Church of the Holy City

Murder, Peace, and Love

Murder, Peace, and Love
Rev. Dr. David J. Fekete
December 15, 2013

Genesis 4:2-10 Matthew 5:21-26 Psalm

The fifth commandment is, “You shall not murder.” The word choice is important here. Often this commandment is translated, “You shall not kill.” But the correct translation of the Hebrew is the word “murder.” Murder is different than killing. There may be times in defence of one’s country or to maintain the balance of power in the world when wars are necessary. In these cases, it would appear that killing may be justified. But murder means, by definition, killing out of hatred, or revenge, or because of a personal vendetta. None of these cases are justified. So the fifth commandment prohibits killing out of anger or hatred. So the mental state of hatred is implied by the very word choice of murder.
I chose a clear case of murder for our Old Testament reading. In our reading from Genesis, Cain is said to be “very angry” with Abel. And it is this anger that prompts Cain to murder his brother.
We are none of us likely to act out angry impulses to the point of murder. But Jesus calls our attention to internal meanings of the commandment not to murder. There are three degrees of murderous feelings that Jesus talks about. The first is being angry with one’s neighbor. The second is insulting one’s neighbor. And the third is calling one’s neighbor a fool.
I think that the kind of anger that flashes up in a moment of hurt or insult is natural. I don’t think Jesus is prohibiting that kind of anger. I think that what Jesus is talking about is dwelling on one’s anger and nurturing it. This is called in other places holding a grudge. I used to hold grudges. On my own time, I would think about a slight I may have received. I would think of all the way the other person was wrong, and list in my head the many ways the other person was out of line and wrong and a jerk. All the while, my heart would be burning with rage against this individual as my mind was filled with an unholy meditation on my neighbor’s wrongs. Occasionally, I would ponder ways to get even with this individual. I would also think of remarks I could have made or ways I could have responded in the moment to get them back. Now that’s a lot of mental energy. A lot of misspent mental energy. It reminds me of a Blake poem called A Poison Tree.

I was angry with my friend:
I told my wrath, my wrath did end.
I was angry with my foe:
I told it not, my wrath did grow.

And I watered it in fears,
Night and morning with my tears;
And I sunned it with smiles,
And with soft deceitful wiles.

And it grew both day and night,
Till it bore an apple bright.
And my foe beheld it shine.
And he knew that it was mine,

And into my garden stole
When the night had veiled the pole;
In the morning glad I see
My foe outstretched beneath the tree.

This poem speaks of the kind of resentment I have been describing. Wasn’t I building up that poison tree in my own mind and heart? And this poem shows that nurturing resentments against someone actually is a form of murder. And the worst thing about these resentments is what it does to us. We are the ones going around feeling all those unpleasant feelings of anger in our hearts. And all the while, the event is over; the person isn’t even present, and, in fact, is most likely going about their business feeling just fine, not knowing our resentment, not feeling miserable as we are.
Notice, too, how Blake tells us a way to defuse our feelings of resentment. When the poet is angry with his friend, “I told my wrath, my wrath did end.” When we are up front about our feelings with others, we can defuse the issue on the spot. This is the way Jesus suggests.
So if you are offering your gift at the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, 24 leave your gift there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift (Matthew 5:23-24).
If a person has something against us, or we against them, we are told to make peace. This, even before we go to God. Jesus tells us that before we bring an offering to the temple, to make peace with our neighbor.
This does not mean unhealthy ways of making ourselves feel better. This does not mean to lash out in anger. Here we encounter Jesus’ second degree of murder. “Whoever insults his brother shall be liable to the council.” There are two violations in this kind of retaliation. First, it is a form of revenge to insult someone else. It only escalates the cycle of anger. Second, and more important, insulting someone is a public action. And insulting someone includes damaging their reputation. There are many ways of varying severity to this level of anger. It includes backbiting and talking someone down to others. It includes gossip. It includes getting others fired up against someone. And all this leads to damaging someone’s reputation. For a person’s livelihood often depends on their reputation. These forms of attack—backbiting, gossiping, rallying others against someone—all these forms of anger are murder to the good reputation of someone else. This gets us back to the Blake poem. If we have something against someone, we need to confront them personally and diplomatically and bring our concerns to them face to face. “I was angry with my friend/I told my wrath, my wrath did end.”
But it is hard, sometimes, to face those with whom we have a problem. We don’t like confrontation. But what does that leave us with? Will we stew in anger and build a poison tree? Will we detract them behind their back?
There is another option here that I haven’t mentioned. We can let it go. Depending on the nature of our neighbor’s offence, we may not need to make an issue of it. We can drop the matter altogether in our minds. This is not saying that we need to be a doormat. If an individual is really damaging us, we will need to remain aware of the danger such an individual can be to us. Avoiding them in the future or trying to understand their nature are ways of dealing with the matter. Meanwhile, we don’t need to let the committee start in our heads in which we say, “He did this, and then that, and then still this other . . .”
In Matthew 5 we also have the beautiful saying of Jesus that brings all these considerations home. “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the sons of God.” Striving to establish peace is making heaven on earth wherever we are. And as Christians, this is our mission in life. At this time of year, especially, we cultivate ways to establish peace. We remember the birth of Jesus into the world, who is called Prince of Peace.
The ways of peace, of reconciliation, of conflict resolution—these are the ways of God. While the commandment is phrased negatively—“Thou shalt not”—it is saying positively, “Blessed are the peacemakers.” It is godly to live in peace one with another. And it is also much more pleasant to live in peace than it is to live in anger and resentment. So let us do ourselves a favor as we live out God’s commands. Let us be peacemakers and live in love toward our neighbors. Then we are children of God.

PRAYER

Lord, may we walk in peace with our brothers and sisters. We ask that you give us patience and forbearance. For in this world, we do meet with hurtful words and actions. May our response not be one of anger and rage and revenge. May we learn from your example to turn the other cheek. May we follow your example and be the blessed peacemakers who are your children. May we not meditate on our neighbor’s shortcomings but on their good points. May we seek not to remove the speck from our neighbor’s eye, but the beam from our own. Thus may we be truly called by your name, and bring heaven to earth through our hearts and actions.

And lord, we ask that you watch over those who are struggling and enduring hardship, be it sickness, poverty, or national unrest. Send your peaceful spirit to turmoil. May aid come to those in need and may all the nations of the world come together in good will to help nations that are suffering from natural disasters or internal strife.

Send the power of your healing love to those who are sick. We know on faith that in every trying situation, good can come. May we find the good in trouble, and healing where there is sickness.