“
Old Testament
Lesson: Exodus 20: 1-17
New Testament
Lesson: Matthew 5: 14-16
Dr. Matthew Brown
Did you know that the nucleus
of an atom is only one millionth of a billionth of the full volume of the
atom? Gosh, that’s small. And yet, as author and science devotee Bill
Bryson points out, it is amazingly dense, containing virtually all the atom’s
mass. “If an atom were expanded to the
size of a cathedral, the nucleus would be only about the size of a fly - but a
fly many thousands of times heavier than the cathedral.
The atoms of which everything
is composed are for the most part empty space.
So, when church members make sarcastic comments about the air between my
ears, well, they are correct. Yet, as
Bryson points out, “It is still a fairly astounding notion to consider that
atoms are mostly empty space, and that the solidity we experience all around us
is an illusion.
When two objects come
together in the real world - billiard balls are most often used for
illustration - they don’t actually strike one another. ‘Rather,’ as
I guess that when Julius
Peppers “jacks up” Terrell Owens, he’s not actually hitting him. Now, let me say to all the siblings out
there, don’t think you’re going to get away with that excuse, “Mom, I didn’t
actually hit him. My negative charge was
just repulsed by him.” I ain’t buyin’
it, cause pain is pain.
Think about this, “When you
sit in a chair, you are not actually sitting there, but levitating above it at
a height of one angstrom (a hundred millionth of a centimeter), your electrons
and its electrons implacably opposed to any closer intimacy.” Now, like anyone
over 40, I have padding in places I’d rather not, but I don’t have much padding
back there, and so if I spend much time in a metal folding chair it sure feels
like I’ve been making contact, but I guess those negatively charged electrons
are keeping my buns at bay.
The electrons of two objects
implacably opposed to any closer intimacy.
I’ve been thinking about that concept this week as it relates not to two
objects but two subjects in the realm of our relationship with God: Law and Grace.
Sometimes the population of
the faithful seems to be divided into two groups: Those who are focused on the fundamental
importance of living up to the law of God and those who are focused on the
grace and unmerited favor God has given to we humans who could never hope to
live up to the rigors of the law.
One group seems fixed on what
one must do, how one must live, how one must vote to be a Christian. At the same time, the other group is zeroed
in on the abundant and welcoming love of a God who will not let us go in spite
of ourselves, who includes us in his kingdom in spite of all our faults,
foibles, anxieties, and fears.
Law and Grace. Are they really two subjects implacably
opposed to one another, their most passionate proponents bouncing off one
another like negatively charged electrons?
In a word, no. The ugly and pitched political or courtroom
circuses over where they may be posted notwithstanding, the ten commandments
offer witness to the truth that law and grace go together like chocolate and
milk, sugar and tea (with apologies to the unenculterated). Law and Grace, they are connected more than
The Decalogue, or these Ten
Words, as the commandments are otherwise known, actually come to us not as a
burden to enslave us but as a gift to free us for life with and for one
another.
Look with me at the way the
commandments are introduced. “I am the
Lord your God, who brought you out of the
The Lord is immediately
illumining his connection to this people.
It is as though God is saying, “Listen folks, remember, I am your God,
not some distant, foreign, motionless and emotionless, statue. I’m no idle idol. I am your God, the one who was there before
there was even a gleam in your mother’s eye; the one who was there in the
birthing room when they were wiping the goo off of you and placing you in the
tentative and shaking hands of your overwhelmed father; the one who calmed your
heart when they told you your grandmother had died; the one who gave you the
courage not to slug the guy who tripped you in the school lunchline; the one
who placed that hope of love in you that led to the day you exchanged vows and
said yes to one and no to everyone else.
Remember, I’m your God, the
One who brought you out of slavery, folks, that’s out of slavery, and so I
didn’t bring you out here to put you back in slavery. You’re not going to earn my favor ‘cause
you’ve already got it.
So, listen, since I am the
one who created this ‘thang,’ I’m going to give you a few shalls and shall nots
so that this ‘thang’ can work.”
You see, the law of God is
not a “how to” list of how you may get in good with God. Rather, it is a structure of life for a
community that has been redeemed by God.
Again, God is saying, “Look, I have redeemed you, claimed you, saved
you. Now, let’s set about forming a life
together.”
When people seek to boil down
the life of faith to its most basic and clear essence, we point toward three or
four texts that constitute three or four expressions of the same idea.
When Jesus was asked the
greatest commandment, quoting two sources - the Shema in Deuteronomy and a text
from Leviticus 19 - he said, “Love the Lord with all your heart, with all your
soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength, and love your
neighbor as yourself.”
This same theme is expressed
in Micah where the prophet says, “He has told you, O mortal, what is good; and
what does the Lord require of you but to do justice (love of neighbor), and to
love kindness (love of neighbor), and to walk humbly with your God (love of
God)?”
In the same way, if we look
closely at the Ten Commandments, we find that they fit into two basic
groupings. Check it out. The first four pertain to (Well, look at
this!) love toward God, and the last six pertain to (Well, I’ll be!) love of
neighbor.
Now I don’t know about you,
but I’m sensing a pattern here. As the
synapses percolate in the grey mush that is my brain, in gratitude to a God who
made and claimed me, what I need to be constantly asking before I speak or act
is this: Will these words, will this act
be an expression of my love for God and will these words, will this act be an
expression of love for my neighbor? If
the answer to either of those questions is “no,” then don’t say it; don’t do
it, for it would not be reflective of what God has already done for me.
Through these commands, God
provides shape and form to the image of life lived in response to his
love. Walking through these commands, we
see a lot of common sense. Look at them.
1st - Love and worship the
one who has given you this life.
2nd - Stop chasing lesser
idols, most of which will rust or rot away and can’t do much for you anyway -
Can a Lambourghini resurrect the dead or put in your heart the peace of knowing
that you are loved?
3rd - You know, when our
language becomes tawdry, arrogant, insulting, or rude, we are diminishing
ourselves and thus also demeaning the name of God.
4th - Take some time
off. Rest. Your body needs it. You’re certainly not God and God took a
sabbath. It is a part of the fabric of
creation itself. And it is a wonderful
time to say thanks to the Life Giver.
5th - As your parents age,
they may slow down, but don’t patronize them, don’t demean them or diminish the
gift that is their life. Even if they
never did meet your expectations, they remain God’s children.
6th - Stop slaying one
another with weapons and words. Life is
precious gift.
7th - Keep your promises. Fidelity in relationship is the foundation of
trust.
8th - Stop taking what isn’t
yours to take.
9th - Stop shading the truth
through the art of semantics and rationalization at your neighbor’s expense.
10th - Rejoice in what you
have been given and stop grinding your teeth over what you really don’t need.
These ten commands, certainly not exhaustive,
but certainly most basic, form structure, form parameters for the community
that God has brought together. And when
we’re at our best, it is by these parameters that we will be known and God will
make himself known in this world.
When we’re at our best,
others may ask - “Who is this God? Look
at how they love him. Look at how they
love others. What has this God done for
them?” When we’re at our worst - we just
look like self-righteous - and yes, that happens a lot.
It is an important question
on this World Communion Sunday - what do others learn of God from what we’re
saying and doing in the world?
We come to this meal, invited
by one who asks not for any price of admission.
It is a free gift. We leave this
meal, fed by these words and these elements, as ones nourished for life as the
redeemed community. Welcomed by grace,
instructed by law.
The commands are there not to
burden us, but that we may celebrate the gift.
Instead of looking like fools as we argue about where to place them,
maybe we ought to focus on finding them where God alone can place them, in our
hearts. Remember, it’s not Law or Grace,
it’s Grace and Law.
Amen.