1:05 a.m. - 2002-09-26
Sermon on the Mount
Albert Einstein said:
"A man's ethical behavior should be based effectually on sympathy, education, and social ties; no religious basis is necessary. Man would indeed be in a poor way if he had to be restrained by fear of punishment and hope of reward after death."
In the first episode ever of Spiderman our hero, Peter Parker, gets bitten by a radio-active spider in a laboratory experiment. He begins to realize that this has given him extra-ordinary powers. He is walking home musing how this can bring him both fame and fortune "if he plays his cards right" when a man runs past him pursued by others shouting that he is a thief and dangerous. Peter decides not to respond because it might reveal his secret and ,therefore, impair his advantage to exploit it. He uses a judgement based on self interest to withold assistance to someone else who needs help. As everyone knows, when he arrives home he finds that his beloved Uncle Ben, who raised him, has been murdered by the same thief he chose not to stop.
I went to a funeral yesterday. Family by marriage, same age as me, died from cancer. Left behind a spouse and 3 young teen children. The church was full, main floor and loft. He was active in his church, his childrens`activities, and his career. A person with a need to improve conditions for others wherever he was.
I always find funerals curious whether they're for someone who has had a full life or a child taken untimely. The homilies always begin by talking about celebrating that person's life and the special place they had in ours. But somewhere along the way the talk always slides around to the theme of inherent flaws in the human condition emphasizing the lack of attention to the church as a major indicator of this sinfulness. Punishment and reward.
Yet in the few recorded words of Christ He says "Judge Not." (Matt. 7:1) A simple command. "That you be not judged. For with what measure you judge shall you also be judged: and with what measure you mete, it shall be measured to you again." A simple explanation.
None of us truly knows what another human has experienced. Therefore, how can we say we would do any better in their place given identical conditions.
In my volunteer work, I've spent a lot of time with people who have had brutal childhoods or marriages or devastating experiences through civil wars, natural disasters, or violent governments. To survive, because very little meaningful help is offered by our society, they develop coping mechanisms that make the difference between getting through the experience or being destroyed by it. Those very coping mechanisms are the same ones that become barriers to their chances of fitting in in our society. It is extremely frightening for true survivors, when they are told by people who have never had to cope with any major challenge, to just get over it and move on. It sounds easy; but if, as a child, it's all you know, how do you do that? If, as an adult, it was all that saved you, how do you just let it go? We just continue the cycle of violence by witholding the resources they need because they are "acting out".
Prevention is not sexy. It doesn't sell newspapers. It doesn't make for good movies or TV stories because it removes the drama and leaves only normal life and "everyday heroes". You know, like the firemen who entered the World Trade Center on September 11, or like the adults who just go out and do what is necessary to care for their home, community, and their family everyday. It frustrates me no end to watch as our society ignores violence towards others until we have to deal with the death of our own "Uncle Ben". Then we complain about their evil ignoring "the beam in our own eye" (Matt. 7:3). Our response is usually to inflict even more punishment. That triggers and reinforces the same coping mechanisms that caused the behavior in the first place. Past hurts and experiences don't justify or excuse dysfunctional/hurtful behavior but I don't see how perpetuating the cycle achieves the ends society says it wants. (Matt 7:12)
Why isn't prevention rather than punishment our primary goal? It takes a long time and it is not measurable in a corporate sense of direct/net profit. The benefits are less tangible - simple things like a safer community, more productive lives, or more peaceful, caring relationships. In the end isn't that what matters most?
The man whose funeral I attended spent his whole life working to help others and to prevent the "Uncle Ben" outcomes that plague our society. I guess that, in the end, the measure he judged by will be the measure by which he is judged. At least that is what the Sermon on the Mount teaches. I think there is more truth in that than what the preachers of today say.
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