What is Raca?

In 1896 the Supreme Court ruled 7-1 against Homer Plessy stating that states had the right to separate whites and blacks setting the precedence for Jim Crow and generations of hatred.

Matthew 5:22

“22 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.”

The footnote in my King James version of the bible says "raca" is a word suggesting contempt or derision in both Aramaic and Greek. So why would Jesus make this equal to killing another person? I know he is moving us to a higher law, but a word of derision being equal to murder needs to be thought about.

Easton's Bible Dictionary says it is derived from the word "to spit" and means something is vain, empty, or worthless. Smith's Bible Dictionary says it is a term derived from the Chaldee that means worthless. In other places, I see it can mean a "worthless man" or "empty." This is a term that dehumanizes another. Jesus is telling us that killing another starts with anger but is enabled by turning the other person into something worthless and not worth saving. Killing them removes them from our existence, but feeling they are raca would mean that person is worth nothing, empty or vain anyway. In has much of the same effect.

It starts with anger but can quickly turn to making another person less worthy than you. That quickly becomes they are not worthy at all and less than human. Labeling people as less than or different from you is all it takes. Anger is one way, but we can dehumanize others by calling them "illegal" or "homeless" or by using racial slurs. When you carry those kinds of feelings that lead to dehumanization, you are taking away that person's divine nature of being created in the image of God. Our Heavenly Father and Christ care for and save people one on one. It is the individual that matters to them. If we use group marking or labeling to make them “less than” in our minds, we are working directly against that and denying the work of Jesus.

"Democrat? Raca. Republican? Raca. Immigrant? Raca. Gay person? Raca. Pro-life person? Raca. Atheist? Raca. Baptist? Raca. On and on it goes. Here’s Jesus’s point: To carry and nurse the kind of anger that leads to raca is murder in God’s eyes. You don’t have to spill blood to kill life. To speak a mean-spirited, dehumanizing word subjects us to judgment and the power of hell. If you’ve ever experienced that level of hatred toward someone, while it can feel justified in the moment, you’re actually living in a kind of hell. Rage consumes us. Destroys us." (Rich Villodas, The Narrow Path: How the Subversive Way of Jesus Satisfies Our Souls, First edition (Colorado Springs, Colo: WaterBrook, 2024).

We Must Love Even the Creepy People

Jesus asks us to love our neighbor as we love ourselves. That is the second great commandment after Loving God with all our heart, might, and mind. He then told the famous parable of "The Good Samaritan" when asked for more specific information on who our neighbor was. In short - our neighbor is everyone and anyone we may come in contact with. In the modern world, with many more ways to be in contact with others that is a very long list. We have to love the person with politics that differ from ours. We need to love the person on the street who looks dirty, smells horrible, and is suffering from mental health issues that make them seem very unsafe to be around. We need to love the person who just cut us off in traffic. We need to love our in-laws, who seem to trigger our angry emotions moments after saying hello. We need to love that the person checking out at the store counter in front of us moves maddeningly slowly. We need to love the criminal who stole our goods. We need to love the immigrant looking for a better life. We need to love the abuser of a loved one. If you think any of that is easy, then you are a much better person than I am.

Important note: no one should be in or stay in an unsafe situation or relationship. Loving someone can be done from a distance (even a great distance and without any contact or without them even knowing), but we are asked to love everyone. Jesus loves unconditionally, and he asks us to follow him. How do we do this? Can we do this?

I don't know how possible it is to reach perfection in this, but we do have a perfect example to follow. We need to see people through Christ's eyes. As we get better and better at that, we will see the naturally lovable person under the mask this world has put on them. Everyone you will ever meet is a divine son or daughter of God. If we can try to see that, loving them is easier. Bob Goff adds a little to this thought when he talks about "becoming love." he says, "God gave us discernment, and we should use it as we live our lives. He’s also given us love and understanding and kindness, and the ability to forgive, which have power we often leave untapped. There’s a difference between good judgment and living in judgment. The trick is to use lots of the first and to go a little lighter on the second." I like that. (Bob Goff, Everybody Always: Becoming Love in a World Full of Setbacks and Difficult People (Nashville, Tennessee: Nelson Books, an imprint of Thomas Nelson, 2018).

As we learn to love, we can see more of the beauty in others, even if they seem a bit creepy on the surface.

Contention Has Always Been the Wrong Path

Leaders and commentators in our day have raised lies, mistruths, conspiracy theories, and fear to split the people into cultural camps and cause them to contend with each other. Many of our citizens no longer trust elections based solely on the words of those who lost. Our judges are seen as corrupt; all that matters is who they support politically. Leaders are not trying to bring people together but to separate them. The United States is going through one of the most significant cultural and internal conflict crises it has ever faced, driven by a man who has a history of doing vile things and bragging about doing countless horrible things his entire life. He and many others who want to replace him at the top of the heap only care for power. They have taken a whole political party and many news organizations and manipulated them to cause people to contend with each other. Other parties, outlets, people, and political contenders have now jumped in and feel they must punch back or lose what they see as the upper hand on what freedom and liberty are to them. Just like in the Book of Helaman, it is not just that leaders and media outlets contend with other leaders and media companies, but they cause the people to contend with each other. On both sides, people who disagree now hate each other with a dehumanizing zeal.

I do not mean to compare the history of the time of Helaman with our times. That comparison could never be accurate, and I worry that doing so would worsen our crisis of contention. Instead, my purpose for bringing it up along with our current times is as a reminder that all scriptures, especially the Book of Mormon, are meant as a way for us to look at ourselves, look within our hearts, and work to get closer to Christ. Fighting with others has the opposite purpose and effect. Even feeling the contention or anger in our hearts moves us away from Christ. Can we learn from these scriptures and help ourselves not fall into the same traps? That is my question.

In a wonderful book written about the Book of Helaman, Kimberly Matheson said this, "Though there is always warrant for being attentive to current events, the book of Helaman is not a set of ready-made labels to be applied at will to modern political situations (always a risky endeavor, anyway, when working across hundreds of years of historical and cultural difference). Rather, readers are encouraged to watch for the spiritual conditions in their own hearts, families, and communities that allow these phenomena to take root in the first place." (Berkey, Kimberly Matheson. Helaman: A Brief Theological Introduction (The Book of Mormon: Brief Theological Introductions 8) (p. 16). Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship, Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah. Kindle Edition. ")

As a Bishop for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in recent years, I saw this contention as the leading cause for church members leaving their faith. Many people are leaving churches and giving up their faith because they do not want to risk being seen as agreeing with the other side - whatever that means to them. For many who feel this way, it can even be their own family members who are also in the church they leave. Being seen as a group member with someone on the other side of a political stand or belief is enough to walk away from their faith. Keeping contention in their hearts and minds has caused many to take drastic measures. Rather than run any risk of someone thinking they have even a little sympathy for others not like them, or who they disagree with, they give up their church membership and walk away from their lifelong faith. Those on both of the “other sides” feel those who don’t agree with their politics are evil and wrong. Just like the fight for the judgment seat in the Book of Helaman, we see the effects when leaders in politics, media, and cultural areas stir up contention among the people - too many people decide that this contention is more important than their love of God and their efforts to treat others as themselves. When we do not "watch for the spiritual conditions in their own hearts," we allow anger to lead us to hatred and “raca”.

The problem is the contention, not the politics. It is the contention, not the cultural differences. The contention will be our personal downfall, not the direction of the wider society or the laws the civil governments put in place.

Matthew 5:44

"But I say unto you, 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;"

"Now is the time to lay aside bitterness. Now is the time to cease insisting that it is your way or no way. Now is the time to stop doing things that make others walk on eggshells for fear of upsetting you. Now is the time to bury your weapons of war. If your verbal arsenal is filled with insults and accusations, now is the time to put them away. You will arise as a spiritually strong man or woman of Christ." (Russell M. Nelson, April 2023).

Matthew 5:44

"But I say unto you, 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;"

It is time for each of us to examine ourselves and see if we are silently saying “raca” to our neighbors. Don’t look for blame in others; seek more love for others.