A Time to Kill

In the first reading for Mass yesterday, from the book of Ecclesiastes, we read "for everything there is a season" and a few verses later we are told that there is "a time to kill". That is quite a unique interplay that occurs there. To say that there is "a time to kill" does not mean that everytime someone kills another person that it is ok because it is "its time". No, it means that there are certain acts that are not always sinful. Sex is not sinful, but sex with someone you are not married to is sinful (always!); there is a difference.

In the same way, to "kill" is not always sinful. At least that is what the faithful Jews before Jesus, and all Catholics (until a few years ago) used to believe. Now, it seems, there are some who think that they know more than God and want to change this idea. No, they would never say that, but it is essentially what they are advocating. Ecclesiastes does not condone any and all killing, but it does acknowledge that there is a time when it is right to take another person's life. We can easily point out the three basic aspects of self-defense: a just war, protecting an innocent person on the street, and executing impenitent criminals who are out to destroy society.

The reasoning that says no one can ever kill another is fraught with danger (and quite a lot of denial of the Word of God). The fifth commandment forbids murder (the taking of the life of someone for personal gain) and not any kind of killing at all (since the same books of the Bible that forbid murder, also approve of capital punishment; and do so quite often).

Looking back again at the second reading in Mass yesterday, it seems that we are being pushed, by those who want to reject capital punishment, to ask: "did God make a mistake?" If those who want to change Church teaching so that we never have capital punishment (or any other type of self-defense) consider what that means, they might change their mind. According to their way of thinking Ecclesiastes would say: "for everything (except self-defense) there is a season", and "there is never a time to kill", even if the well being of a society and people's lives are at stake.

What is wrong with this picture?