The Ten Commandments

 

Matthew 22:34-40

Exodus 19:1-6, 20:1-2

               Today we hear the preamble to the Ten Commandments and we will be doing a series, based on the Narrative lectionary, on these ten commandments over the next few weeks.  We have four weeks on this.  Today, which is an intro to the ten commandments, next week in which we look at the commandments that instruct on how we are to be in relationship to God, the following week, in which we look at the commandments that instruct on how we are to relate to people, and a closing week summary.

               Today we start with an overview.  In many ways, this will be more of a small bible study than a sermon.

               The ten commandments are written into two places in the Old Testament.  Here, in Exodus 20, and the second time in Deuteronomy 5.  There are differences, however, in the two occurances.  One of those differences comes in the form of the explanations for the Sabbath commandment.  In Exodus the reason for the Sabbath commandment is that God created in 6 days and rested on the Sabbath, therefore the Sabbath, we are told, is holy and will be a day of rest for all creation. Since God rested on the seventh day, we also are to rest on the seventh day.  In Deuteronomy the reason for the Sabbath is instead about justice:  Remember that God brought you out of slavery and commanded you to keep the Sabbath day for all:  In Deuteronomy, the Sabbath law is an insistence that all people be given time off from their work.    

               But there are other things about these ten commandments that make studying them or even talking about them an interesting challenge.

               For example, how many of you are aware that not all groups of people number these same ten commandments or even name them in the same way?

 Numbering the Ten Commandments¹

Jewish	Catholic, Lutheran, Orthodox	Reformed, Anglican, other Protestants
1. I am the Lord your God
2. No other Gods(and no graven images)	1. No other Gods (and no graven images)	1. No other Gods
		2. No graven images
3. Do not misuse God’s name	2. Do not misuse God’s name	3. Do not misuse God’s name
4. Keep the Sabbath	3. Keep the Sabbath	4. Keep the Sabbath
5. Honor father & mother	4. Honor father & mother	5. Honor father & mother
6. Do not murder	5. Do not murder	6. Do not murder
7. Do not commit adultery	6. Do not commit adultery	7. Do not commit adultery
8. Do not steal	7. Do not steal	8. Do not steal
9. Do not bear false witness against a neighbor	8. Do not bear false witness against a neighbor	9. Do not bear false witness against a neighbor
10. Do not covet your neighbor’s spouse or house	9. Do not covet your neighbor’s spouse	10. Do not covet your neighbor’s spouse or house
	10. Do not covet your neighbor’s house

Many people would say these are subtle and unimportant differences.  In general, I would agree with that.  That being said, these differences tell us a couple things: first, that scriptures and the things that the scriptures tell us are not as clear or as straight forward as we might like them to be, even with something as major and as consistent across faiths (Jewish, Muslim and Christian) as the ten commandments.  Second, what these differences also tell us is that different groups of people emphasize and value different things.  As a result, we see things differently, we read things differently, we hear things differently and we even number things differently.

That being said, as the passage in Matthew points out, these ten commandments can, loosely speaking, be broken into and summarized by Jesus’ recounting of the law.  It is two-fold:

Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul and mind.

And

Love your neighbor as yourself.

That sums up the ten commandments.

 

The other and important point that I want to make today is that today’s verses which I read to you from Exodus precede the ten commandments.  They are the seed that then grows into the plant.  Or they are the prelude to the ten commandments.   And what do today’s verses say?  They say that what is of primary importance is God’s relationship with God’s people.  God “lifted you up on eagle’s wings and brought you to me” in chapter 19.  And in chapter 20, “I am the Lord your God who brought you out of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.” 

The relationship starts with God.  The covenant begins with God’s interaction: God creating, God inviting, God protecting, God raising, God saving, God returning the people home.  The people have been brought out of slavery.  The people have been brought home from exile.  God is faithful.  God is loving.  And it begins there.  God then invites us to enter into the covenant with God by responding out of love for God and God’s people.  God does not give the law as a way to establish relationship.  God does not give the law as a means to salvation.  God establishes the relationship, declares and proves God’s love and then invites us into right relationships with all creation by following the guidance God has given us.  God cares about our neighbors.  God cares about each one of us.  And that means that we are called to love with all that we have and all that we are because God cares about those people we are called to love. 

As commentator Rolf Jacobson says, “And that is good news. Good news for my neighbor. God loves them so much that God tells me not to kill, steal, commit adultery, and so on. And good news for me. God loves me so much that God tells my neighbor not to kill, steal, and so on.”

Finally, I want to point out that these commandments are not meant to be burdens.  They aren’t meant to limit freedom.  Instead, they are descriptions of how living fully loved and fully loving appears.  We are not meant to do these things out of a sense of guilt or sacrifice.  We are meant to do these things out of gratitude, out of love for God.  Because we have been so loved, we are invited to be that loving in return.  And out of our gratitude we are invited into those actions.

This is the same reason, by the way, for why we do not have an “altar” in Presbyterian churches.  We are not called to SACRIFICE.  We are called to give out of gratitude and thanksgiving.  Our giving, our loving should not be out of guilt and should not feel like a burden, like pain.  It should be our joy to give, our joy to offer what we have and who we are because we are so loved, so changed by that love that we can do nothing else but give, share, and delight in the God who made us, loved us into being, and continues to love us into each new day. 

Barb George passed on to me a story she had found.  It reads: “One day, when I was a freshman in high school, I saw a kid from my class was walking home from school. His name was Kyle It looked like he was carrying all of his books. I thought to myself, 'Why would anyone bring home all his books on a Friday?  He must really be a nerd.'  I had quite a weekend planned (parties and a football game with my friends tomorrow afternoon), so I shrugged my shoulders and went on.  As I was walking, I saw a bunch of kids running toward him.  They ran at him, knocking all his books out of his arms and tripping him so he landed in the dirt.  His glasses went flying, and I saw them land in the grass about ten feet from him... He looked up and I saw this terrible sadness in his eyes . My heart went out to him. So, I jogged over to him as he crawled around looking for his glasses, and I saw a tear in his eye. As I handed him his glasses, I said, 'Those guys are jerks. They really should get lives.' He looked at me and said, 'Hey thanks!' There was a big smile on his face. It was one of those smiles that showed real gratitude. I helped him pick up his books, and asked him where he lived. As it turned out, he lived near me, so I asked him why I had never seen him before. He said he had gone to private school before now. I would have never hung out with a private school kid before.

“We talked all the way home, and I carried some of his books. He turned out to be a pretty cool kid. I asked him if he wanted to play a little football with my friends. He said yes. We hung out all weekend and the more I got to know Kyle, the more I liked him, and my friends thought the same of him. Monday morning came, and there was Kyle with the huge stack of books again.   I stopped him and said, 'Boy, you are gonna really build some serious muscles with this pile of  looks everyday!' He just laughed and handed me half the books. Over the next four years, Kyle and I became best friends. When we were seniors we began to think about college. Kyle decided on Georgetown and I was going to Duke. I knew that we would always be friends, that the miles would never be a problem. He was going to be a doctor and I was going for business on a football scholarship. Kyle was valedictorian of our class. I teased him all the time about being a nerd.  He had to prepare a speech for graduation. I was so glad it wasn't me having to get up there and speak. Graduation day, I saw Kyle. He looked great. He was one of those guys that really found himself during high school. He filled out and actually looked good in glasses. He had more dates than I had and all the girls loved him. Boy, sometimes I was jealous! Today was one of those days. I could see that he was nervous about his speech. So, I smacked him on the back and said, 'Hey, big guy, you'll be great!' He looked at me with one of those looks (the really grateful one) and smiled.... ' Thanks,' he said. As he started his speech, he cleared his throat, and began ... 'Graduation is a time to thank those who helped you make it through those tough years. Your parents, your teachers, your siblings, maybe a coach...but mostly your friends.... I am here to tell all of you that being a friend to someone is the best gift you can give them.  I am going to tell you a story.'  I just looked at my friend with disbelief as he told about the first day we met. He had planned to kill himself over the weekend.  He talked of how he had cleaned out his locker so his Mom wouldn't have to do it later and was carrying his stuff home.  He looked hard at me and gave me a little smile.  'Thankfully, I was saved. My friend saved me from doing the unspeakable.' I heard the gasp go through the crowd as this handsome, popular boy told us all about his weakest moment.  I saw his Mom and dad looking at me and smiling that same grateful smile. Not until that moment did I realize it's depth. Never underestimate the power of your actions.  With one small gesture you can change a person's life.”       

               I think about that story.  The kid who was kind in the first place was kind because that was his nature.  It was his nature to reach out and care for the bullied child.  In turn, the kid in the story who was being bullied, he gave his speech, he lifted up his friend, not out of a sense of guilt, or obligation.  It was not a burden to him to have to share this story.  It was not out of a sense that he had to do that to be “saved” or to be in relationship with the first boy.  The relationship already existed.  And out of his gratitude for that relationship he built up his friend, he shared the story, he gave the speech. 

               This is the same with God.  It is God’s nature to love us, to reach out to us, to care for us and build us up.  It is God’s nature to be proud and encouraging and supportive.  And our response, our call to follow what have come to be known as the ten “commandments” should be a response of love and gratitude.

               It is with this introduction that we will begin our study next week.  For this week, I invite you to think through why you do what you do.  Is it out of love and gratitude?  Or is it out of obligation?  And if it is out of obligation, if it does not give you joy to love in return, to serve in return, then I encourage you to find a different way of serving and loving God.  Because these ten commandments?  These are to be Good News.  An added burden is not Good News.  No, these are not a burden, these are an invitation.

               Thanks be to God.  Amen.