03/07/21 – Ten Wise Words

TEN WISE WORDS

March 7, 2021
3rd Sunday in Lent
Ex.20:1-17, Ps.19; 1 Cor. 1:18-25; John 2:13-22
Rev. Denise Clark-Jones

In the late 20th and early 21st centuries, state Supreme courts have consistently ruled not to require the Ten Commandments to adorn the walls of public buildings. It is allowed if the individuals who petition to do so can prove there is no religious intent, but merely a historical display of a founding principle of our legal system. The Ten Commandments have never been a legal document, they are so much more than that. The Ten Commandments constitute a holy covenant between God and God’s people. The Bible tells us that God delivered these commandments, not as a rulebook for passing judgment, but as a description of the sacred relationship between God and the people with whom God had joined in covenant.  Far more than a guide for behavior, these commandments are about identity – who God is and who we are meant to be as God’s people.

In Judaism, the commandments are known as “The Ten Words.” The first “Word” is: “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt.” By identifying God by what God had done for the Israelites, God was proclaimed as being gracious, merciful, just, and loving. God had saved them. The Ten Commandments have also played a prominent role in Protestantism. One of the disagreements between the Reformers and the Roman Catholic Church was the importance of the Ten Commandments in Christian instruction. At the time of the Reformation, the Roman Catholic Church wanted the people to look to what they were taught about Roman Catholic doctrine and theology rather than the Bible. The Bible was written in Latin and the worship services were conducted in Latin, which left all but the Catholic hierarchy in the dark. Even many priests were illiterate and only knew the Latin liturgy to speak the words but did not know what the words meant. Biblical instruction for the laity has never been one of the highest priorities of the Roman Catholic Church.

As in Judaism, education and biblical scholarship were critical to the Reformers and its importance has continued throughout the history of the Reformed Church. Jesus was a teacher, a rabbi, in the early years, when temple priests were being replaced by biblical scholars as to the religious leaders of the Jewish faith. In the first century, learned interpretation of the Hebrew scriptures began to supplant the authority of the Pharisees and the temple priests, who focused on adherence to the law and worship practices. Rabbinical preparation today requires 6 years of intensive study and adults, particularly adult males, are encouraged to engage in daily or weekly bible study. Eight of the Ten Words begin: “You shall not.” They do not specify what we should do, just what we should not do. These “do nots” name actions that promote a life of mutual well-being, which is the goal of the Torah. In Psalm 19, the author extols the benefits of God’s laws, which were not means of control or oppression but given as a gift bringing “revival, wisdom, joy, and light.”

The Protestant Reformation was led by University trained biblical scholars, Martin Luther being the most notable. John Calvin, considered the father of Presbyterianism, paid particular attention to the Ten Commandments. In Calvin’s “Strasbourg Liturgy of 1545, the 10 Commandments were sung in worship, immediately following the prayer of confession and declaration of pardon. The rationale being, having been restored to right standing with God and with one another, we are then prepared to hear the Word and its interpretation with open hearts and minds. Then we are to respond by going out into the world to work for God’s kingdom.

The Reformation’s clarion call of salvation by faith through grace alone was applied to the understanding of the Ten Commandments. Calvin claimed the Ten Commandments are a critical and positive part of the Christian life. The first commandment: “I am the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, the land of slavery,” indicates that the Commandments are an expression of the way free people are to live. They do not show us what we must do to receive God’s grace, they guide us to live as people who have already been freely given God’s grace in Jesus Christ. Reciting the Ten Commandments after the declaration of pardon has long been a tradition in the Reformed Church, which continues to this day in some congregations.

According to the Exodus and Deuteronomy accounts, Moses received the Ten Commandments etched on two separate tablets. The first tablet related to humanity’s relationship with God and the second tablet included commandments which concern our relationship with others. After thousands of years, the Ten Commandments still provide God’s guidance. Following rules, which protect the lives created by our one and only, Almighty, All-Knowing, and All-Loving God, is the clear choice based on the Ten Commandments. The Apostle Paul tells us the wisdom of God is foolishness to the world. We have observed a lot of foolishness in our society lately. It is time to pay more attention to God’s wisdom. The Ten Commandments are a good place to start.

When Jesus was asked which was the greatest commandment he replied, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself” (Matt. 22:37-38). He understood that the Ten Commandments can be reduced to two essential mandates: how we are to love God and how we are to love our neighbor. They tell us how to live wisely and well in God’s world. They help us answer the daily issues we face.

Over the past year, there has been a great deal of controversy over the legality of rules regarding human behavior during the Coronavirus pandemic.  People have refused to wear masks, even when mandated by law, ranting about the impingement of their freedom. Somehow, people are fine with having to wear shirts and shoes in public buildings, but masks are beyond the pale. A social commentator in a recent news publication acknowledged that some people find masks uncomfortable and inconvenient. However, he observed, there are public areas where it is difficult to find public toilets, and one can become quite physically uncomfortable “holding it;” but, relieving oneself outside of a toilet is against the law and few would want it any other way. (Paul Krugman, NY Times, March 5, 2021) We have public decency laws because we have decided what is decent in communal settings and what is not. But, there is also an understanding of the science of disease spread. If people were free to relieve themselves in public, we would have a public health problem with harmful germs and bacteria released to spread disease. We have laws that restrict smoking indoors in public places because of the public health problems caused by second-hand smoke.

Fortunately, more people than not have conformed to mask mandates due to respect for the wisdom of scientists and out of love and respect for the people around them, including people they do not know. For those who listen to well-trained doctors and scientists in the field of public health and infectious diseases, we have seen the correlation between mask-wearing and fewer coronavirus deaths. As this is a worldwide pandemic, the sample sizes are large and irrefutable. To say the virus is no longer a threat to the lives and health of our “neighbors” is to bear false witness – the ninth commandment. One could also argue that spreading false information about the danger of the virus violates the fifth commandment, honor your mother and father, and the sixth commandment, do not murder. The Ten Commandments are all about the quality of life that our Creator intends for us.

We are now in a position in which the death rates are falling in this country but are still as high as they were in June. Vaccinations have begun, but we are still far away from having enough people vaccinated to create “herd immunity.” Neither the virus nor the vaccine has been around long enough to determine if people who are vaccinated can spread the virus to unvaccinated people. The need for mask-wearing continues. When we open the doors for in-person worship at Westminster on Palm Sunday, all the public health precautions will remain in place because we care about one another and any new visitors we have. Sadly, our Eucharistic practices will continue to include individualized, pre-packaged communion cups of juice and those dry, tasteless wafers. Think of it as a sacrifice you make for the common good of your community.

Mark Twain, celebrated writer and humorist from our neighboring state of Missouri, once encountered a “hypocritical businessman, whose fortune had been the misfortune of many others. He told Twain piously, “Before I die, I intend to make a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. I want to climb to the top of Mount Sinai and read the Ten Commandments aloud.”

“I have a better idea,” suggested Twain. “Why don’t you stay right at home in Boston and keep them?”  (Mark Twain, The Wit and Wisdom of Mark Twain)

Wise words to live by.

Amen. May it be so.

 

 

 

© Rev. Denise Clark-Jones, 2021, All Rights Reserved
Westminster Presbyterian Church | 1420 W. Moss Ave. | Peoria, Illinois 61606
WestminsterPeoria.org  | 309.673.8501