Real Living and Giving

1 Timothy 6:6-19                                                    Gratitude Season at Peace

Elizabeth M. Deibert                                                19 October 2014

Every day my husband Richard and our new friend Jane Rhudy who is joining Peace today are caring for Hospice patients and their families.   At such times, when someone is dying, one can hardly ignore the fact that we brought nothing into the world, and we will take nothing out of it.  Richard’s been into homes on Casey Key, and you know what, they die too, and usually have a harder time with it because of the way money fools you into thinking you can maintain control of your life.  Or at least it distracts you from thinking about what really matters. I have noticed myself that there are never Uhaul trailers behind hearses.   Having stuff keeps us busy.   And making enough money or managing the money we have invested well so that we can buy more stuff keeps us even busier.   Then we don’t have to think about dying.   How can you think about dying, if you are walking through the new mall?   Shiny money.   Shiny stores.   Shiny gods.   We are easily distracted from the business of real living and giving, because we have too much to accomplish, too much to achieve, and mostly, too much to acquire and possess.

It is hard to feel contentment, if you are always striving toward goals that are not fulfilling.   Studies show that we have this problem with food.   When we eat foods that are not healthy, we keep feeling hungry.   We have to fill our bellies with superfoods to get satisfied – vegetables, vegetables, fruits, fruits, nuts, nuts, a few whole grains, a little fish and chicken.   Same thing if we are filling life with the wrong stuff.   If we fill our minds with thoughts that are not Christ (remember Philippians 2), if we fill our lives with actions that are not pure and holy (remember the Ten Commandments), if we fill our hearts with anxiety and fear, rather than trusting in God to give us peace (remember Phil 4), then we will go after relationships, possessions, and experiences that leaves us feeling like the old song that played on my brother’s radio:  “I can’t get no satisfaction.”   But we can get satisfaction if we start putting our energy and time and money into God first.  

Listen for the word of the Spirit to her church today in these words of the Apostle Paul who was mentor to Timothy:

1Timothy 6:6-19

⁶ Of course, there is great gain in godliness combined with contentment; ⁷ for we brought nothing into the world, so that we can take nothing out of it; ⁸ but if we have food and clothing, we will be content with these. ⁹ But those who want to be rich fall into temptation and are trapped by many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. ¹⁰ For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, and in their eagerness to be rich some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pains.

¹¹ But as for you, man of God, shun all this; pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance, gentleness. ¹² Fight the good fight of the faith; take hold of the eternal life, to which you were called and for which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses. ¹³ In the presence of God, who gives life to all things, and of Christ Jesus, who in his testimony before Pontius Pilate made the good confession, I charge you ¹⁴ to keep the commandment without spot or blame until the manifestation of our Lord Jesus Christ, ¹⁵ which he will bring about at the right time—he who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords. ¹⁶ It is he alone who has immortality and dwells in unapproachable light, whom no one has ever seen or can see; to him be honor and eternal dominion. Amen.

¹⁷ As for those who in the present age are rich, command them not to be haughty, or to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but rather on God who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. ¹⁸ They are to do good, to be rich in good works, generous, and ready to share, ¹⁹ thus storing up for themselves the treasure of a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of the life that really is life. (NRSV)

Godliness and Contentment – that’s the life.   Not a new Iphone 6.   Not a new car.   Not a new house.  And definitely not a new shopping mall.    No Godliness and contentment will come from there – unless you go there to walk and pray and occasionally to eat.    There is nothing you can buy at UTC that will produce ultimate contentment.   It will be like a single potato chip, or a miniature piece of chocolate.   Godliness and contentment come from making sacrifices that benefit others – like Jesus did.    So if you are seeking to make a lot of money so that you can be generous like Bill and Malinda Gates, go for it.   John Wesley, founder of the Methodist Church, said, “Earn all you can.  Save all you can.   Give all you can.”  

We do not have to think very hard about those who want to be rich falling into temptation, plunging people into ruin.   Remember how we landed in a housing bubble – too many people trying desperately to be rich – making loans than should not have been made.   Money is NOT the root of all evil, but the LOOOVE of money.   Money is an extremely useful tool for good.   Yet it quickly turns into a god.  There are too many companies for whom profit has become more important that business ethics.   Ecclesiastes 5 says, “The lover of money will never be satisfied with money.”  Jesus said we cannot serve both God and wealth.   We have to choose.   We have to choose God if we want to be in the right, if we want to be content, if we want to live the good life.   We have to choose God.   Money is only for the purpose of serving God.

But of course, we have to live.  So first, we plan well, because poor planning leads to waste.   Richard and I know from experience.   We have had seasons of very tight budgets.   Remember when I told you in a sermon that we had cut up all our credit cards.  We had to learn to live within our means before we could have a credit card.   Living within your means or living to become more generous means cutting out lots of the dumb little purchases – five dollars here and twenty there.  Fast food, coffee shops, seasonal clothing and decorations, books and magazines you don’t have time to read, and frequent meals out.  

Hold back on all the unwise major purchases – new cars or houses before you really need them.   All kinds of money can be saved!   But if you tempt yourself by looking at something often, you will succumb to the temptation, so stop looking at the thing online.   Don’t shop for it, until you’ve concluded it is absolutely a necessity.   Too many people buy things they don’t need with money they don’t have to impress people they don’t even know.  

So first principle is to live within your means and second principle is to start giving back to God more than you think you can.  That what generosity means – giving more of your time, talent, and treasure than is easy.  Think about it – can you say you’ve been generous to someone if it did not affect you at all?   Can I claim generosity to Richard if I never sacrifice what I want for what he wants?   Can I claim generosity to the church, if I only give as much time, talent, and treasure as you expect me to give.  Most of us have not really trusted God enough to give generously.   Nearly every one of us can do more than we are currently doing, but not if we don’t make some sacrifices and stretch ourselves out in faith.   One person’s sacrificial pledge is going to be much smaller than another’s easy money.   If you don’t feel a little crunch in your giving, then I say, “maybe you have not been generous.” 

Paul says to Timothy to fight the good fight of the faith.   Cling to the life that is really life.    Because this life here on earth is very, very short.   The life that really is life is the life is life-giving – storing up treasures in heaven – doing things that build God’s kingdom here and now, and leading more people to see the eternal life of knowing Jesus Christ and his love.   And we’ve been told parable after parable and lesson after lesson in the scriptures about the disaster of being too wealthy.   There was the man building bigger barns, and bigger, and bigger until he died.   There was the rich man who was tormented while Lazarus the poor man who had begged for help went to heaven, and the rich man was tormented in a hell of his own making.   There was the rich young ruler who thought he had done everything – he had followed all the commandments – except the charge to be generous, so Jesus said, “Sell your stuff and come follow me.”  And the rich ruler could not see that that action would liberate him so he was sad and turned away.   Are you sad because you have not sold out to Jesus?  Give generously and you will discover a cheerful heart comes with that.   Paul says to Timothy to tell all rich people to be generous, and by the world’s standards, we are all very, very rich.   So we are to do good, to be rich in good works, generous, and ready to share.

I have to end this sermon with an amazing story of a generous heart.   Some of you may remember that five years ago I told the story of my struggle to love a new neighbor who had yelled at me for the trimming the hedge between our houses – trimming it too far.   This encounter had so injured our relationship that we just waved politely for five years – never really talking again.   Then the couple split up, and this week, our neighbor (not the one who yelled) came over with a gift.   She said she’d like to start our relationship afresh – that her heart had been wounded since that day.   Mine had been too.   We talked for an hour.   It was the most amazing thing.   It took a lot of courage for her, when she is suffering still from a broken relationship with him, to take the first step to heal the broken one with us.   But she did.   This is godliness – to take the generous step, to go further than you have to go, to give more than you have to give.   She gave us maple syrup from her recent trip to Vermont.   I’m sure it is the sweetest maple syrup ever, because of the reconciliation that it represents.   The first three tablespoons of it went into today’s communion bread.

We will never be satisfied with life, never content, never whole, and at peace until we determine that our entire life is given to God for God’s purposes – our hearts, our minds, our souls, our pocketbooks, our fears, our desires – all of it.   We must turn it all over to God and be guided by God to a life as generous as God’s amazing love of us.   It is a process of giving over more and more of your life, entrusting it to God.  David and JoAnne Klement who are joining today taught me a new acronyn INNW.   If not now, when?   If not now, when will you turn over more of your life to God?  Don’t wait until you go to the Hospice House when it becomes clear you have no control left.   Stop chasing money and start chasing purpose and you’ll find contentment.  

Choose now to operate by, in, and through the generosity of God’s love which is ours by the power of the Spirit of Christ dwelling in us.   Choose now that uncontainable joy that transcends fear, that peace that surpasses understanding, and that hope that grows out of suffering.  Why do you think an all-loving and all-powerful Christ-God-Spirit would allow us so many losses and wounds and griefs – except that it is good for us to lose the little idols.  It guides us to let go and come to see that Jesus Christ is truly the King of kings and Lord of lords, and that nothing can come before him.  Not our dreams and aspirations, not our children or parents.  Nothing.  Jesus Christ, is the treasure that we seek.  He is our all in all.

 

Peace and Contentment

Philippians 4:1-13                                                               18^th Sunday after Pentecost

Elizabeth M. Deibert                                                          12 October 2014

 

Back in 1988, Bobby McFerrin sang, “Don’t worry.   Be happy.” More than a decade before that, 1973, Stevie Wonder sang, “Don’t you worry ‘bout a thing.”   And a decade before that, the Beach Boys sang, “Don’t worry baby” and BJ Thomas sang, “I’m never gonna stop the rain by complaining.   Because I’m free.   Nothing’s troubling me.”

 

Are we worriers?   Yes, I think so.   And for generations we have been anxious and needed reassurance! Way back when the Israelites were about to end their time in the wilderness, Moses was passing the torch to Joshua, and he said, “Be strong and bold.  The Lord goes before you.   He will be with you.   God will not fail you or forsake you.  Do not fear or be dismayed.”  (Deuteronomy 31:7-8)   The Psalmist reassures himself:  “The Lord is my light and my salvation.  Whom shall I fear?   The Lord is the stronghold of my life.   Of whom shall I be afraid?”  (Psalm 27)  Isaiah 41:10 says, “Do not fear, for I am with you, do not be afraid, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my victorious right hand.”   

 

God is holy, awesome, and powerful.  Perhaps we are anxious because we have forgotten that.   When we forget that God is in charge, then we think we have much to fear.   Worry is not a new phenomenon, although we all seem to think sometimes that we are the only ones worried.   And how many times do we make comments about how bad our problems are today? Like today’s problems are beyond God’s ability.  God has dealt with far worse than what we are experiencing, and God can handle it.   God’s not worried about you, about your mother, your child, your move, your school work,  your bills, your job, your future, your conflict, your country, your relationship issues, your weakness, your mental illness, your addiction, or whatever it is that has you worried.  God cares but God is not worried.

 

God can handle it.   You cannot handle it, but God can, and with God’s help, you can get through it gracefully, even joyfully.   Our problem is lack of trust in God.   The first commandment.   Remember those Ten Commandments from last Sunday?   Jesus said, “Do not worry about tomorrow.   Do not worry about what you’re going to eat or drink or wear.”  Believe in God, believe also in me, he said.  I’m sending you the Spirit, your Advocate, who will never leave you.  So don’t fear suffering.   Don’t fear death.   Don’t fear the powers and principalities of this world.   No, actively put your trust in God.   Hear now what Paul says about worry and how to find contentment and peace.

Philippians 4:1-13

Therefore, my brothers and sisters, whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, stand firm in the Lord in this way, my beloved. ² I urge Euodia and I urge Syntyche to be of the same mind in the Lord. ³ Yes, and I ask you also, my loyal companion, help these women, for they have struggled beside me in the work of the gospel, together with Clement and the rest of my co-workers, whose names are in the book of life.

⁴ Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. ⁵ Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is near. ⁶ Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. ⁷ And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

⁸ Finally, beloved, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. ⁹ Keep on doing the things that you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, and the God of peace will be with you.   ¹⁰ I rejoice in the Lord greatly that now at last you have revived your concern for me; indeed, you were concerned for me, but had no opportunity to show it. ¹¹ Not that I am referring to being in need; for I have learned to be content with whatever I have. ¹² I know what it is to have little, and I know what it is to have plenty. In any and all circumstances I have learned the secret of being well-fed and of going hungry, of having plenty and of being in need. ¹³ I can do all things through him who strengthens me. 

(New Revised Standard Version)

Do I need to remind you that Paul wrote this letter from prison?   Yes, prison.   Does he say, “Help!  I’m so desperate.   I’m so upset.   How can this possibly work out?   I’m in such a bad place.”   That’s what we’d be saying.   We’d be whining about how hard and unjust life is.   But not Paul.  He writes his most joy-filled letter from prison to encourage the Christians in Philippi.   “Stand firm in the Lord.   Be of the same mind.”   And if you were here two weeks ago, you know the same mind he is talking about – the mind of Christ.   Have the same mind as Christ.   What kind of mind was that? A mind that looks out for the interests of others, even suffers for the sake of others.  And now Paul is trying to get them to be filled with the same mind – the mind that can rejoice even in difficulty, the heart that can be content, whether empty or full.   The life of peacefulness.

Rejoice in the Lord always.    Yes, rejoice.   Let your gentleness be made known to all.   By that, I take it Paul is saying, “Let your tender side show.”   Don’t try to be so strong by yourself, so tough, so doggedly determined.   Your gentle side knows how to relate to people.   Make it clear that your strength comes from God, which means you can feel both weak and strong at the same time.   The Lord is near, the One who protects you, comforts you, and invites you into the growth place of suffering.   You can wallow in your hard times or you can grow.   It’s up to you.

The Lord is near.   Scripture does not just invite you to trust this, but commands you to trust in God.   You shall trust and love the Lord your God, more than you trust in yourself, in your family members, in your doctors, in your teachers, in your friends, in your government.   Trust in God.   Because the Lord is near, you do not need to worry about anything, but by prayer and seeking wholeheartedly God’s strength, with gratitude in your heart, make your needs known to God.   Thank God and ask for God’s strength.   You’ve heard the story about the tour of heaven, haven’t you?  There were prayer reception rooms full of angels fielding all kinds of prayers for this and prayers for that, and then they arrived at an empty room with one angel who looked bored and distressed.  

And what room was that?   That was the thanksgiving prayer room.   Oh, how we love to ask for help and forget to do it with thanksgiving.   God is seeking grateful hearts.   Our hearts were made for gratitude.

We have guard stations all over SW Florida, as if these gated communities provide us protection.   But Paul says the peace of God which surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.    A heart and mind fixed on Jesus is guarded by peace.    A heart and mind that is continually praying to God with gratitude and requests will find what that heart and mind most need – peace.

But how many of us are just determined to keep worrying?   Why?   What do we add to life by our worry?   Nothing.   We make ourselves miserable, and in fact, for people over forty, studies have shown that the difference between a worrier and one who handles stress constructively is about six years.   Do not worry.   The Lord is near.   There is the immediate reality of a world in which human beings are constantly at war somewhere, betraying one another, brutally suppressing each other in order to get ahead. This was true of the Roman Empire, and it is true today.  But in Christ we know another reality and we are called to be more mindful of that reality by prayer and gratitude. 

So Paul spends an entire paragraph on positive thinking.   Whatever is true, honorable, just, pure, pleasing, excellent, commendable, worthy of praise, think on these things.   But we walk around moaning.   I caught myself several times this week dwelling on all that irritates me, instead of all that is great about life.   Now I’m not saying that we should never express concern and grief, but some of us do nothing but moan about what’s wrong, instead of expressing gratitude for what is right.   And if all we do is talk what’s bad about life, we will live our expectations.  It will be a self-fulfilling prophecy.  You cannot have a good life, without expressing gratitude for the goodness that is there.    And I don’t care how bad your life is, there is something for which to give thanks every hour of the day.   So here’s a challenge for the week:  set your phone or another alarm to ding every waking hour, and when it dings, examine your life and thank God for something good.   We really have to get better at praising God.  

If you are new to Peace and you have never put a gratitude rock in your pocket, pick up one today near the front door.   Use the rock as a reminder to give thanks to God.   Every time you touch the rock, express gratitude.  

This has become a pattern for people of Peace – using an ordinary rock to remind us of God’s ordinary gifts.   Those ordinary gifts when we bring them to mind make an extraordinary difference in our lives.

We comfortable American Christian have lost all respect for God, because we so rarely give thanks.  And so in losing sight of all God is doing, our anxieties grow because we’re forgetting who is in charge.

It is fitting that in a complex year of global conflict, the Nobel Peace prize should go to persons from India and Pakistan, countries that have been at war with each other off and on again since their countries were forcibly partitioned in 1947.  This action left 12.5 million people displaced, a million dead, and hundreds of thousands of women victimized in the worst types of ways.  But now a Hindu from India and a Muslim from Pakistan, both working for the protection and education of children, especially young girls, won the prize together.   Malala, the Pakistani teen who took a Taliban bullet to the head for speaking up for the education of girls, is still not yet an adult herself, but by her courage she is the youngest prize winner ever.   She along with Tailash Satyarthi, an Indian man who has worked for decades to protect children who have been trafficked into slavery, are both great examples of people who have worked for peace by attending to the need for justice for children.   What would have happened if Malala and Tailash had just sat at home moaning about how unfair life is?   

So we have to actively pray with thanksgiving for change.  And then we have to be the change we want to see in the world.  It all begins with trust in God.   Trust cannot be maintained without prayer, and prayer cannot be maintained without gratitude, and gratitude cannot be maintained without practicing contentment.  

But when we trust, pray, give thanks, stay content, then we find that God is near.   And we can rejoice, despite our predicament, and we find we can do all things through Christ who is always giving us strength.  

We pray with our eyes on God, not on the difficulties (Oswald Chambers)  It is a matter of coaching oneself into this kind of trust, prayerful gratitude, and contentment and peace that makes all the difference.  

If you are having trouble with this, I invite you to do things that help you to grow in this way.  Set your alarm for every hour or two.  Carry your gratitude rock in your pocket and reach in there often.   Take a gratitude walk, and instead of worrying, pray gratitude prayers.  Come to Wonderful Wednesdays and participate in the small groups.  Come to our other weekday prayer and study groups or Sunday school.   At home, school, and work - change your grumbling into gratitude by prayer.   You can do all things through Christ who gives you strength.   Every waking hour this week, stop and give thanks.  In the letter to the Thessalonians, Paul challenges them to pray without ceasing.   Don’t tell me you don’t know how to pray.  Anne Lamott wrote a funny book on prayer called Help, Thanks, Wow!  I’d add Sorry! to the list, and you’ve got a complete prayer.   Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, Supplication, and Intercession are the fancy words.   But help, thanks, sorry, and wow are equally good.   God is near.   Christ is filling you with peace.   Receive that peace with gratitude and leave the grumbling behind. 

There is one more song written for us in 1905.   It was inspired by the Christian faith of a couple Mr and Mrs Doolittle, friends of the hymn-writer, Civilla Martin.   Mrs. Doolittle was bed-ridden for more than twenty years, and Mr. Doolittle was himself working from a wheel-chair, but they lived with great faith and a positive spirit.  When Civilla’s husband asked them how they managed to live with such strong faith and joy, Mrs. Doolittle responded, “His eye is on the sparrow, and I know he watches me.”   Mrs. Martin went home and wrote the hymn. “Why should I feel discouraged….”  (His Eye is on the Sparrow)

 

Principles for Peace

Exodus 20:1-20                                                                   World Communion Sunday

Elizabeth M. Deibert                                                          5 October 2014

There are over six hundred commandments in the Hebrew Scriptures, what we Christians call the Old Testament.   But the ten we are reading today are undoubtedly the most significant ones.  This is not the only version of the Ten Commandments.   There is a similar list in Deuteronomy 5 and in Exodus 34. The first four commandments are said to be about loving God, and the last six about loving our neighbor as we love ourselves. 

After all, when asked which he considered the greatest commandment, Jesus quoted the Shema from Deuteronomy, saying, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your mind, and with all your soul, and with all your strength.   And then he added that the second is similar, “to love you neighbor as you love yourself.”   These two summarize all the law and the prophets.   I do not see how anyone of any true faith could argue with Jesus’ summary of the law.   Of course, living according to it is different that agreeing with it.

There are over 4,000 public displays of the Ten Commandments, including in the Supreme Court itself and in the Library of Congress. Sometimes the Supreme Court has allowed the public display of the Ten Commandments, while other decisions have barred them.   Richard and I lived in Alabama when Judge Roy Moore made quite a name for himself by insisting on the public display of the commandments.  A 2004 Barna poll indicated that 79% of Americans oppose the idea of removing displays of the Ten Commandments from government buildings, even though another survey indicated that fewer than 10% of Americans can identify more than four of the commandments.   A lot of zeal, but a lot of ignorance.   I expect the zeal about displaying them has diminished in the last decade.
 On World Communion Sunday, my view is that we need to recover not a zeal for outward displays which will alter nothing, but for inward commitment to these principles for peace, such that others are drawn to our faith by our witness to Christ’s peace.

The Ten Commandments are not just a binding, confining set of rules.   They are liberating set of principles for peace – peace for me, you, others, and the whole world.   These ethics grow out of the freedom of salvation.   The Hebrew people were rescued, saved and now they have this opportunity to live in ways that are fruitful.   Same with us.   We have been saved, liberated, given freedom in Christ.   If we break commandments, we will always be forgiven, but there are serious consequences that are damaging to relationships.   Those consequences are usually not temporary but lasting.  Hear now the Principles of Peace, the Law of Liberty, the Ten Commandments.

Exodus 20:1-20

Then God spoke all these words: ² I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery; ³ you shall have no other gods before me. ⁴ You shall not make for yourself an idol, whether in the form of anything that is in heaven above, or that is on the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. ⁵ You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I the LORD your God am a jealous God, punishing children for the iniquity of parents, to the third and the fourth generation of those who reject me, ⁶ but showing steadfast love to the thousandth generation of those who love me and keep my commandments. ⁷ You shall not make wrongful use of the name of the LORD your God, for the LORD will not acquit anyone who misuses his name. ⁸ Remember the sabbath day, and keep it holy. ⁹ Six days you shall labor and do all your work. ¹⁰ But the seventh day is a sabbath to the LORD your God; you shall not do any work-- you, your son or your daughter, your male or female slave, your livestock, or the alien resident in your towns. ¹¹ For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but rested the seventh day; therefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day and consecrated it. ¹² Honor your father and your mother, so that your days may be long in the land that the LORD your God is giving you. ¹³ You shall not murder. ¹⁴ You shall not commit adultery. ¹⁵ You shall not steal. ¹⁶ You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. ¹⁷ You shall not covet your neighbor's house; you shall not covet your neighbor's wife, or male or female slave, or ox, or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor. ¹⁸ When all the people witnessed the thunder and lightning, the sound of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking, they were afraid and trembled and stood at a distance, ¹⁹ and said to Moses, "You speak to us, and we will listen; but do not let God speak to us, or we will die." ²⁰ Moses said to the people, "Do not be afraid; for God has come only to test you and to put the fear of him upon you so that you do not sin.”

Remember that wonderful final line, which I will paraphrase:   Do not be afraid, for God is just trying to protect you and keep you out of trouble.  Okay, remembering that the first four are about loving…..God and the last six are about loving………neighbor, let us walk through them one at a time.

"You shall have no other gods before me" (Ex. 20:3; Deut. 5:7).

No loyalty comes before my loyalty to God. I should worship and serve only God, expect all good from God alone, and love, fear and honor God with all my heart.

Matt. 4:10 "Jesus said to his tempter, 'Away with you, Satan! for it is written, 'Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him.'"

Matt. 6:24 "No one can serve two masters; for a slave will either hate the one and love the other, or be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth."

Matt. 10:37 "Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me."

We don’t often think of family members as gods, but if we put family ahead of God, then family life has become our god.   And that according to Jesus is idolatry, which leads us to commandment number 2.

"You shall not make for yourself an idol" (Ex. 20:4; Deut. 5:8).

First, when I treat anything other than God as though it were God, I practice idolatry.   Second, when I assume that my own interests are more important than anything else, I make them into idols, and in effect make an idol of myself.

That takes us back to last week’s scripture from Philippians "Let each of you look not to your own interests, but to the interests of others."

The third commandment is often disobeyed unintentionally

"You shall not make wrongful use of the name of the Lord your God" (Ex. 20:7; Deut. 5:11).

I should use God's name with reverence and awe. God's name is taken in vain when used to support wrong. It is insulted when used carelessly, as in a curse or a pious cliché.

Not just is God holy but the very name of God is holy.   It is not to be tossed around.   The other day Rebecca was babysitting, and the child came to swim in our pool.   She kept shouting, “Oh my god.  Oh my god.”   It is an expletive so common that it has its own acronym OMG on all the social media.  

But we are called to bless God’s name, to ascribe to God the glory of God’s name.

We are challenged to let no evil come out of our mouths but only that which is useful for building up.

To use the name of God flippantly or to call ourselves by Christ’s name – Christian - without serious attention to the power and meaning of the name is to break the third commandment.   I challenge you to cut OMG out of your vocabulary and to live into the name Christian with greater intentionality.

"Remember the Sabbath Day, and keep it holy" (Ex. 20:8; Deut. 5:12).

God requires a special day to be set apart so that worship can be at the center of my life.   It is right to honor God with thanks and praise, and to hear and receive God's Word, so that I may have it in my heart, and on my lips, and put it into practice in my life.

But does it have to be Sunday?   Well, remember that for Jews it is sundown Friday to sundown Saturday, and for many Christians it is sundown Saturday to sundown Sunday.   The day of the week does not matter as much as the stopping to worship and rest.   For the early Christians, worship was on the day of Resurrection, the third day after Good Friday, not the day known as the Sabbath by Jews.

The point is that we need to stop all our striving to remember that God is in charge of the world and not we ourselves.   The second point is that employers should respect those who work for them and give them time to worship, rest, and enjoy their families and friends.

Now on to the last six commandments.   The last six are about loving who?

 

"Honor your father and your mother" (Ex. 20:12; Deut. 5:16).

Though I owe reverence to God alone, I owe genuine respect to my parents, both my mother and father. God wills me to listen to them, be thankful for the benefits I receive from them, and be considerate of their needs, especially in old age.   

In the Biblical times, there was no Medicare or Social security, so if children did not care for their parents, their parents simply died, for lack of means.

That was the last positively stated commandment.   Now the last half will be “thou shalt not” commandments.   And from here on, we have to remember the Sermon on the Mount, because every time we hear a commandment and think we are off the hook Jesus says, “you have heard it said, but I say to you…”

So when we hear "You shall not murder" (Ex. 20:13; Deut. 5:17) we cannot sit back and say, “I’d never do that!”

For God forbids anything that harms my neighbor unfairly. Murder or injury can be done not only by direct violence but also by an angry word or a clever plan, and not only by an individual but also by unjust social institutions. I should honor every human being, including my enemy, as a person made in God's image.

1 John 3:15 say "All who hate a brother or sister are murderers, and you know that murderers do not have eternal life abiding in them."

Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount, You have heard it said, “You shall not murder.” But I say to you that if you are angry with a brother or sister, you will be liable to judgment.

"You shall not commit adultery" (Ex. 20:14; Deut. 5:18).

God requires faithfulness, as God is faithful.  Since love is God's great gift, God expects me not to corrupt it, or confuse it with momentary desire or the selfish fulfillment of my own pleasures. God forbids all sexual unfaithfulness, whether in married or in single life.

Jesus says, You have heard it said, “You shall not commit adultery,” but I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart.

"You shall not steal" (Ex. 20:15; Deut. 5:19).

God forbids all theft and robbery – that’s easy.   But it gets a little more complicated when we start talking schemes, tricks or systems that unjustly take what belongs to someone else. God requires me not to be driven by greed, not to misuse or waste the gifts I have been given, and not to distrust the promise that God will supply my needs.

The prophet Jeremiahs says in 22:13 "Woe to him who builds his house by unrighteousness, and his upper rooms by injustice; who makes his neighbors work for nothing, and does not give them their wages."

Prov. 18.9 "One who is slack in work is close kin to a vandal."

1 John 3:17 "How does God's love abide in anyone who has the world's goods and sees a brother or sister in need and yet refuses help?"

"You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor" (Ex. 20:16; Deut. 5:20).

God forbids me to damage the honor or reputation of my neighbor. I should not say false things against anyone for the sake of money, favor or friendship, for the sake of revenge, or for any other reason. God requires me to speak the truth, to speak well of my neighbor when I can, and to view the faults of my neighbor with tolerance when I cannot.

James 4:11 "Do not speak evil against one another, brothers and sisters. Whoever speaks evil against another or judges another, speaks evil against the law and judges the law; but if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge."

1 Pet. 4:8 "Above all, maintain constant love for one another, for love covers a multitude of sins."

And let’s take this one a step further.  In forbidding false witness against my neighbor, God forbids me to be prejudiced against people who belong to any vulnerable, different or disfavored social group. Jews, women, homosexuals, racial and ethnic minorities, and national enemies are among those who have suffered terribly from being subjected to the slurs of social prejudice. Negative stereotyping is a form of falsehood that invites actions of humiliation, abuse, and violence as forbidden by the commandment against murder.

Last but not at all least "You shall not covet what is your neighbor's" (Ex. 20:17; Deut. 5:21).

Now in the days in which this commandment was written, women and servants were the property of the male head of household.   That’s why it says you cannot covet your neighbor’s wife or servant.  

My whole heart should belong to God alone, not to money or the things of this world. "Coveting" means desiring something wrongfully. I should not resent the good fortune or success of my neighbor or allow envy to corrupt my heart.   We slip into coveting without shame, but it is a poisonous attitude.

Heb. 13:5 says "Keep your lives free from the love of money, and be content with what you have; for he has said, 'I will never leave you or forsake you.'"

Gal. 5:26 "Let us not become conceited, competing against one another, envying one another."

The first four teach me how to relate rightly to God and the last six commandments teach me how to live rightly with my neighbor.

Can we obey these commandments perfectly?

No.  We are forgiven sinners.   We should not adjust the law to our failures, nor reduce our failures before God. Yet there is more grace in God than sin in us. While we should not cease to pray to God for mercy, we can be confident that God is forgiving and that we will be set free from all my sins. By grace we can confess sins, repent of them, and grow in love and knowledge day by day.

There’s a reason the commandments begin with our relationship with God -- our relationship with God affects our relationships with others.   If we do not wholeheartedly trust God, it is difficult to endure personal relationship problems because we see no way through.   We do not have the spiritual strength to endure it.  If we begin to idolize other people or are guided by our own personal passions more than our love for God, we will have trouble keeping commandments 5-10.   If we are not in close relationship with God, praying and taking Sabbath time to build our spiritual muscles, then we will have trouble truly loving our neighbor, whether that’s spouse, child, parent, colleague, friend, or stranger.

But if we can delight in God’s great love and in the gifts God has given us, particularly the people God places in our paths, if we can continually build a spirit of trust in God that allows space for shalom (peace, well-being), then we will be the peacemakers that the world so desperately needs. 

Note:  Much of the language and many of the scripture references in this sermon are borrowed from The Study Catechism, PCUSA 1998.