Today s sermon is about the Ten Commandments. Biblical historians date the Israelite s embrace of the Ten Commandments at approximately 1250 BCE.

Transcription

1 Rules to Live By The Rev. Dr. Arlene K. Nehring Eden United Church of Christ Hayward, California Seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost October 5, 2014 Exodus 20: 1-4, 7-9, (NRSV) Today s sermon is the sixth in a series that I am offering this fall. Each sermon is associated with the Hebrew people s exodus from Egypt and 40-year journey through the wilderness to the Promised Land, which is described in the Torah, the first five books of the Bible. My first sermon in the series was based on the story of the burning bush, which is also the story of Moses call to lead the Hebrew slaves out of Egypt. The second was about the Feast of Unleavened Bread and the first Passover celebration. The third was based on the snakebite story from Israel s wilderness experience. The fourth was about the Red Sea Crossing. And last Sunday s sermon was about God s provision of manna and quail in the wilderness. Today s sermon is about the Ten Commandments. Biblical historians date the Israelite s embrace of the Ten Commandments at approximately 1250 BCE. There are two renderings of the 10 Commandments in the Bible. The first is found in Exodus, and the second in Deuteronomy. In both stories, Moses descended from a mountain carrying two stone tablets on which the commandments were etched, but the ordering of the commandments varies, depending on which book one reads. II When I say Ten Commandments, what thoughts come to mind? Do you envision scenes from Cecil B. DeMille s Hollywood classic, do you have flashbacks to Sunday School or Confirmation days, or do you wonder what I m talking about? If you had to memorize the Ten Commandments in Church School or Confirmation, which version did you learn? Was it the one from Exodus 20 (which was the original Ten Commandments that God gave Moses on Sinai, before the golden calf debacle, which is the topic of next week s sermon), or did you learn the ver-

2 sion that s found in Deuteronomy 5 (which is part of the covenant renewal ceremony between God and the Israelites at Mt. Horeb)? If you come from a Roman Catholic, Greek Orthodox, Lutheran, Episcopal, or Presbyterian background, you probably studied the Ten Commandments from one of the many catechisms that have been developed and handed down through the centuries in one of those denominations. Roman Catholics who are older than me probably studied the Baltimore Catechism, while Catholics who are my age and younger probably studied The Catechism of the Catholic Church. Greek Orthodox adherents have probably studied the Orthodox Catechism. Those who have been raised in the Episcopal Church have studied An Outline of Faith, also known as the Episcopal catechism, which is found in back of The Book of Common Prayer. Most Lutherans and people who grew up in UCC congregations that came out of the Evangelical (Lutheran) tradition (in Germany) studied Luther s Shorter Catechism in Church School and Confirmation. Meanwhile, persons who have been raised in the Reformed traditions and people who grew up in UCC congregations that came out of the German Reformed tradition most likely studied Calvin s Heidelberg Catechism. If you grew up in the Presbyterian Church, by comparison, you would have studied the Westminster Catechism. The Heidelberg Catechism still enjoys immense popularity in congregations that emerged from the Reformed tradition in the UCC, especially in places like Wisconsin and Pennsylvania. Until about 20 years ago, confirmation students in Northeast Wisconsin, where I went to college, had to memorize the Heidelberg Catechism in German, in order to be confirmed. If you grew up at Eden Church or in some other parish that grew out of the Congregational tradition, you probably studied the Ten Commandments, but you probably didn t study a catechism, and you probably weren t required to do much memory work. III The story about Moses receiving the Ten Commandments, which is our primary Hebrew Bible text for today, is imbedded in the larger wilderness narrative of the Hebrew people a people who, at the time, had no law and no land. Back in Egypt, the Hebrew people were subject to the Pharaoh s law. Now that they were free, they were no longer subject to the laws of some foreign authority, yet they were in need of guiding principles to foster order among themselves. The Rev. Dr. Arlene K. Nehring, Rules to Live By, 10/5/2014, p. 2 of 5.

3 The Ten Commandments helped to bring order out of the chaotic experience of the wilderness. The Commandments defined the outer limits of conduct, through succinct, unequivocal prohibitions, which (if adhered to) would protect the community from behavior that would otherwise destroy it. The commandments were addressed to individuals, yet adherence to them served to promote the common good. The first commandment is the cornerstone of the ten. I am the Lord, your God, you shall have no other Gods before me. Note that this first commandment was first expressed in the covenant between God and Abraham and Sarah. The first through the fourth commandments define the Hebrew s obligations to God, while the fifth through the tenth define prohibitions about how the Hebrews were expected to relate to each other. The Old Testament literature includes two kinds of laws. One is the apodictic, and the other is the casuistic. An example of a casuistic law is, When someone steals an ox or a sheep, and slaughters it or sells it, the thief shall pay five oxen for an ox, and four sheep for a sheep, Ex. 22:1. An apodictic law is a short, second person command or prohibition. The Ten Commandments are the best examples of apodictic laws. Many Old Testament scholars think that the Ten Commandments were originally just ten words that when uttered would conjure up a clear and more elaborate meaning. Unlike the casuistic laws, the Ten Commandments, as apodictic laws, did not include an if-then warning. Some argue that the absence of the if-then warning is indicative of the fact that the Ten Commandments were meant to serve as guiding principles rather than threats to the Hebrews. Other scholars point out, by contrast, that the lack of penalty associated with each of the commandments was reflective of a don t-even-think-about-it spirit behind the laws. (N.b., the penalties for failure to adhere to the Ten Commandments show up in later parts of the Torah, and the penalties for failing to fulfill these Commandments were extremely harsh. The most common penalty for breaking the Commandments was death. 1 IV Given the fact that terms like Commandment and Law have such negative connotations in our time, many of us may wonder how we as contemporary Christians ought to relate to the Ten Commandments. 1 See HarperCollins Study Bible NRSV annotations for Ex. 20. In case you re wondering where our Puritan ancestors got their material look no further. The Rev. Dr. Arlene K. Nehring, Rules to Live By, 10/5/2014, p. 3 of 5.

4 Here s my view: the Ten Commandments have an enduring value for our time, especially if we understand the original role that they played in the lives of the ancient Hebrews, and allow them to serve that function in our time. So what follows is an explanation of the role that the Ten Commandments played among the ancient Hebrew people. Old Testament scholar Terence Fretheim says that the Ten Commandments originally served as Israel s Bill of Rights. Like the U.S. Bill of Rights, the Ten Commandments were foundational laws for the Hebrew people. Also like the U.S. Bill of Rights, Fretheim says, there was room for growth and interpretation in the Decalogue. As our nation matured, the U. S. Bill of Rights was extended, amended, and reinterpreted. The same happened with the Ten Commandments. Consider, for example, that the Ten Commandments are found in both Exodus 20 and Deuteronomy 5, but that the commandments are defined differently, and interpreted differently in each. Consider too that nine of the Ten Commandments are each found elsewhere in the Old Testament, but that Exodus 20 and Deuteronomy 5 are the only two places where the ten are found together. The definition and interpretation of the Ten Commandments varies throughout the Hebrew Bible and throughout Christian history. A quick study of the several catechisms that have been developed by our various Christian denominations provides evidence of this process. Given the historic and evolutionary process through which the Ten Commandments have come, I propose five purposes or roles for the Decalogue in our time. 1) One role for the Ten Commandments in our time is that they remind us that law can contribute to the order and structure of our communities. The historic delivery of the Ten Commandments to the Hebrews underscores the value of law for the human community. Laws speak to our shared values as a community, to our vision, and to how we expect to relate to each other. Laws help create order, stability, and assurance. Adherence to laws supports cultures in which families and neighborhoods can be nurtured, education can be advanced, religion can flourish, and commerce can develop. 2) Another role for the Ten Commandments in our time is to remind us that there is more than one way to define and interpret God s law. The multiple renderings of the Ten Commandments in scripture, and in the Christian catechisms, suggest that there is no one set way to articulate this ancient covenant between God and Israel, or to apply it to our lives. Each generation, including our own, must study the scriptures, and interpret and apply both the Law and the Gospel for our own time. 3) A third role for the Ten Commandments in our time is to point us toward God s hope for the human community. It is not enough for communities of The Rev. Dr. Arlene K. Nehring, Rules to Live By, 10/5/2014, p. 4 of 5.

5 faith to avoid the negative; we must learn to affirm the positive to which the Commandments point. 4) Yet another role for the Ten Commandments in our time is to help us realize that there are many modern evils that are not specifically addressed or anticipated by ancient law. So we must become students of ethics and become communities of discernment and accountability for each other, and for our wider world, in order to be faithful to the ancient and modern covenants in which we participate. 5) A final proposal that I ll mention today which may be the most important one is that the Ten Commandments are central to the covenant that Christians, Jews, and Muslims share in common with God. Though the Ten Commandments are worded a bit differently, and have been interpreted a bit differently within and among these three great religions, the Ten Commandments have historically been and could again serve as the basis upon which people of goodwill restore and maintain civility in Alameda County, the United States, the Middle East, and our global community. V Given how chaotic interpersonal relationships can be in any generation from individual families and communities to the larger society and world it is helpful to return to the Ten Commandments, which offer enduring guidance not only for us as Christians but for Jews and Muslims, and perhaps our entire global village. If we return to and redouble our commitment to live by the spirit of these laws, we can restore order and healing in our lives, our communities, our nation, and our world. Amen. The Rev. Dr. Arlene K. Nehring, Rules to Live By, 10/5/2014, p. 5 of 5.