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The wrath of God is not a popular subject among Episcopalians, but the biblical evidence for God's wrath is so overwhelming that the subject must be addressed. God reveals his wrath against sinful persons, where sin is a violation of the covenant. Scripture does not claim that God hates the sin but loves the sinner, but rather, understands persons as totalities, and therefore, sinful actions define us as sinful persons and subject to the wrath of God. God's wrath can take several forms. In one form God addresses us directly, telling us that he is angry, that we are wrong, that we are hurting him and others. Jesus' cleaning of the temple, his overturning the tables and driving out the money changers, was an example of this type of wrath. The purpose of this personal confrontation is to bring us to our senses. It is a wrath that cleanses, restores, awakens, and motivates. This wrath is good for us. Another form of God's wrath is his abandonment. When we persist in rejecting God, God accepts our decision and withdraws his presence. This is not easy for God. According to some theologians, God became incarnate to deal with human sin. I prefer to think the primary motive for God taking flesh was companionship, the joy of fellowship with those he loves. But we rejected this fellowship. God, in human form, was rejected and crucified on the cross. At that time Jesus cried out, "My God, my God, why have you abandoned me." He suffered the consequences of human sin, and that consequence is abandonment by God. Since God is the source of life, his abandonment has the most terrifying consequences. Abandoned persons and nations are devastated by sin and the cosmic evil powers. This can clearly be seen in such horrors as war, or in the chaos and affliction of persons who persist in evil. We may cry out to God, but if we remain unrepentant and refuse forgiveness, we can experience God as unrelenting, absent, or even hostile. In this terrible darkness God is only "present" in his suffering form, as Christ on the cross, in dereliction and agony. But even this, as the saints testify, can be good for us. Worst of all, and this won't last forever, is to persist in sin and not experience the wrath of God. Love without wrath is indulgence. Indulgent love denies sin its consequence; it morally degrades others by not holding them to a high standard. God is not like that. He loves fiercely and he expects the best of us. Therefore, when his love is rejected, his love becomes wrath for the sake of his love. Yet, as the Psalmist says, "His anger is for a moment, but his favor lasts a lifetime." (30:5) Ann Douglas, in her book The Feminization of American Culture, describes how the 18th century Calvinist view of a holy, living, wrathful God, was transformed into the image of a sentimental milk toast deity in the 19th century, and this in turn gave way to the pagan permissive culture and religion of twentieth century America. Douglas is a feminist, and she repudiates this theological development because it seduced women into becoming purveyors of a cheap sentimentality rather than a rigorous force for a better society. We are still riding the wave. Our Prayer Book lectionary frequently omits verses that may be offensive, and Episcopalians rarely hear sermons on the wrath of God. Lacking a sense of God's wrath, we gradually lose our moral bearings. If this continues, it will lead to no good end, for as Paul put it, "Be not deceived; God is not mocked, for whatever you sow, that will you reap." (Gal. 6:7) (Plenteous Harvest, March, 1996.) The Rev. Robert J. Sanders, Ph.D. March, 1996.
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