angry we often experience an out of control quality, our temper flares and we often say and do things that are either sinful or at least excessive. It cannot pertain to God to have temper tantrums and to fly off the handle, to admix anger with an unreasonable lashing out. The way God does experience anger is not something we can fully understand but is it surely a sovereign and serene act of his will, not an out of control emotion.<\/em><\/li>\n
    3. Clarification: God is not moody<\/strong>. It does not pertain to God to have good days and bad days, good moods and bad ones. Scripture seems clear enough when it indicates that God does not Change. Consider this from the Book of James 1:17 Every good and perfect gift comes from above, from the Father of lights, in whom there is no variableness or shadow of turning. Hence to speak of God\u2019s wrath does not mean that he has suddenly had enough or that his temper has flared, or that his mood has soured. God IS. He does not change. As the text says, he is not variable. And this leads us to the next point.<\/em><\/li>\n
    4. Image: Given what we have said,\u00a0 the primary location of God\u2019s wrath is not in God,\u00a0 it is in us<\/strong>. Perhaps the best definition I have heard of God\u2019s wrath is this: God\u2019s wrath is our experience of the total incompatibility of our sinful state before the Holiness of God. Sin and God\u2019s holiness just don\u2019t mix. They can\u2019t keep company. Think of fire and water. They do not mix. They cannot coexist in the same spot. Bring them together and you you can hear the conflict. Think of water spilled on a hot stove and hear the sizzle and popping and the steam as the water flees away. If, on the other hand there is a lot of water the fire is overwhelmed and extinguished . But the point is that they cannot coexist. They will conflict and one will win. This is wrath, the complete incompatibility of two things. It is this way between sin and God\u2019s utter holiness. We must be purified before we can enter the presence of God otherwise we could never tolerate his glory. We would wail and grind our teeth and turn away in horror. The wrath is the conflict between our sin and God\u2019s holiness. God cannot and will not change so we must be changed. Otherwise we experience wrath. But notice the experience is in us primarily and not God. God does not change, he is holy, serene, he is love. If we experience his wrath it is on account of us, not him. Consider the next example.<\/em><\/li>\n
    5. Image: It is we who change, not God and this causes wrath to be experienced or not –<\/strong>Consider an example. On the ceiling of my bedroom is a light with a 100 watt light bulb. At night before bed I delight in the light. I am accustomed to it. But then at bed time I put out the light and sleep. When I awake it is still dark (at least in the winter). Hence I put the light on. But Ugh! Grrr! Now the light is bright and I curse it! Now mind you, the light has not changed one bit. It is still the same 100 watt bulb it was hours earlier. The light is just the same, it is I who have changed. But do you know what I do? I blame the light and say, \u201cThe light is harsh!\u201d But the light is not harsh, it is just the same as when I was happy with it. Now that I have changed I experience its wrath but the wrath is really in me. So also consider the experience of the ancient family of man with God. Adam and Eve walked with God in the cool of the evening when the dew collected on the grass (cf Gen 3:8).\u00a0 They had warm friendship with him and did not fear his presence. After sin, they hide. Had God changed? He had not, they had and they now experience him very differently. Fast forward to another Theophany. God has come to Mt Sinai and as he descends the people are terrified for there are peals of thunder, lightning, clouds and the loud blast of a trumpet. The people told Moses \u201cYou speak to us, but let not God speak, else we will die!\u201d (Ex 20:19) God too warned Moses that the people could not get close\u00a0 lest his wrath be vented upon them (Ex 19:20-25). Now again, had God changed? He had not. He was the same God who walked with them in the cool of the evening in a most intimate way. It was we who had changed. We had lost the holiness without which no one can see the Lord (Heb 12:14). The same God, unchanged though he was, now seemed to us frightening and wrathful.<\/em><\/li>\n
    6. What then shall we do? <\/strong>If we can allow the image of fire to remain before us we may well find a hopeful sign in God\u2019s providence. Since God is a holy fire, a consuming fire (cf Heb 12:26; Is 33:14) how can we possibly come into his presence? How can we avoid the wrath that would destroy us? Well, what is the only thing that survives in the presence of fire? Fire is the only thing that survives! So it looks like we\u2019d better become fire if we want to see God. And thus it was that God sent tongues of fire upon the Apostles and us at our confirmation. God wants to set you and me on fire with the Holy Spirit and in holiness. God wants to bring us up to the temperature of glory so that we can stand in his presence: See, I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before me. Then suddenly the Lord you are seeking will come to his temple; the messenger of the covenant, whom you desire, will come,\u201d says the LORD Almighty.\u00a0 But who can endure the day of his coming? Who can stand when he appears? For he will be like a refiner\u2019s fire or a launderer\u2019s soap. He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver; he will purify the Levites and refine them like gold and silver. Then the LORD will have men who will bring offerings in righteousness, and the offerings of Judah and Jerusalem will be acceptable to the LORD, as in days gone by, as in former years. (Mal 3:1-4). And indeed Jesus has now come:\u00a0\u00a0 For you have\u00a0 turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead\u2014Jesus, who rescues us from the coming wrath. 1 Thess 1:10-11)<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      So there is a wrath of God. As I have tried to show it is more in us than in God. But I will not say to you that there is NO wrath IN\u00a0 God. Scripture seems clear to indicate that wrath does pertain to God\u2019s inner life. What exactly it is and how God experiences it\u00a0 is mysterious to us. We can say to some extent what it is not (as we did above) but we cannot really say what it is exactly. But far more rich is the meditation that the wrath of God is essentially in us. It is OUR experience of the incompatibility of sin before God. We must be washed clean in the Blood of the Lamb and purified….But if we let the Lord work his saving work we are saved from the wrath for we are made holy and set on fire with God\u2019s love. And fire never fears the presence of fire. God is Love but he will not change. So it is that Love must change us.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      Are You not from everlasting, O Lord my God, my Holy One? We shall not die. O Lord, You have appointed them for judgment; O Rock, You have marked them for correction.\u00a0 You are\u00a0 of purer eyes than to behold evil, and cannot look on wickedness. Why do You look on those who deal treacherously,\u00a0 … <\/p>\n

      Continue reading “Wrestling”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.oldsandals.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2207"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.oldsandals.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.oldsandals.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.oldsandals.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.oldsandals.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2207"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"http:\/\/www.oldsandals.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2207\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2218,"href":"http:\/\/www.oldsandals.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2207\/revisions\/2218"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.oldsandals.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2207"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.oldsandals.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2207"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.oldsandals.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2207"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}