The Second Amendment and the Second Commandment suggest a disturbing link if we have ears to hear. In Luke 8:8 we hear Jesus say, “Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear” after telling the parable of the sower of seed. We hear these same words in Luke 14:36 when Jesus talks about the saltiness quality of salt. And in 2 Timothy 4:3 we read, “For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.” Therefore the question is, what do we hear in the Second Amendment and why does it matter? And what might we hear if we open our minds and hearts to the Second Commandment?
The Second Amendment states: A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.
The Second Commandment has two different versions depending on which religion’s set of the The Ten Commandments you are reading. “Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image“ is the Second Commandment for Hellenistic Jews, Greek Orthodox and Protestants except Lutherans. And ”Thou shall not take the name of the Lord in vain” is the Second Commandment for Catholics and Lutherans. Each version highlights a different consequence resulting from our national misinterpretation of the Second Amendment.
The Second Amendment and Our Graven Image
Let’s reflect first on the connection between “Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image” and the Second Amendment. In this United States, the right to keep and bear arms by the militia has been misinterpreted as a right for every citizen to possess assault weapons. This supposition has made weapons of war the graven image created by the NRA. And everyone who refuses to vote for a ban on assault weapons bows to that graven image.
The nation we proclaim as America the Beautiful is fully engaged in idol worship. But we live in denial because our definition of idolatry is tied to graven images such as a golden calf statue. And we continue to insist that we live in a Judaeo-Christian nation. Although idolatry today is less obvious visually, idolatry is still defined by choosing something or someone that is more important to us than God.
For example, many people have made their job their idol. They prove that their work is more important than God by their sacrifices. To that job they sacrifice their time with family, their peace of mind, their health, and sometimes, even their life. This nation (read, our Republican leadership) has made weapons of mass destruction the American idol. To that idol of weapons we sacrifice any and all life, born and unborn. We love our guns more than the lives of children, innocent, precious, and full of potential. And we sacrifice adults, whose productivity ranges from teaching to healing, saving and protecting life. To guns we surrender persons of all ages who provide beauty, grace and wisdom to their families and to society. The same leaders who label themselves pro-life refuse to ban the weapons that obliterate living, breathing human beings.
The Second Amendment Makes Vain the Sacredness of Names
“Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain. This other version of the Second Commandment has another message connected to the Second Amendment. We are reminded of the sacredness of God’s name in the Lord’s Prayer: “Our Father…hallowed be thy name.”
Isaiah 43 reminds us that, like Jacob, our Creator says to us, “ Do not fear….I have summoned you by name, you are mine.” And in John 10:3, we read that the Good Shepherd calls us by name.
Therefore, do we, at some subconscious level, acknowledge that the Divine breathes within us? As horror confounds us at each new report of violence, is there an innate recognition of each person’s individual value? Our names are sacred to the God whose own name we call sacred. And our names are important because God knows our name and we belong to our Creator.
When we take the name of the Lord in vain we disrespect the name of God. We discard that sacred name and treat it as useless or worthless. Is it knowing our names are valued by our Creator motivating those who insist that we “say their names?” But, mushrooming gun violence continues to terminate the lives of multitudes whose sacred names are now carved on tombstones.
In the United States in 2020, the most recent year for which complete data is available 45,200 people died of gun-related injuries. So far this year, that number is already 23,260 and will probably be more by the time you read this (Click here). Take a moment; “hear” the families and friends, who are and will be crying out the names of their dead. They cry out “in vain” knowing they will never hear again hear a response from their loved ones.
Let Us Pray
O God, we love your sacred name. Let us never use your name in vain, thereby dismissing your holy presence among us. Hear us call upon your name. Give us the courage to stop the violence that silences the names of those who belong to you.
A Final Word: Hear This!
How dare anyone say, “Life is sacred,” and support the obliteration of persons whose names are then called out in vain?