Observation
While teaching an adult bible study this morning at church I
had a nice a-ha moment. We have been working through the fifth chapter of the
book of Matthew, which focuses on the “Sermon on the Mount”. This is some of
the first teaching by Jesus after the calling of the first disciples. It is
most likely that Jesus didn’t just drive out these teachings all at one time,
as there is so much truth in this one larger thought that Matthew had to have
put together a number of teaching times into one cohesive read from chapter
five to chapter seven.
Today we focused on verses 21-24:
21 “You have heard that it
was said to the people long ago, ‘You shall not murder, and anyone who murders
will be subject to judgment.’ 22 But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a
brother or sister will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to a
brother or sister, ‘Raca,’ is answerable to the court. And anyone who says,
‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of hell.
23 “Therefore, if you are
offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother or sister
has something against you, 24 leave your gift there in front of the altar.
First go and be reconciled to them; then come and offer your gift. (Matthew
5:21-24, New International Version).
These are the beginnings of what theologians call anti-thesis
by Jesus on earlier teachings of the bible; sort of teachings from the “other”
side. Jesus, always able to know his audience, starts with something close to
the heart of any good Jewish man: Cain killing Abel. However, he goes deeper
and explains that having the anger in your heart to cause hate is what leads to
murder. It is important to notice that the Aramaic word for brother is gender
neutral (v. 22b), meaning Jesus wasn’t just talking about men, but also women
here. Jesus references the sixth commandment here, “You shall not murder”, but
he takes it one step further and deeper, into a spiritual meaning they had
never seen. The
word Raca is the same as you calling someone “empty headed”, or “worthless”
today. The word is derived from the root meaning “to spit”. This word is used
only here in the bible, which is important.
The hatred that causes a person to hurl an insult is the same
hatred that causes another to commit murder. The attitude of the heart is the
same, and it is that attitude that is what makes a person morally guilty before
God. As we discussed this issue a member of my class, Corbin, said: “When I was
growing up my dad used to always tell me that when I let another person make me
mad it’s like picking up a stone and carrying it around. The more people that
you allow to keep you mad the more stones you have. Pretty soon all you are
doing is carrying around a load of angry rocks that weigh you down and keep you
from ever having joy.” (C. Reithmeyer, personal communication, April 13, 2014).
It was a great a-ha moment! I’d heard this type of thing before but had, of
course, started carrying around rocks of anger and forgotten the truth in its
teaching.
Each day we work in classrooms and hallways with varying
numbers of people, children and adults alike, and any of them can cause adverse
reactions inside of us. The truth is that our reactions are a by-product of
what is inside of us. We might not be able to drop every issue inside of our
heart in an instant. However as we realize that the joy that is in us is
something that can’t be taken away, but only given away, then we can start
dropping rocks that weigh us down. When someone who is a jerk acts like a jerk
and I get mad about it, it is my fault. The jerk is only doing the job of a
jerk. By carrying around my angry rock about it makes me the Raca and keeps me
from helping those that I encounter in my day.
Reflection
It pains me when I realize that I have moved away from where
I need to be. From a farmer, better yet a student of mine, I was reminded that
carrying around anger is like putting a millstone around my neck. Why, because
I will assuredly lose sight of where I need to be and what I need to be about
and then I will lead in a path that is contrary to the truth. I am not at all a
perfect man and I make mistakes every day of my life. What I need to remember
is that when I find myself out of proximity to God and His anchoring of my life
that it is ME that has moved not HIM!
Translation
I’ve really answered the “translation to work and school”
already. If I carry around angry stones I am not focusing on my students or
other staff members that need my attention. I am being selfish. I am not
teaching.
Application
By constantly reminding myself of the core truths and vision
of what I am doing I can keep myself grounded and not pick up angry stones. We
all fall short of glory, but joy comes in the morning!
