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Which is the Fifth Commandment?

Thou shalt not kill.

What does this mean?

We should fear and love God, that we may not hurt nor harm our neighbor in his body, but help and befriend him in every bodily need.

1. You all know what it means to kill. It means to take our own life or the life of our neighbor, our fellow-man. This is what God forbids in this commandment. God is the Giver of all life. He alone, therefore, has the right to take it away. God made man in His image. How dare we destroy the image of God! Our neighbor's life should be sacred to us. God will punish him who takes his neighbor's life. "Whoso sheddeth man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed; for in the image of God made He man." Gen. 9,6. Remember Cain and Judas.

2. God forbids still more in this commandment. Our Catechism explains it by saying: "We should fear and love God that we may not hurt ... our neighbor in his body." In the story of the good Samaritan we learn what this means. The man who went down from Jerusalem to Jericho fell among thieves (robbers), who wounded him and, leaving him half dead, departed. Luke 10,30. These robbers hurt the Jew in his body, they brought his life into danger. But for the Samaritan he certainly would have died. The life of our neighbor may be hurt in other ways. Pharaoh of Egypt endangered the lives of the Israelites by compelling them to do labor that was too hard for them. We should not wound our neighbor in his body, or in any other way bring his life or health into danger and thus shorten his life.

3. We should not harm our neighbor in his body, that is we should not by spiteful words or wicked deeds embitter his life and in this way shorten it. Remember how Joseph's brothers embittered his life by selling him into slavery, how they embittered the life of their father by telling him that Joseph had been killed by a wild animal They made life a burden both to their brother and to their father.

4. We should fear and love God that we may ... help and befriend our neighbor in every bodily need. Our neighbor is in bodily need when he is in danger of losing his life and health. Look again at the story of the good Samaritan. There you will learn what it means to help and befriend our neighbor in his bodily need. The poor Jew fell among robbers, who stripped him of his raiment, wounded him and carelessly departed, though that poor man was nearly dead. The Jew certainly was in bodily need, being in great danger of losing his life. A Samaritan passed, and, seeing this poor man, he took compassion on him. He went up to him and helped him. He bound up his wounds, set him on his own beast brought him to an inn, and took care of him. He helped the poor Jew in his bodily need and saved his life.—But the good Samaritan did more. The next day, not being able to stay any longer with his afflicted brother, he gave money to the host of the inn, and asked him to take care of the wounded Jew in his stead after his departure; he even promised to give the innkeeper more money if it should be necessary. The good Samaritan befriended the Jew, he acted as a friend to him. Not only did he save him from death, he also assisted him until he was no longer in bodily need. "Go, and do thou likewise," our Lord says.—That Jew, like all the Jews at that time, most probably, was an enemy of the Samaritans. The Samaritan knew that, and still he helped and befriended him. We should help and befriend not only our relatives and friends, or those who are able and willing to repay us and help us when we are in need, but also our enemies, those who hate and despitefully use us, "If thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink," Rom. 12,20. "Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you and persecute you." Matt. 5,44.

5. The Samaritan took compassion on the Jew, therefore he helped him. The compassion, or pity, was in his heart. All our good works and all our sins issue from the heart. We should watch over our hearts, over our thoughts. No anger and hate against our neighbor should be in our hearts. And even if our neighbor does us wrong, if he injures and insults us, we should not revenge ourselves, but love our brother. "Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer; and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him." 1 John 3,15.—We should always be kind, merciful, and forgiving to our neighbor, even to our enemy. "Blessed are the merciful; for they shall obtain mercy." Matt. 5,7. And above all, we should fear and love God, then we shall help and befriend our neighbor, him whom God has made in His image.

REMEMBER:—

1. Life is God's gift. Only He who gave it has the right to take it. The life of our neighbor should be sacred to us.

2. Therefore we should not kill or hurt or harm our neighbor, our fellowman,in his body, nor hate him or be angry with him. God has made man in His image.

3. We should help and befriend our neighbor whenever he is in bodily need, always be kind and merciful to him and forgive him when he wrongs us.

MEMORIZE:—

Whoso sheddeth man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed; for in the image of God made He man. Gen. 9,6.

Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer; and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him. 1 John 3,15.

Therefore, if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink. Rom. 12,20.

Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy. Matt. 5,7.

QUESTIONS.

1. What does it mean to kill? 2. Why should we not take our fellow-man's life? 3. In whose image did God make man? 4. What does God, furthermore, forbid in this commandment? 5. What does it mean to hurt our neighbor in his body? 6. What does it mean to harm him in his body? 7. From whom may we learn how to fulfil this commandment? 8. How did the good Samaritan help the Jew? 9. How did he befriend him? 10. When, even, should we help our neighbor? 11. What does our Lord say Matt. 5,44? 12. Where do all our good works and all our sins rise? 13. What kind of thoughts should not be in our hearts against our neighbor? 14. What does the Bible tell us of him who hates his brother? 15. How should we be disposed towards our neighbor if he wrongs us? 16. When will we fulfill this commandment? 17. What does our Lord say about the merciful?