Readings: Psalm 19, Philippians 3:4b-14, Matthew 21:33-46, Exodus 20:1-4, 7-9, 12-20
Preached at Bridgehampton Presbyterian Church, October 8 2023
In recent years there has been no shortage of TV reality shows about surviving in the wilderness. “Survivorman”, “Man, Woman, Wild,” “Man vs. Wild” with Bear Grylls. In such shows members of the general public are pitted against the forces of jungle, nature and wilderness. With a little help from their celebrity presenters, we see if they can survive. We witness them struggling, arguing, complaining, and we wonder if they can actually make it out alive.
Our Old Testament readings over the summer and into Fall have followed the wilderness struggles of the Hebrew people. It was great to be delivered from slavery in Egypt. Their celebrity guide Moses was certainly one tough dude! We have seen them struggling, arguing, moaning and mumbling and, if we didn't know how the story turned out, we may be wondering if they would ever make it to the promised land.
For all of us, life can sometimes turn out to be a wilderness experience. We wonder how we are going to get through. In the book of Exodus, God offers to the people 10 survival strategies. We know them by their much more religious title of “The 10 commandments.” How can we, in our day, interpret the big 10 in such a way as they help us through the struggles and strains of 21st Century living? That's what I'd like to think about this morning.
The laws Moses brings down from the mountain have a lot to say about “getting along.” “Getting along” with each other, with God, and sometimes with themselves, was a real problem for the Hebrews as they traveled together.
“Getting along” continues to be a major source of friction at almost every level of life today. Be it international or national politics, getting along with neighbors, getting along with our church family or our natural family, or simply trying to come to terms with our own peculiarities, “Getting along” remains a huge concern for us all. The Ten commandments offer us some wonderful instruction for at least three areas of the relationship game.
• Getting along with God
• Getting along with ourselves
• Getting along with each other.
Getting along with God
I am confident that every one of us here has come across the biblical text that tells us “God is love.” Have we considered the implication in that saying? That there is no greater love in all creation than God. That the love of God is the standard by which all other love is measured. That the love of God surpasses all other loves and expressions of love and descriptions of love.
So when I say that “God loves you,” please be clear that what I mean is that God is crazy, madly, furiously, unflinchingly, insatiably in love with you. That God cares for you in a deeper and more intimate and passionate way for you than any other ever will. That's why God sent God’s only begotten Son to die upon a cross. That's how much God could not stand being apart from us, separated from us or divorced from us. God's love has broken every barrier down.
Part of the passage that we didn’t read tells us that the Lord our God is a jealous God. If God is love, then absolutely that has to be the case. Because if you really, really care about somebody you are possessive and guarded and zealous and totally desire to be the center of their heart’s desire and you don't allow other commitments to darken and minimize your love.
So, the first two commandments are about having no other gods or idols and the third one is about not using the name of the One who loves you in a way that betrays and cheapens that love. “You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself an idol. You shall not make wrongful use of the name.”
The gods of the ancients were nothing more than personifications of people desires. You want war? You got Mars. You want love? You have Aphrodite. You want wine? Meet Bacchus. You want beauty? Try Venus. Today we may not assign supernatural status to our desires, but they are no less powerful than the gods of the ancients.
Power. Beauty. Status. Gratification. Money. Celebrity. Call them by whatever name you wish. They are the gods people seek instead of the God whose nature is self-giving love. And the hole they seek to fill remains empty until God's true love fills that chasm in our soul.
No wonder, when Jesus was asked what was the first and most important command of them all, He replied: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.” (Mark 12:30). It was St Augustine who centuries later would write; “You have made us for Yourself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it rests in You.”
All these other passions that we have... all these other 'gods' and 'idols' that call to us … they cannot satisfy our greatest need. Only when we enthrone the one true God as the core of our desire, does everything else take its rightful place. God alone can satisfy the hungry heart. Jesus tells us "Put God's kingdom first. Do what God wants you to do. Then all other things will be added on!” (paraphrase of Matthew 6:33)
We also need to be aware that God is not remotely interested in what our personal agenda might be. If we believe we can use God to get what we want out of this life, then that is taking God's name in vain. We were created to honor Him. Don't get that the wrong way round. Discipleship is not “My will be done” it is “Lord, whatever it costs, whatever it takes, wherever it leads, Thy will be done!”
As they wandered in the wilderness the Hebrew people were neglectful of their relationship with God. They quickly allowed troubles and trials to obliterate from their perspective that fact the God of life who had delivered them from slavery, was on their side. As we navigate the wilderness of our own life, we can learn from their mistake!
But that is never going to happen unless we take seriously the fourth commandment. “Remember the sabbath day, and keep it holy.” I would suggest to you that if the first three commandments are about getting along with God, the fourth one is about ...
Getting along with ourselves
The fourth commandment is linked to the first creation account and the notion that God rested on the seventh day. It reminds us that if we spend every hour of every day with the sole purpose of gain in mind then we eventually lose our souls. If we do not allow creation itself to rest, it can no longer have time for rejuvenation. If we do not allow ourselves time to reflect and renew our lives, we lose our sense of self.
By the time Jesus walked among the Hebrew people the “Sabbath” command had become a burden. There were so many laws about what could and couldn't be done on the Sabbath that only the most rigorous and legalistic could ever hope to succeed in keeping to them. Enforcing Sabbath laws had become yet another way for a small minority to exercise control over others.
When Jesus, in compassion, performs acts of healing on the Sabbath, the religious elite call Him to task as a transgressor of the law. We read His response in Mark 2:27 “Then Jesus said to them, "The Sabbath was made to meet the needs of people, and not people to meet the requirements of the Sabbath.” Or as it appears in the Message Bible “Jesus said, "The Sabbath was made to serve us; we weren't made to serve the Sabbath.”
If we are to build a relationship with God, we must take time away from other things to focus on that relationship. The Sabbath was designed to give us that time. We need Sabbath time to connect with God. We need Sabbath time to connect with creation. We need Sabbath time to connect with each other. And, most of all, we need Sabbath time to connect with ourselves.
“God... you don't know what You are asking. I'm so busy!” And God replies, “I'm asking you to live!
To stop acting like a human 'doing' and become a human 'being'.” As Jesus elsewhere in Mark's gospel tells us; “And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul?” (Mark 8:36)
When we look at “Sabbath” through the lens of legalism, as though it were yet another thing to gain us extra credit on our heavenly CV, as though we will end up at the pearly gates and the first question will be, “Now you didn't miss church to mow the lawn last Sunday did you?” then we are totally missing the meaning of Jesus words, "The Sabbath was made to serve us; we weren't made to serve the Sabbath.”
In the list of God's survival strategies is this one command that is all about us taking the time and making the space to rest in God's presence and build our relationship with God, not as a legalistic observance but as a way of experiencing wholeness and “Shalom”... as a way of imbibing the peace which passes all understanding.
If we don't take care of ourselves and our relationship with God we are not well placed to take care of others. The final survival strategies are all about...
Getting along with each other.
These are principles that we hold in common with people of all religions and those who claim no religion. They are principles that just make sense.
Honor
your father and mother. We are invited to treat those who have nurtured our lives with honor and respect. Particularly as they get older and are unable to take care of themselves. Be they parents or mentors or carers … whoever it is that has helped make us into the people we are today... it's just the right thing to do to acknowledge that we wouldn't be here without them... and to care for those nearest and dearest to our hearts. "Honor your father and mother."
You shall not murder. Don't go around killing each other. That seems so obvious, yet in a world that remains addicted to violence as a way of problem solving and never ceases from the task of preparing for war, maybe it is a strategy so obvious that we struggle to relate to it beyond the personal level. Jesus did tell us to love our enemies... and every generation struggles to understand how that best can be done. His example of self-sacrifice remains as a light to guide our thoughts and actions.
You shall not commit adultery. Be faithful in your relationships. Don't be divided in your loyalties. Don't profess love for one and then go and profess love for another while they are looking the other way. Let your love be as genuine as Christ's love for you. Don't use people as though they were commodities put on this planet for your own personal fulfillment, as though their feelings didn't matter. All of this is implicit in that commandment “You shall not commit adultery.”
You shall not steal. Taking stuff that you have no rights to is another no-no. Don't steal. Don't steal people’s time. You can never repay that. Be punctual. Don't make every meeting with others all about yourself, because you are taking away other people’s right to be heard. Don't belittle people with harsh words and actions because you are stealing their dignity in an attempt to cover your own insecurities. Theft is not just about personal property.
You shall not bear false witness. Don't tell lies. Don't live lies. Don't have words on your lips that have no meaning because eventually people stop listening. Use your words to encourage not to pull down. If you can't say something positive, consider if your words are accomplishing anything except massaging your personal ego. Walk in the truth. John's third letter tells us; “I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth.” (3John 1:4). Just as truth is a lifestyle so can deception be a way of living. Only truth is a fruit of the Spirit!
Finally, You shall not covet. Don't go around making your focus “Stuff other people have.” Learn to be content with the blessings God has given you. Because until you do, no matter how much more you get, you will never be satisfied. Don't envy the abilities and achievements of others while belittling your own. We are not all the same. Acknowledge and accept your uniqueness. Be the you that God designed you to be. Don't try and be somebody else or think that if only you had all that stuff somebody else seems to have then that would bring you happiness. If you don't find joy in the Lord, then you'll never discover it.
Survival Strategies for wilderness living. The Ten Commandments are a gift that speak to us about getting along with God, getting along with ourselves and getting along with each other. In the midst of a world that can seem like a wilderness, we would do well to take their advice!
I sometimes wonder if somebody were to have asked Moses on his death bed “What are your final words of advice to the world?” Do you know what I think he might say? “Keep taking the tablets!”
May we continue to apply the wisdom that Moses bought down from the mountain on tablets of stone, the wisdom of God, to our daily lives.
And to God's name be the Glory! Amen.
The Reverend Adrian J. Pratt B.D.
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