Reconciliation

You could chase away many modern Americans with a copy of Chapter 5, verses 25-26 from the subject of our study these last months. The King James version (yes, the one from the original English, so don’t get alarmed) quotes the words from The Sermon On The Mount simply as

25 Agree with thine adversary quickly, whiles thou art in the way with him; lest at any time the adversary deliver thee to the judge, and the judge deliver thee to the officer, and thou be cast into prison.

26 Verily I say unto thee, Thou shalt by no means come out thence, till thou hast paid the uttermost farthing.

The passage is taken to refer to litigation before the court. Modern versions, such as the International Standard Version (ISV) are more specific, to wit:

25 Come to terms quickly with your opponent while you are on the way to court, or your opponent may hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the guard, and you will be thrown into prison.

26 I tell you with certainty, you will not get out of there until you pay back the last dollar!”

I maintain that a copy of these words would frighten many Americans today simply because we love to disagree, and are being taught through politics and social media to hate those with whom we disagree. As an old friend of mine used to say, “There are too many of us who would rather be right than win.”

The Galilean’s advice, as quoted above reads as a quite simple bit of advice. In fact, the two verses in today’s study (KJV) contain only 58 words. In contrast, consider this from the Law Library of Louisiana:

“Myra Clark Gaines' 19th century fight over an enormous inheritance is still the longest-running civil lawsuit in American history, taking over 60 years to finally find some kind of resolution. The United States Supreme Court called her case "the most remarkable in the records."

One of the most bizarre lines in modern television is frequently uttered by the main protagonist of a popular crime show who says, “Never apologize. It’s a sign of weakness.” It was, apparently borrowed from an old John Wayne western, She Wore a Yellow Ribbon. In any event, it would possibly come as a hell of a shock to Robert E. Lee, who reportedly met the survivors of the suicidal assault on Cemetery Ridge at Gettysburg with a sobbing apology for the blunder he had just created.

But let’s leave Bobby Lee and return to a greater figure. Why was the Galilean so in favor of reconciliation that involves all of life, not just the "religious part?" He certainly seemed serious about such reconciliation—along with forgiveness, and mercy—as the path to righteous living.

Why are so many of our political leaders, and their supporters from the conservative fundamentalist congregations, so diametrically opposed in their thinking to that of our simple rabbi? Why do so many, otherwise kind and gentle, people follow such teachings with pitchforks, torches, and vitriol? What on Earth would our leader say?

Those are thoughts that will require greater minds than mine to untangle. Maybe he would just say, “How blessed are those who make peace.” Oh, I think he did say that.