LAKE JAMES
NORTH CAROLINA
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LAKE JAMES NORTH CAROLINA
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Lent III + March 19, 2006 + St. Paul’s, Lake James + In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Two cartoons relating to a theme of today’s liturgy stick in my mind and I’d like to share them with you. The first shows a church which has a billboard on its front lawn complete with flashing colored lights intended to catch the attention of passers-by. The sign’s message says “Special this week: obey any seven of the Ten Commandments!” The second cartoon shows two archeologists who have just discovered an ancient cave in which they found large stone tablets with God’s Commandments etched on them – except these are numbered 11 to 20! Among the many treasures the Christian Church shares with the Jewish People is what is often called “The Old Testament” or “The Hebrew Scriptures” with the understanding that we Christians are also inheritors of that record of God’s self-revelation. We understand the Holy Scriptures of the Old Testament to be the Word of God, just as is the New Testament. This morning, the Church bids us consider the Ten Commandments and, in that light, how we relate to God and to our fellow human beings. In the reading from the Book of Exodus, we heard God say “I am the Lord your God. I led you out of slavery in Egypt. Now, listen to me! These are rules I am giving you and I want you to obey them!” Notice that God didn’t hold hearings to see if the Hebrews would approve, or even like the rules. The people weren’t asked if they thought the laws would be appropriate for their lifestyle. There wasn’t even an inquiry by God to see if the Jews thought they could live up to the new requirements. Just the blunt “I am the Lord your God. I freed you from slavery and here are rules spelling out how you should live from now on.” Period. The Ten Commandments are clear and unambiguous. It would be hard to say with a straight face that we don’t understand them, but, as obvious as they are, it may still be helpful to put them in their historical and cultural context. In ancient times, a conquering king would make a treaty with the nation he had defeated and, in that treaty, would state the conditions under which the losers would be permitted to continue to exist. Failure to obey those conditions would bring swift punishment, most commonly the destruction of the conquered nation. Those treaties had a definite pattern, beginning with a statement that King So and So had defeated whoever it was and therefore had the right to make the rules he was now imposing, because he was now the ruler! The reading from Exodus follows that same pattern except that in it God says not that He had defeated Israel in battle, but that He had freed Israel from slavery in Egypt! It is as their liberator, rather than as their conqueror, that God spells out what is to be required of the Hebrews. And what is required, the Ten Commandments, is a code of conduct which will keep the Jews faithful to God while also making for a peaceful society. So, the Commandments are given by God not just as some rules, but as a way to a healthy relationship between Israel and God, and also for Israel’s relationship with the rest of humanity. Instead of being a harsh set of demands by a conquering invader, the Commandments are a gift from a loving liberator. Well, so far, so good. In that light, you and I can not only understand why the Commandments were given but be happy about what God did – at least, to a point. But think about it – where do those Commandments leave us? In them, we have a clear set of rules which most of us would admit make good sense, rules given by God for our own good. So why although we know what we are supposed to do, and what we are not to do, do humans seem to have such trouble obeying them? In today’s Epistle, the Letter to the Church in Rome, St.Paul poses that very same question, one I tend to quote frequently. Listen to what, in great frustration, he wrote so eloquently: “I don’t understand my self at all! I really want to do what is right, but I don’t do it. Instead, I do what I don’t want to do! I know perfectly well that what I am doing is wrong and my bad conscience proves that I really agree with the laws of God (which I am breaking) but I can’t seem to help myself. When I want to do good, I don’t, and when I try not to do wrong, I do it anyway!” Don’t most of us, at least from time to time, feel just the way St. Paul did? Couldn’t his words be ours? But there is also another reality which many of us experience. I think of words spoken by a fictitious character who is, nevertheless one of my favorite theologians namely, Tevye in the play “Fiddler on the Roof.” His great contribution to the field of moral theology and human behavior, is the phrase “on the other hand…” Aren’t there times when we may look at the behavior of other people and think “You know, in comparison to them, I’m not so bad, in fact, next to them, I’m a pretty good person !” And we may even enjoy that sense of self until this season of Lent comes and we begin to take a realistic look at ourselves, discovering what we probably really knew all along, that is that we are a mixture of good and bad, of virtue and sin, a mixture of love for God but also a self-centeredness that gets in the way of that love for the Lord. At that point, we know all-too-well that we are not ready be nominated for sainthood quite yet, and St. Paul’s words describe us so accurately. What a mess! If we were to leave it at that, any honest person would be apt to say “Forget it! Always living up to God’s commandments is more than I can do. I’ve been there, I’ve tried and tried, but it’s a bust. From now on, I’ll use my energies in something I can do – maybe a crossword puzzle or something like that!” It’s only when we read further in what St. Paul wrote that we get a different picture. He sets things straight by reminding his readers, by reminding us, that the initiative is always God’s, not ours. It was God who took the first step by freeing Israel from slavery, and further, that God did so not because Israel had somehow earned it, or even deserved it, but simply because God loved them that much. It was God who took the initiative and made the covenant with Israel even though Israel’s record in the covenant-keeping business was pretty bad. And that’s the consistent pattern of the way God has interacted and does interact with humanity, even today, even with you and with me. Think of your own life and someone you love dearly. Is that person absolutely perfect, incapable of sin or error? Of course not. We humans love other humans not because they are perfect but because, in spite of their imperfections, they call forth something in us, a love which is then our free gift. Nobody can ever earn love. People can earn respect, gratitude, even awe, but no one can ever earn human love. And on a much higher level, that’s true of God’s love for us. We can never earn it. We can never really deserve it. We receive it because, as St. John in the Fourth Gospel puts it, God is love and extends that love to all. In that light, we can understand the Ten Commandments not as a set of laws which, if obeyed, will earn us God’s love and perhaps a discount coupon redeemable either in heaven or at one’s favorite supermarket. Rather, the Ten Commandments are a clear description of the way God wants us to live because, in His love for us, God knows that those rules can provide a framework which will make for a loving relationship with God and with our fellow humans. In the Collect for today, we prayed these words: “Almighty God, you know that we have no power in ourselves to help ourselves…” and isn’t that true! On our own, by our efforts, our experience is the same as that of St. Paul – we just are not able always to obey the rules God has given us. We are not able to live the way God wants us to live and the way which we, at least at times, also want to live. We have tried – and failed – more times than we can count. But my brothers and sisters, God knows all that and still loves us! No matter what we do, God’s love is always there for us, as is His grace to help us. So count on God’s guidance, perhaps praying the words written in the last century by Thomas Dorsey: “Precious Lord, take my hand, lead me on, let me stand. Guide my feet, hold my hand, precious Lord, lead me on.”
The Reverend Alfred T. K. Zadig, Sr. |
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This page last modified on Friday, April 11, 2008 09:39 PM |
