Eleven months ago, I had this sermon all
planned out. The clergy of the diocese
had spent a few days with Nathan Jennings of the Seminary of the
Southwest. Nathan tried to demonstrate
the relationship between the Temple in Jerusalem and the eternal Temple to
which we will all one day go. As a
classical studies major, I was having all kinds of “aha!” moments. Some details deserve some significant
discussion, and those who attend midweek Bible studies around here can testify
to the fact that I thought some of it really cool! One of those interesting details that Nathan
shared that I had never really caught was the “whipping of blood” by the high
priest onto the altar during the Day of Atonement. I think I have that detail right. Since I went another direction, I may have
days confused. In any event, during this
whipping of blood, the high priest made a specific action which Jesus emulates
in our Gospel story today as zeal for His Father’s house consumes Him and He
whips the businessmen out of the Temple.
For you all, it would have been a new sermon. For me it would have been great study. Alas, God clearly had other ideas.
The root of today’s sermon is from the
First Sunday in Lent. At the second
service that day, a parishioner asked me why we read the Ten Commandments
during the Penitential Order. From his
perspective, few of us are idolaters, fewer murder, hopefully none of us steal,
and the like. Why then, he asked, do we
remind ourselves about sins we do not commit?
Leaving aside a few of those commandments and whether we break them, I
reminded the parishioner of the purpose.
Suffice it to say he was a bit gobsmacked. As we continued our discussion, though, I
tried to remind Him how we should respond, vis-a-vi Israel and what God has
done for us, in Christ Jesus our Lord.
He was blown away. In all his
years attending the Episcopal Church, he had never heard the Ten Commandments
tied to the work and person of Christ, except for the fact that Jesus was
sinless. Moreover, he had never been
challenged to consider how the contemplation of those same words should have
been preparing his heart. He ended our
chat with “you really should preach that someday or teach a class on it.” Lo and behold, the only week during Lent when
we will not observe the Penitential Order, today is Morning Prayer and
Eucharist as your fumbling around in the red books has reminded you, is the day
when the assigned reading from the Old Testament is the giving of the Ten Words
by God in the book of Exodus! Do you
think blind Bartimaeus could see where to preach among us this week?
Now, before I begin, this will more along
the lines of a homily. Our focus today
is prayer and then the Thanksgiving. I
may only gloss over some items that, in your mind, deserve greater attention. Perhaps for some of you, I will muddy the
waters. That’s what the rest of the week
is for. Feel free to come to Bible Study
or Wednesday Eucharist and chat some more if I raise questions. Ask me over soup on Wednesday night. Phone, text, and e-mail work, too.
How does the reading begin? Then
God spoke all these words . . . There are only six words in English, but
they are powerful. More significantly,
they remind us of the context in which the Israelites received the Ten
Words. Then. In some ways, this word has the most
significant meaning wrapped up in it. It
is the author’s shorthand way of say “after all this had happened.” What has happened? Everyone here has seen Charlton Heston’s
version of the events that immediately preceded this section. God spoke to Moses from a burning brush and
instructed him to go to Pharaoh. Moses was
to tell Pharaoh to let the Israelites come to the Holy Mountain, where they are
now standing, that they might worship Him.
Pharaoh rejected God’s instruction, and he paid a great price. You know the ten plagues, you know the eventual
sending out of the Israelites, you know the deliverance of Israel from Pharaoh
chariots at the Red Sea, and the rest of the story. After all that, then God spoke these
words. There’s a lot of history in that “then”. And we are well reminded to consider it as we
ponder our relationship with God.
What happens next? God
speaks. The distinguishing
characteristic of Yahweh from the pantheon of the other ANE gods was the fact
that He could hear and speak! Often, the
prophets will mock idolaters for worshiping idols with ears that cannot hear
and lips that cannot speak. One of the
great worries for Israel we just read.
Remember Moses comforting the people with the certainty that God will
raise up a prophet from among them? Fast
forward to the people’s response to John the Baptizer. God has been silent since the days of
Micah. When John appears in the
wilderness, he is like one of the prophets.
And let’s not forget how God speaks.
Most often, God tells Israel He is about to do something, He tells
Israel to watch as He is doing it, and then He reminds Israel that He told them
in the beginning He was going to do that thing in their midst. Speaking is an important characteristic of
God. We are not left to fumble around
guessing at what He demands of us. He
tells us plainly. He tells us plainly
and reminds us of the consequence of our disobedience.
What does God speak? These
words. In our culture, the words
have become commandments. It’s rather
unfortunate, I think, as that understanding helps lead us away from what should
be happening as we read these words, especially during the season of Lent. Commandments are too related to laws. We associate laws with limiting our behavior. Those of you who drove up or down I-65 to get
to church this morning understand the limiting nature of laws, right? If you came up I-65 from Williamson County,
you could drive at 70mph, assuming no wrecks.
Those coming south on the interstate had to pay closer attention. The speed limit is 70, then 65, then 55 as
you go north. For Joel and Emily, they
really need to pay attention as that speed limit changes a number of times
between here and Hendersonville. What if
you were running late this morning? Could
you ignore the limit? You could, but
what happens if a police officer is around a bend holding a radar gun? That’s right, we pay a penalty. We think we have a good reason to be in a
hurry, but the law tells us that there are other concerns, like the safety of
other drivers, and limits the speed at which we travel. We can ignore that law, but there will be a
financial consequence.
It’s also important to remember that God
gives these words. I know outside the
Church and within the Church there is an effort to credit Moses with this legal
system, as if he was the Jewish version of Hammurabi or some other author of
famous ANE law codes. There are some
significant differences, not the least of which is, if Moses meant to cast himself
as some great man, all those pesky details about how he whined at God for
making him lead these people, about how he sinned, and about how he was denied
entrance into the Promised Land. I think
all of us could do propaganda about ourselves a bit better than that!
The Jews call these the Ten Words. And I think that descriptor would serve us
better. Later, the Ten Words will become
known as the torah. Torah has a meaning
of law or commandment, but those are secondary, or even tertiary meanings,
compared to teaching and learning.
Instruction is a good way for us to render torah, Instruction is
hopefully we are getting today.
How do the Ten Words begin? I am
the Lord your God. Again, like the
very beginning of the passage, these words are deep in meaning. Chiefly, God is reminding the people of
Israel who He is. He is the Lord. He has bound Himself to them. When they are honored and glorified, He is
honored and glorified. When they are
dishonored or mocked, He is dishonored or mocked. When they behave as He instructs, He is
glorified and they in Him. When they
ignore Him or chase after idols, He is mocked and dishonored and they will be,
too. It’s an incredible reminder that
they are in relationship with the Lord God, the maker of heaven and earth, of
all that is, seen and unseen.
And, while the collective sense is
important, there is also a personal reminder.
I am the Lord your God, who
brought you out of the Land of
Egypt, out of the house of slavery. That
relationship which exists between God and the people of Israel extends to the
personal level. He is your God. He is your God. He is my God.
That binding of honor and dishonor exists both corporately and individually. Can you imagine?
And God reminds the people, both
collectively and individually, of His relationship to them. He is a deliverer. He is a redeemer. They were slaves in Egypt, and He freed
them. They did nothing to secure their
freedom. God did all the work. He instructed Pharaoh to free them; they did
not ask Pharaoh if they could go worship the Lord God. He executed the curses in Egypt, thereby signaling
His power and the Egyptian gods’ status as mere idols. He destroyed Pharaoh’s army. He provided all that they needed—food, water,
passable terrain, everything—to get them to this point in their collective and
individual journey. This identifier by
God as their redeemer is so important, so significant that the Rabbis
considered this the first word of the Ten Words!
Why does that matter? We talked a moment ago about laws and
commandments and limits and penalties.
That’s not what the Ten Words are!
The Ten Words are a relational affirmation, a reminder of Who it is that
they serve and worship and of what He’s done for them! Put in English, a Redeemed people has learned
what life in relationship with a redeeming, holy, righteous, hesed-filled God
is like. They should want to know this! With joyful and thanksgiving hearts, they
should long for this freedom to live in relationship with God. The Words themselves affirm this.
We talked earlier about laws and the
limitations on our behavior. If we are
caught speeding, we pay a fine. If we
steal, unless we have really good lawyers, we go to jail. We know the laws and the consequences that
come from violation of those laws.
Perhaps for some of us, it is only those consequences that limit our
behavior. Read these Ten Words
again. What is the consequence for
failing to live as God instructs? I
heard death. That’s the correct answer
in the fuller revelation of the Lord God who speaks, but is it the answer at
this point in the unfolding of His covenant with His people? No.
There is no consequence for stealing.
There is no consequence for murdering.
There is no consequence for adultery.
Using His name in a vain manner gets a general “will not acquit”, but
there is no punishment described. Even
idolatry, idolatry—think of that particular sin in this context of the
Deliverer speaking, why would one ever think to worship another God?!—has a
vague warning. The children of those who
reject Him will be punished to the third and fourth generation; but the
children of those who love him and keep His commandments will be blessed to the
thousandth generation. What will be the
punishment? What will be the
blessing? They do not yet know. But even in that warning and encouraging
word, the people are reminded of their relationship with God. Now, standing at the foot of that mountain,
they are experiencing the benefit of the faith credited as righteousness of
Abraham, their however many times great grandfather! Like them, their future generations will
experience blessing because their faith in the Lord God!
How does all this speak to us in a time
centuries later and at a distance of thousands of miles? Why do we remember the Ten Words each week of
Lent and ask of God that He write all these in our hearts? I would think the answer obvious, but I have
noticed a number of expressions today that make me think many of you are
considering this event in a new way. You
and I live after the completed revelation of God as found in the work and
person of Jesus Christ. Put in simpler
language, we know our Redeemer! He
suffered torture and humiliation during the events of Holy Week. He was nailed to a tree on Good Friday and
died. On that glorious Easter morning we
learned unequivocally that He was God’s Anointed, that He was the means of
Grace and the hope of our Salvation. He
was the means by which most of us were grafted into the promise made to Abraham
and Sarah, that their progeny would be a light in the world, a nation of
priests. That inheritance is both
corporate and individual. As a body, we
know we are redeemed and have a commission from God to share His love and mercy
with all those around us. As
individuals, we know ourselves to be well-loved sons and daughters, princes and
princesses in His holy family. What
should be the condition of our heart?
How should we receive this news and promise? With joy and thanksgiving!
Brothers and sisters, we are very much
like those who came before us and stood at the foot of that holy mountain from
whence God spoke these Ten Words. Week
in and week out, He reminds us through His Scripture that He is our God and our
Redeemer. Week in and week out, He
reminds us that the appropriate sacrifice is a thankful heart, a generous
heart, a loving heart. Week in and week
out He reminds us that He is slow to anger and quick to forgive those who with
truly penitent hearts repent of their sin.
Week in and week out He calls us to remember the death, Resurrection,
and Ascension of His Son our Lord, whose work made it possible for us to live in
communion with a holy, righteous, good, justice and whatever grand adjective
you want to add God! When we gather at
Lent and celebrate using the Penitential Order, when we gather intentionally in
a season of self-examination and self-denial, we do so as a people cognizant of
the fact that we have been freed from the bondage of sin. We should be called to joyful and thankful
expressions of God’s mercy in our lives.
And we should be propelled by that same joy and thanksgiving to share
His offer with the world around us, a world that has bought into the myth that
this, all this nonsense around us, is all that is. You and I, brothers and sisters, know better. You and I, brothers and sisters have
experienced far more! There is a deeper
truth, a redeeming truth, a wooing love that seeks not only us but everyone we
encounter in the world around us. If we were
really to consider what God has done for us collectively and individually, if
His words were truly written on our hearts, how would we be changed? As individuals? As a parish?
As a diocese? As the Church? If we truly understood what He has
accomplished for us, how could we ever keep silent?
Brothers and sisters, if Lent for you has
been a burden, if Lent for you has been a season when you concentrate on the
fact that you are a miserable sinner, you have missed the more significant truth. If you have accepted Christ as Lord, you are
already redeemed; you will one day be Resurrected; you are an Easter people! The Lord God has promised that, in the end,
no matter what happens, all His sons and all His daughters will be vindicated
and share for all eternity in His glory!
He has promised. And if we really
believe that He has redeemed us, if we really believe in His promises, how can
we ever keep silent! How can we ever
stop giving thanks!
In
Christ’s Peace,
Brian†
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