“Law & Order: SPU – So You’re Pro-Life…”
Ex. 20:12; Matt. 5:21-16; Rom. 12:9-21
Identify the murderer in that scene…By the way, there’s more than one – at least if we understand the 6th commandment, “You shall not murder.” These words seem so clear, yet their meaning is so broad. This commandment relates to and provides the foundation for such issues as abortion, the morality of war, the death penalty, eradication of poverty, adequate health care, and so much more. But in all those cases these words do not stand alone – other Scriptures necessarily come into play. And while each of the issues may well be worth its own sermon, that is not my focus this morning. My focus is to hone in on the core meaning that underlies all the concerns that fall under the category of ‘pro-life.’ Certainly Jesus went straight to the core issue and pointed to the most practical, personal meaning: "You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, `Do not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.' 22 But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to his brother, `Raca, ' is answerable to the Sanhedrin. But anyone who says, `You fool!' will be in danger of the fire of hell.” If this is where Jesus began, with personal introspection, so should I.
Let’s look more closely at THE INTERPRETATION OF THE COMMANDMENT. Listen to the key Scriptures: “You shall not murder.” (Ex. 20: 13) “Do not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.' But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment.” (Mt. 5:21f.) (Rom. 12:19) “Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written: "It is mine to avenge; I will repay," says the Lord.” At the very core of the commandment is the ISSUE OF THE SACREDNESS OF HUMAN LIFE. The Heidelberg Catechism, in its interpretation of the commandment, emphasizes this as well. “… I am not to abuse, hate, or injure, or kill my neighbor, wither with thought, or by word or gesture, much less by deed, whether by myself or through another, but to lay aside all desire for revenge; and that I do not harm myself or willfully expose myself to danger. This is why the authorities are armed with the means to prevent murder.”
The reason for this sacredness of human life is that WE ALL ARE CREATED IN THE IMAGE OF GOD. Human life is holy and every person bears God’s image. As Dr. Lew Smedes wrote, “We must see every person as someone who lives each moment in relationship with God. We need to see the religious connection if we want to recognize the essence of human sacredness. The concrete person, beautiful or ugly, productive or idle, smart or stupid, is the one whom God made, whom God loves, whose life is in God’s hands, and for whom his Son died on the cross…he is, with all his gifts and in spite of all his sins, the sacred person among all other valuable living creatures.”
HUMAN LIFE IS THE MOST PRECIOUS AND SACRED THING IN THE WHOLE CREATION. To direct its’ ending or to end it is God’s prerogative alone. Unfortunately sometimes we humans have it all wrong. I shook my head in disbelief and disgust a couple of weeks ago. I read an article about, and saw a picture of, people picketing in Oregon. An Oregon city was having a lot of difficulty with an overpopulation of ducks which were causing quite a mess in numerous areas of the city. So the city euthanized some of the ducks in an effort to control the number of ducks. These people were protesting this action. Now whether or not that is morally right or wrong, the tragedy is that this state, Oregon, where people were protesting the euthanization of some ducks is also the very state that allows for the euthanization of adults through assisted suicide, with little or few protests. Yet human life is the most precious and sacred thing in the whole creation – and it belongs to God.
Thais is why Jesus, and the Catechism, points us, when dealing with the commandment’s interpretation, beyond the act of literal murder. Both point us to OUR ATTITUDES TOWARDS OTHER PEOPLE. The Catechism states we are not to abuse, hate, or injure through thought, word, or gesture, much less by deed and to lay aside all desire for revenge. Hatred manifests itself in many forms. It prompts jealousy, slander, contempt, prejudice, intolerance, ridicule, gossip, and revenge. All of these attitudes and emotions are destructive. As Dr. Gerhard Frost pointed out, they injure and murder the other persons’ hopes, dreams, reputation, ambitions, aspirations, and ideals. They kill self-respect and destroy self-worth. They blow way self-confidence and drive away joy as they leave in their wake a crushing weight of sorrow, a deadening sense of defeat, and a badly broken spirit. Our attitudes murder others.
The issue of the sacredness of life is ROOTED IN THE HEART. As Catechism question #106 asks, “But does this commandment speak only of killing?” The answer is, “In forbidding murder God means to teach us that he abhors the root of murder, which is envy, hatred, anger, and desire for revenge, and that he regards all these as hidden murder.” So this commandment leads us to do some thorough introspection of our thoughts and attitudes. So you think you’re pro-life? Let’s do a self-test. Have you abused, hated, injured, or wished ill for another person through your thoughts? Have you been angry with someone? Through your words? Through gossip? Through your gestures? Through a desire for revenge? If yes, you’re guilty as charged by Jesus.
THE HEART IS THE SWITCHBOARD THAT CONNECTS OUR THOUGHTS AND ATTITUDES TO OUR ACTIONS. The biblical account that powerfully illustrates this is Genesis 4, the encounter between the brothers Cain and Abel. You may recall that both young men made sacrifices to God but while Abel’s was accepted, Cain’s was not. “So Cain was very angry, and his face was downcast.” (5) Literally it states “It became hot to him, and his face fell.” A volcano was seething inside Cain. So God approached Cain: “Then the LORD said Cain, "Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast? If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must master it." If I go home after the Encounter Service, and the locks have been changed, and that Barb is standing at the window waving goodbye --- what should I do? I could immediately contact a good lawyer, policeman, and locksmith; I could run to a neighbor and ask for help smashing in the door; or I could ask, “What have I done? What did I do?” That would be the starting point of figuring out what was going on. Similarly, we need to do some introspection and check our hearts. What sin is crouching at our door? What poison is contaminating our heart? What action or attitude is ungodly and sinful? We should always examine ourselves when the volcano is seething and our heart is hot.
We know how Cain responded – he didn’t examine himself. Verses 8-9: “Now Cain said to his brother Abel, "Let's go out to the field." And while they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him. Then the LORD said to Cain, "Where is your brother Abel?" "I don't know," he replied. "Am I my brother's keeper?"’ The mandate here is that we must RESEARCH THE SOURCE OF TROUBLE. What was the real problem? Was it God who rejected Cain’s sacrifice? Or was it Cain? It’s obvious – the problem was Cain – he had a poor heart, just like we often do. Cain was jealous of Abel. Cain could not stand his little brother being accepted when he was not. His pride, as the oldest son whose name represented power and rights, wouldn’t allow him to be outshone this way. The thoughts and attitudes of his heart led him to murder.
Yet that’s not very far removed from our dislike of our neighbors or fellow church members because they have a nicer home, bigger car, or grander success. We often put up barriers between us and others because we concentrate on what they have on the outside rather than on what we lack on the inside; we concentrate on what they have rather than on the reasons why we don’t have. What we do not have poisons what do have. We convince ourselves that they get what they do not deserve while we do not get what we deserve. Pride and jealousy cloud the truth that if we get what we truly deserve, we’ll really know misery and sorrow.
No wonder John wrote “If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth.” (1Jn. 1:6) “Anyone who claims to be in the light but hates his brother is still in the darkness.” (1Jn. 2:9) “Anyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life in him.” (1Jn. 3:15) We need to pray more often the prayer of the Psalmist (139:23-24): “Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.”
The Bible never asks us to get rid of something without also telling us to replace it with something. So we need to think about THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE COMMANDMENT. Once again the Catechism is right on target (#107). “Is it enough, then, if we do not kill our neighbor in any of these ways?” “No; for when God condemns envy, hatred, and anger, he requires us to love our neighbor as ourselves, to show patience, peace, gentleness, mercy, and friendliness toward him, to prevent injury to him as much as we can, also to do good to our enemies.” The Jesus goes for gold at this point – HE PUTS FORTH WHAT WE CALL THE GOLDEN RULE. (Matt. 22:39) “Love your neighbor as yourself.” (Matt. 7:12) “In everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the law and the prophets.” Love as you want to be loved. Accept others as you want to be accepted. Treat others as you want to be treated.
It’s precisely what we read from Paul’s letter to the Roman Church: So you’re pro-life? Then “Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves. Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited. Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.” We’re talking about living in the spirit of 1 Corinthians 13, about living with the Fruit of the Spirit.
It is our task, indeed OUR COMMAND, TO PROTECT, DEFEND, AND DO GOOD TO OUR NEIGHBOR – AND EVEN TO LOVE OUR ENEMIES! Jesus said it very pointedly (Mt. 5:44) “But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you…” Paul, likewise, wrote, “On the contrary: "If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head." Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”
Stan Hauerwas and William Willimon hit the nail on the head when they wrote, “It is only against a background of interpreting (this) commandment as demanding a peaceful community like the church that we can understand the Christian prohibition against such violent acts as abortion, suicide, and euthanasia. We ought to order our lives together in such a way that these matters simply do not occur among us. We ought to live with and love one another in such a way that none of us are ever so alone that suicide seems a possibility. We ought to so honor and care for our elders that euthanasia seems irrelevant. We ought never to have sex in a manner that a life conceived through that sex should tempt us to end life.”
The life and actions of Joseph demonstrate how to live out this demanding love. He came from a family of deceivers. Jacob, with Rebekah’s help, deceived Esau & Isaac in order to get birthright. Jacob’s Uncle Laban deceived Jacob by substituting Laban’s elder daughter for the younger Rachel. Jacob in turn deceived Laban over ownership of livestock. Rachel deceived her father Laban over possession of the family’s icons. Jacob’s sons deceived him concerning the whereabouts of Joseph. Jacob’s son Simeon & Levi deceived the people of Shechem over an injury to sister Dinah. Jacob’s son Judah deceived his own daughter-in-law Tamar by reneging on his promise to let her marry his last son. Tamar, in turn, deceived her father-in-law Judah to expose his wrongful deception. And what did Joseph, who had been forced out of living with his family through all his years, do when he had the opportunity to get even with everyone? He said, Genesis 50:19, “Don’t be afraid. Am I in the place of God? You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives. So then, don’t be afraid. I will provide for you and for your children.”
Perhaps you are harboring ill feelings towards someone in your heart right now. It’s time not only for introspection but for action, Listen again to Jesus. He said that if you are preparing for worship, you must first BE RECONCILED: “Therefore…leave your gift in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother; then come and offer your gift.” The word used for ‘reconcile’ means ‘to bring a new element into an ancient crisis.’ That new element is the love of Jesus Christ. We are to worry less about war and hatred and enmity ‘out there’ and get rid of the evil within our hearts by trying to reconcile with others through the love of Jesus Christ. As has been written, “…when you receive God’s mercy in forgiveness it is not given in a cup, but you receive it in a pipeline from an inexhaustible supply. It is not given to be held for oneself, but we receive it in overflowing abundance to pass on to others. The greatest thing we can ever be to others in our lives is a stepping-stone to Jesus, and stepping stones are designed to be walked on…That’s why it takes a crucified (person) to witness to a crucified Christ.”
We will never get rid of physical murder in our world until we have first eliminated murder from our hearts. This morning, I invite you to lay your heart on the altar before God so He can heal it. It’s the only foundation for living out being pro-life.
