The Fifth Commandment
(This reflection was written after the Waukesha Christmas Parade tragedy in November 2021.)
It is not coincidental that we are at the fifth commandment. THOU SHALT NOT KILL. I don't know if I can say anything of wisdom in the backdrop of our experience of someone to whom this commandment meant nothing. I surely do not want to just run off a series of caveats which this commandment covers, because those who do those things know they are wrong. To tell all of you about this commandment, I would be preaching to the choir. It is enough to remember and ponder that the very first act we hear about in our new fallen world, our world of grasping at the knowledge of good and evil, is murder. And not just any murder, but the murder of a brother by a brother, Cain murdering Abel, out of envy. In that one event, we see an unleashing of a myriad of sins which we have all become familiar: envy, lying (“I do not know,” when Cain is questioned by God as to the whereabouts of Abel), lack of compassion (“Am I my brother’s keeper?”). Since God is the giver of life, and we are saddled with a brain full of self-concern, only God has the right to end life.
Jewish tradition teaches that, “if a person saves one life, it is as if a whole world has been saved. And, if a person destroys one life, it is as if a whole world has been destroyed.” As we celebrate our Thanksgiving, with or without our families, we often recall our “family tree.” We go back to our father’s father and his before that. We take note of who “begot” who. Think of how the murder of your great-great-great grandfather would have effected your existence. To just think of this shakes our core as to the depth of this sin.
This prohibition against murder also contains within it the sin of gossip. Publicly humiliating someone is akin to murder. Tarnishing someone’s good name is destroying that person. And it is plain cowardice. To not be able to say something to someone’s face, but be willing to put that person down to another, is spineless at its core. But the damage done with gossip is also to the person who speaks ill of another. We think we are hurting the other person, but we are hurting ourselves. Anyone who hears gossip wonders, “What does this person say about me when I am not around?” That is the dual nature of sin, but especially this commandment. When we kill, we are killing ourselves because when we bow to taking another’s life, whether literally or through a harsh tongue, we have taken God out of our own soul. Remember the three rules before speaking: Is it true? Is it kind? Is it necessary?