Pastor Hugh's November 2008 Meditation
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Ten Commandments:
A Compass For a Life Worth Living
This month, our tour of our stained glass windows takes us up into the church balcony, where we find our “Ten Commandments Window.” The Ten Commands are typically symbolized by two stone tablets with the first 3 commandments (here represented by Roman numerals) on one and the following 7 on the other. These are often referred to as the two “tables” of the law—the first having to do with our direct relationship with God and the second having to do with our relationship with our neighbor, beginning with our parents.
Click on image to see a larger view of St. Paul’s “Ten Commandments” Window, in a separate window.
At the risk of appearing too technical or academic, it should be noted that Lutherans and Roman Catholics tend to number the commandments differently from most everyone else including Episcopalians, Reformed Christians, and Jews. Where our second commandment reads, “You shall not make wrongful use of the name of the Lord your God,” others have this as their 3rd commandment, following “You shall not make for yourself an idol.” For these siblings in faith, our commandments 9 and 10 are combined into one forbiding “coveting.”
Luther, following Roman Catholicism, held that this commandment was assumed in the first, “You shall have no other gods before me.” Furthermore, if such a commandment were to be taken literally it would mean that all religious images, including statues and stained glass windows, would be prohibited. This interpretation has lead throughout history to periods of iconoclasm, a word that comes from the Greek meaning "image-breaking", where zealots would destroy all religious images and symbols in a misguided effort to purify their faith communities from idolatry. To this Luther expressed, “I am not of the opinion that through the Gospel all the arts should be banished and driven away, as some zealots want to make us believe; but I wish to see them all, especially music, in the service of Him Who gave and created them.” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iconoclasm accessed on October 23, 2008)
There have been disagreements about the commandments, even among Lutherans, as to how one ought to use them. This has lead to an understanding of up to three uses, or purposes, of the law: 1) to restrain public or civil evil; 2) to show us our sins so that we might turn in repentance to Christ; and 3) as a guide for how, once we have been redeemed by Christ, to live our lives as Christians.
There is little time here to discuss in what way God’s law can and ought to shape our civil society, which is one area of diagreement. In a society that values the separation of religious and civil life, it would be difficult, if not impossible (and probably misguided) to try to legislate a binding and comprehensive religious moral code. Theocracies have always been a source of civic terror as they are the antithesis of democracy and freedom. But this is not to say that the commandments are irrelevant to us.
When I read the command to have no other god before God, if I am open and honest with myself, I realize how far I have fallen. By “god”, with a small “g”, we don’t mean some Canaanite fertility god that may have been the concern of ancient Israelites, but anything that we might turn to in times of trouble as a replacement for our full “fear, love and trust” in God (big “G”). One example of my personal idolatry is evident in the fact that I tend to find myself trusting more in the promise of money to provide security for me in times of trouble than I?do in the promise of God. And if I go beyond the surface of these commandments and unpack them the way Jesus did, they each are literally impossible to follow. When the commandment forbidding murder is stretched so far as to prohibit negative thoughts toward my neighbor (see Matthew 5:22), there is no escape. It is no wonder that this “second” use of the law “drives us to the foot of the cross” where we find, in Jesus’ death and resurrection, hope and forgiveness.
But now what? Is that all that the commandments are good for? If I had to chose sides, I would stand with those who find that the 10 Commanments serve as a practical guide through life. This in no way turns them into the “10 Suggestions.” On the contrary, it opens them up to us in a way that brings life and oppportunity and not mere condemnation. Like a compass, they show us where God would have us go. And trusting in the power of the Holy Spirit, we are able set off on our journey.
Take a moment, if you are able, and look how Luther, in his Small Catechism, unpacks each commandment. (If you don’t have a copy of this, ask and I’ll be happy to give you one.) When, for example, it says in the fifth commandment, “You shall not murder,” something most of us will likely avoid in this life, Luther opens this up by explaining, “We are to fear and love God, so that we neither endanger nor harm the lives of our neighbors,” —so far so good— “but instead help and support them in all of life’s needs.” Now that is a vision I can live my whole life trying to fulfill.
Hugh R. B. Haffenreffer
Pastor
November 2008
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