While celebrating the sacrament of Reconciliation, sometimes the penitent confesses “being angry with God” as though “being angry with God” and expressing that anger is a sin. I often get angry with God myself. As we see in Sunday’s reading from the Book of Job, rather than being a sin, being angry with God can actually be an expression of deep faith.
“Lamentation” is a form of prayer in which one pours out one’s heart to God, especially when one cannot understand what is happening in one’s life, and often when one is angry at God. There are many examples of lamentations in the Old Testament, including many of the Psalms. Usually, after pouring out their heart to God and expressing their rage, the person praying is able to once again see the goodness and beauty of life. This has been my experience. I was especially angry with God when my younger brother died suddenly at the age of twenty-five.
In a real sense, expressing anger to God is an act of faith. We wouldn’t be angry with God if we did not believe in God, or if we did not have a relationship with God. We wouldn’t be angry with God if we didn’t trust that God is a loving God who desires what is best for us. After expressing our frustration, we often come to trust that things will somehow work out for us…just as they did for Job.
