Sermon for October 6

The readings


Deuteronomy 5:1-21 
 
5 Moses convened all Israel, and said to them:

Hear, O Israel, the statutes and ordinances that I am addressing to you today; you shall learn them and observe them diligently. 2 The Lord our God made a covenant with us at Horeb. 3 Not with our ancestors did the Lord make this covenant, but with us, who are all of us here alive today. 4 The Lord spoke with you face to face at the mountain, out of the fire. 5 (At that time I was standing between the Lord and you to declare to you the words[a] of the Lord; for you were afraid because of the fire and did not go up the mountain.) And he said:

6 I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery; 7 you shall have no other gods before[b] me.

8 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. 9 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 fourth generation of those who reject me, 10 but showing steadfast love to the thousandth generation[c]of those who love me and keep my commandments.

11 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.

12 Observe the sabbath day and keep it holy, as the Lord your God commanded you. 13 Six days you shall labor and do all your work. 14 But the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God; you shall not do any work—you, or your son or your daughter, or your male or female slave, or your ox or your donkey, or any of your livestock, or the resident alien in your towns, so that your male and female slave may rest as well as you. 15 Remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the Lord your God brought you out from there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm; therefore the Lord your God commanded you to keep the sabbath day.
16 Honor your father and your mother, as the Lord your God commanded you, so that your days may be long and that it may go well with you in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.
17 You shall not murder.[d]
18 Neither shall you commit adultery.
19 Neither shall you steal.
20 Neither shall you bear false witness against your neighbor.
21 Neither shall you covet your neighbor’s wife.
Neither shall you desire your neighbor’s house, or field, or male or female slave, or ox, or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.
 
Deuteronomy 6:4-9 
4 Hear, O Israel: The Lord is our God, the Lord alone.[a] 5 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might. 6 Keep these words that I am commanding you today in your heart. 7 Recite them to your children and talk about them when you are at home and when you are away, when you lie down and when you rise. 8 Bind them as a sign on your hand, fix them as an emblem[b] on your forehead, 9 and write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.
 
Mark 12:28-31 
 
28 One of the scribes came near and heard them disputing with one another, and seeing that he answered them well, he asked him, “Which commandment is the first of all?” 29 Jesus answered, “The first is, ‘Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one; 30 you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ 31 The second is this, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”



The message


Sort of (no manuscript today)


Today, we are in the time after the major event of the Old Testament.  The time after the Exodus / escape from 400 years of slavery in Egypt.   The God who created the world, bringing order from nothing, who calls Abraham, giving a child to the old and barren, wrestles with Jacob, walks with Joseph, making and keeping great promises.


The 10 commandments starts with God. declaring, I have heard the cries of my people and the call of Moses. Moses (and Aaron) goes to the pharaoh, demanding the freedom of the Israelties and bringing the 10 plagues, the water to blood, gnats or lice, flies, death of livestock, boils  hailstorms, frogs, locusts, three days of darkness and death of the first born of Egypt.  These plagues show the power of God. 

We now find ourselves after the Exodus, an event celebrated by the song, the song of the community and the song of Mariam,(the sister of Moses and Aaron) and perhaps the oldest text in the bible : Then the prophet Miriam, Aaron’s sister, took a tambourine in her hand; and them: “Sing to the Lord, for he has triumphed gloriously; horse and rider he has thrown  into the sea.”   That’s the big moment, the literal road out of slavery was cut through a sea that parts and then buries the armies of Egypt.

Sing to the Lord who has done great things, who defeated Egypt and their great army, who set the people free from 400 years of slavery, who heard their prayers, fulfilled great promises, who called their leaders, soon fades to “where are we going, what we will we eat, we were better off in Egypt, you lied to us, life sucks here, we’d rather be slaves, our neighbors will kill us, were going to die of disease, attacks or war, thirst or hunger. They will go as far as making and worshipping a golden calf, giving this idol they force Aaron to create credit for freeing them from Egypt. This broken, anxious and chosen community receives the law, the 10 commandments (along with about 610 other rules and policies)  


Today, I do not want to focus on the meaning of these laws in how we live (you can look at the 10 commandments in Luther’s small or large catechism there the commandments serve a very particular purpose, the law reveals sin, exposes our inability to save ourselves or earn salvation through good works. This pushes us to the cross and God’s grace.

When Moses first shares the 10 commandments, the law pointed people to God, remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the Lord your God brought you out from there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm:


The first 4 commandments focus on how we interact with God and the last 6 focus on how we interact with each other.  The law points us to the God who gave promises to Sarah and Abraham and then a child, who rescued the people from Egypt, who spoke through the prophets, who healed the sick, taught the authorities, rose Christ from the dead.   When Jesus is confronted by the religious authorities, asked “which is the greatest of the commandments”, Jesus responds The first is, ‘Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one; 30 you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ 31 The second is this, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”