Exemptions

You kinda have to wonder what the Galilean thinks when he sees some of memes posted on Facebook. As far as anyone knows, he hasn't shared his thoughts on line. He does give us a hint, though, in The Sermon on the Mount.

It comes right after he reminds the crowd on the hill about the Old Testament injunction regarding killing.

 “But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire.”

Oh goodness. He didn’t really mean to imply that being angry with one’s brother is tantamount to murder, did he? Listen, and you will hear the out “of context crowd” saying, “he really didn’t mean that. How can we rid the world of homosexuality if we don’t teach our children to be angry with a brother or sister who chooses such a life? Anger is bad? He surely didn’t mean that.”

Well, he said it, or so the story goes.

And this word “raca,” is an interesting one. Some say it comes from the Aramaic word “reqa,”meaning “empty headed.”

“Empty headed” is extremely mild compared to what some of our “Christian” friends post about Michelle and Barack Obama, oh, and their children. And one doesn’t see the Galilean providing an exemption for our African-American brothers and sisters, or … our gay ones either.

Of course other professed followers of the Galilean aren't exactly circumspect about posting their opinions of those whom they consider empty-headed fools, even at the highest levels of political office.

Is the message that we can't forbid ourselves the choice of eschewing indifference? Is he saying that we can't speak out against evil? Can we not resist a malicious cancer that threatens our country and planet? Are we bound by silence in the face of wrongdoing?

No. He implies that abusive words reveal the true condition of our heart for which we will be punished. Does murder begin in the heart? Is the hatred that causes a person to post memes, (perhaps created in Russia) the very root of the hatred that causes murder?

We just don’t know. We might ask a survivor of the Holocaust. Maybe that was the sort of thing the Galilean was warning us about on that lonely hill.