Thursday of the Tenth Week in Ordinary Time
Last weekend, Bill and I headed west on I-70 to Columbus to watch our second eldest daughter participate in a powerlifting competition. Along the way, we passed one of those Ten Commandments billboards. I’ve long wondered what the purpose is of such billboards. You can’t possibly read all ten of the commandments when you’re traveling at 70 miles an hour. I suppose they are meant to serve as some kind of reminder that we are supposed to obey God’s law. If we do, I suppose the reasoning goes, then we are good people and God looks favorably upon us. If we don’t, I take it that we are bad people and can expect to suffer for eternity.
If I apply that test to myself, it’s not really clear where I come out. Could I ever kill another human being? I really don’t think so. But I can’t say for certain. Could I worship another God? I don’t think so. But I do live in a culture that puts other gods before me all the time—money, sports teams, the nation, a thin and youthful body, professional success, and so forth—and asks me to dedicate myself to them to the point of sacrificing all sorts of things (like time with family or friendships with people who cheer for a different team or who take a knee during the national anthem). Adultery? That’s an easy one because I am married to my soul mate. Keep the sabbath. Oops. I have to confess that I do work on Sundays. But I really love my work, so maybe it doesn’t really count as work . . . on Sundays. Theft? I can say with confidence that I have never stolen anything. But I have to confess that when I was loading the spring annuals that I purchased at Seibenthaler’s into my car and came across a small container of flower and vegetable fertilizer that I knew (as soon as I saw it) the cashier had not wrung up, I had to think for a second. Should I just toss it into the trunk and go or should I take it back in and pay for it? I am happy to report that I did the latter. Still, for that brief moment . . .
In short, it’s by no means clear how I come out with the Ten Commandments. It would appear that I am not entirely in command of my obedience to the Ten Commandments! And so I pray: Dear Lord, have mercy on me, a sinner!
And then there is this passage from the Sermon on the Mount in which Jesus says, yes, we should obey the Ten Commandments. But to truly follow him and live into the Kingdom requires a good deal more. We Christians are not only not to kill another. We are not even to feel anger toward another. In addition to that, we are not to insult another. And we should settle all our disputes before we get to court.
According to Jesus, God has no interest in the so-called gifts we bring if we are not at peace with our brother/sister/neighbor. Enemy? Our “gifts” mean nothing to God if we are not living into the peace and love of Christ.
Phew! The Ten Commandments are challenging enough, even for someone who is happily married, has no need to steal, and loves worshipping just one God. But this? No wonder so many preachers want to say that the Sermon on the Mount doesn’t apply to the days in which we live. They are for the Kingdom to come.
Except the Kingdom is also here, right? Jesus is risen, right?
Looks like I have some work to do in my relationships with others. How about you?
Sue Trollinger