The Right Relationship
Based on Exodus 20:1-17 and 1 Corinthians 1:18-25
Delivered on 3/7/2021
Hymns: You Are My All in All, Come to the Table of Grace, In Christ Alone
I am Darci Strutt McQuiston, one of the Lay Speakers of this congregation. It is my honor to take the pulpit this morning.
We are three Sundays into Lent so nearly halfway through. Rev Dawn and Deacon Susan both spoke of the hope of Lent and I intend to do so as well. It was a little daunting when I realized what scripture I had to work with this week. The ten commandments at first glance do not seem to be a passage of hope. However, the Psalm assigned for this week does paint them that way.
Psalm 19:7-10
The LORD’s Instruction is perfect, reviving one’s very being.
The LORD’s laws are faithful, making naïve people wise.
The LORD’s regulations are right, gladdening the heart.
The LORD’s commands are pure, giving light to the eyes.
Honoring the LORD is correct, lasting forever.
The LORD’s judgements are true. All of these are righteous!
They are more desirable than gold – than tons of pure gold!
They are sweeter than honey – even dripping off the honeycomb.
After reading the psalm I set off to find those words of hope and the sweetness contained in God’s commands.
I see a ‘good news’ and ‘bad news’ message as I contemplate the Exodus reading. I am going to give you the bad news first and hopefully make the good news sweeter by doing so.
We are told that God wrote the 10 commandments onto two tablets. Most often we divide them so one is focused on our relationship with God and the second on our relationship with fellow humans. I am going to share ideas about the second half of the commandments first; the ones with instruction about how we deal with each other.
These second tablet commandments were the ones I remembered best from my youth. They were brought up when my parents wanted to remind me to behave kindly and to not be selfish.
We have probably all been told from a young age the importance of not being selfish. Yet, selfishness is a way of being that comes natural to us. Selfishness can be required for survival after all. We are programed to want to survive as individuals. No wonder it is such a strong pull for our selfish behavior.
Selfish behavior is predictable. A truly selfish person will make choices to always benefit themselves. They are locked into a pattern of behavior because they feel they are the ones responsible for their future and cannot trust anyone else. This, sadly, is the wisdom of the world. That is why the message of the cross is foolishness. A selfish person would not think to give up anything for the greater good, let alone their life. That makes no sense to our survival instinct.
The first commandment about our relationship to one another begins with the closest relationship we have. We are asked to honor our parents. This is a command to do something instead of to not do something, which is what the remaining five commandments are. Also, this is the one commandment that has a promise attached to it. You are to honor them “so that your life will be long on the fertile land that the LORD your God is giving you.”
It is the positive fulfillment of the phrase, ‘what goes around comes around.’ This commandment has the understanding that we will become elders in need of care unless our lives are cut short for some reason. I understand this commandment to be broader than only parents. The generation behind us is watching and learning while we care for, or do not care for, the generation ahead of us.
The remaining five commandments have to do with how we treat others in any generation. I am going to clump them together.
A person who is self-focused, or selfish, would be less likely to shy away from behavior that could hurt another person. It makes it more likely you would put physical desires over honoring your spouse, take what is not yours, slander someone to put yourself above them, or believe you are more deserving of good things than your neighbor is.
Each of these commandments feel like they are easier to violate if we keep a “me first” attitude. If we are focused on self-protection and self-promotion, they become hard not to break because breaking them can be seen as a tool for getting ahead. If we are stuck in a belief that we are on our own in the world then self-protection is the name of the game. If your world is dog-eat-dog or survival of the fittest then you want to be on top. That would be the wisdom of the world.
Each of the commandments had many complex sub laws under them. It was enough to make your head spin. Obeying was made more difficult when Jesus told us even thinking of disobeying made you guilty.
Matthew 5:21-22, 27-28
21 “You have heard that it was said to those who lived long ago, Don’t commit murder, and all who commit murder will be in danger of judgment. 22 But I say to you that everyone who is angry with their brother or sister will be in danger of judgment. If they say to their brother or sister, ‘You idiot,’ they will be in danger of being condemned by the governing council. And if they say, ‘You fool,’ they will be in danger of fiery hell.
27 “You have heard that it was said, Don’t commit adultery. 28 But I say to you that every man who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery in his heart.
Sometimes I think Jesus spoke like that just to get us riled up. We do not want to suffer punishment, but controlling our thoughts is just too much to ask. This looks like “bad news” with no hope. We want to cry out “Who can be saved?” We would not be the first to ask that.
In Luke 18:25-27 we read.
25 It’s easier for a camel to squeeze through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter God’s kingdom.”
26 Those who heard this said, “Then who can be saved?”
27 Jesus replied, “What is impossible for humans is possible for God.”
This brings me to the importance of understanding the first four commandments. We know our strength is limited, but God is more than we can imagine. This is the “good news” part of my message.
Our Wednesday morning Bible study has begun reading “Words of Life: Jesus and the Promise of the Ten Commandments Today” by Adam Hamilton. We have only had a couple weeks of study and it already is turning these stone tablets on their heads.
I understood these four commandments as showing respect for God. They are more. When we disregard these first commandments, we fail to see the greatness of God and his ability to sustain us. Following them gives us hope.
The first commandment is “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery; you shall have no other gods before me.”
The line begins with the reminder that God was able to take care of them in the past. He did not fail them. We do not need any other god. It is as if God is reminding us, he was enough for us in the past and he is enough for our future.
We are commanded to not make God into an idol. God is bigger than we can imagine. If we create something that means we can imagine it and we just shrunk God down to the point of our limited imagination.
Adam Hamilton shared that there are two ways God has made his image visible. The first is through seeing Jesus. The second is by looking at each other. We were created in God’s image. We can see God in each other.
We are also at risk for making God small when we misuse his name. His name is not a truth rod that we can hold on to that causes us keep promises. Jesus dealt directly with this command as well when he said in Matthew 5:37, “Let your word be “Yes, Yes,” or “no, no”; anything more than this comes from the evil one.”
This command also includes those times when we speak what we think God is saying. I take it very seriously and pray I am listening to the Holy Spirit’s guidance whenever I talk to you, but this is only my interpretation. God did not etch this message into stone tablets for me. I also pray the Holy Spirit is helping you take in what God wants you to hear.
You may not take the pulpit, but anytime you divide people into “us” and “them” and claim God is on your side, you have shrunk God down to be a mini-you. Watch out for putting words in God’s mouth. There have been many times God favored people that I would not have thought deserving. We cannot know the mind of God.
Sabbath keeping is one Rev Dawn has taught about at length and I still fail at. I ask myself why? Do I think if I stop running on my hamster wheel my life will fail? Trusting God enough to be willing to rest is another way we let God be God. The people receiving these commands had just been freed from slavery with no days off. God is telling them he is not that kind of taskmaster.
Jesus said in Mark 2: 27 Then he said, “The Sabbath was created for humans; humans weren’t created for the Sabbath.” Sabbath is a gift to enrich our lives. It is God attempting to take care of us.
It is interesting how looking at the first commandments in this way helps us understand the greatness of God. Commands five through ten are easier to keep if we trust and acknowledge commands one through four. Our God is big enough to care for us. We do not need to be fearful and selfish.
We also need to remember the universe does not revolve around you or me individually. There is a bigger picture. There is a different relationship we are dealing with.
Deacon Susan taught us about the covenant relationship God entered with Abraham. Rev Dawn taught us about Jesus being baptized and the voice of God saying, “You are my Son.” Each of these relationship moments included a journey. Jesus journeyed in the wilderness. Abraham walked into an unknown land. There were unknowns but the relationship with God was solid.
Our verses from Exodus are also ones of relationship and covenant but not with an individual. The relationship is between God and the people. All the people. This was about community having a relationship with God. This journey is not measured in days or years. It is one measured in generations.
As I pondered this shift in the message, I thought about how Christ called us Children of God. Paul called us a body with many members and Christ at the head in 1 Corinthians12:12. In Exodus the people were descendants of Abraham. Jesus Christ added the whole world to that covenant by putting the community above himself and paying the cost of our sin for us on the cross.
1 Corinthians 1:18
“The message of the cross is foolishness to those who are being destroyed. But it is the power of God for those of us who are being saved.”
Christ gave his life for the good of many. He taught us the way of love. He taught us by example that God could be trusted.
He put a positive spin on the two tablets of the commandments by his response when asked what the top commandment was.
Matthew 22: 37 He replied, “You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your being, and with all your mind. 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: You must love your neighbor as you love yourself. 40 All the Law and the Prophets depend on these two commands.”
Only when you understand how to love, and honor God, will you realize that God is big enough to handle all your fears. You have no need for running on the hamster wheel in this dog-eat-dog world. You can step out of that earthly wisdom and realize there is more to you than this earthly life.
We are invited to be part of God’s family. Christ’s death on the cross gave us this opportunity.
Maybe, these ten commandments are not just a guide to our current behavior, but a vision of what the world will be when we truly grow into the people God intends. Imagine a world where love is at the center. There is no more killing, no more stealing, no desire to have your own way, and respect is shown to all people. That sounds like a glimpse of heaven.
Rev Dawn said she wanted this period of lent to be a period of hope. This is my hope.
Know God is bigger than any need you may have. God’s love is bigger than any sin you commit. God’s plan is bigger than your life, but he still holds your life as special to him. Let him be your all in all.
Trusting in that vastness will give you more strength to love your neighbor. Who needs to take from another when God can provide all your needs? In Christ alone our hope is found.
When we celebrate Communion Sunday, we recognize we cannot trust in our righteousness but only in this table being a table of grace. We remember Christ’s sacrifice to bring us to God as part of God’s family. It is a moment to pray that we grow into the likeness of Jesus Christ. He knew his journey spanned more than his limited time on earth. Ours does too.
Jesus showed us God’s face in the flesh. My prayer is that we can show God’s face to each other by how we live our lives. We serve a mighty God. Trust in that knowledge. Live in love not in selfishness. We are not only children of God, but together we are the body of Christ. We stand in the power of Christ.
How incredibly awesome is that?!
We are called to be God’s people. We are called to live as though we are in eternity already. Each time we say the Lord’s Prayer we ask, “May your kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven.” That may not happen in our generation, but we have a role to play in its creation. Help others see the greatness and goodness of our God. Share this good news far and wide! The whole world needs to hear it because the whole world is part of this covenant of love.
In this time of Lent I pray you can know these truths in your heart. God is bigger than we can imagine. God loves us more than we can imagine. His words are words of life that are sweeter than honey dripping off the honeycomb.
Amen
We are told that God wrote the 10 commandments onto two tablets. Most often we divide them so one is focused on our relationship with God and the second on our relationship with fellow humans. I am going to share ideas about the second half of the commandments first; the ones with instruction about how we deal with each other.
These second tablet commandments were the ones I remembered best from my youth. They were brought up when my parents wanted to remind me to behave kindly and to not be selfish.
We have probably all been told from a young age the importance of not being selfish. Yet, selfishness is a way of being that comes natural to us. Selfishness can be required for survival after all. We are programed to want to survive as individuals. No wonder it is such a strong pull for our selfish behavior.
Selfish behavior is predictable. A truly selfish person will make choices to always benefit themselves. They are locked into a pattern of behavior because they feel they are the ones responsible for their future and cannot trust anyone else. This, sadly, is the wisdom of the world. That is why the message of the cross is foolishness. A selfish person would not think to give up anything for the greater good, let alone their life. That makes no sense to our survival instinct.
The first commandment about our relationship to one another begins with the closest relationship we have. We are asked to honor our parents. This is a command to do something instead of to not do something, which is what the remaining five commandments are. Also, this is the one commandment that has a promise attached to it. You are to honor them “so that your life will be long on the fertile land that the LORD your God is giving you.”
It is the positive fulfillment of the phrase, ‘what goes around comes around.’ This commandment has the understanding that we will become elders in need of care unless our lives are cut short for some reason. I understand this commandment to be broader than only parents. The generation behind us is watching and learning while we care for, or do not care for, the generation ahead of us.
The remaining five commandments have to do with how we treat others in any generation. I am going to clump them together.
A person who is self-focused, or selfish, would be less likely to shy away from behavior that could hurt another person. It makes it more likely you would put physical desires over honoring your spouse, take what is not yours, slander someone to put yourself above them, or believe you are more deserving of good things than your neighbor is.
Each of these commandments feel like they are easier to violate if we keep a “me first” attitude. If we are focused on self-protection and self-promotion, they become hard not to break because breaking them can be seen as a tool for getting ahead. If we are stuck in a belief that we are on our own in the world then self-protection is the name of the game. If your world is dog-eat-dog or survival of the fittest then you want to be on top. That would be the wisdom of the world.
Each of the commandments had many complex sub laws under them. It was enough to make your head spin. Obeying was made more difficult when Jesus told us even thinking of disobeying made you guilty.
Matthew 5:21-22, 27-28
21 “You have heard that it was said to those who lived long ago, Don’t commit murder, and all who commit murder will be in danger of judgment. 22 But I say to you that everyone who is angry with their brother or sister will be in danger of judgment. If they say to their brother or sister, ‘You idiot,’ they will be in danger of being condemned by the governing council. And if they say, ‘You fool,’ they will be in danger of fiery hell.
27 “You have heard that it was said, Don’t commit adultery. 28 But I say to you that every man who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery in his heart.
Sometimes I think Jesus spoke like that just to get us riled up. We do not want to suffer punishment, but controlling our thoughts is just too much to ask. This looks like “bad news” with no hope. We want to cry out “Who can be saved?” We would not be the first to ask that.
In Luke 18:25-27 we read.
25 It’s easier for a camel to squeeze through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter God’s kingdom.”
26 Those who heard this said, “Then who can be saved?”
27 Jesus replied, “What is impossible for humans is possible for God.”
This brings me to the importance of understanding the first four commandments. We know our strength is limited, but God is more than we can imagine. This is the “good news” part of my message.
Our Wednesday morning Bible study has begun reading “Words of Life: Jesus and the Promise of the Ten Commandments Today” by Adam Hamilton. We have only had a couple weeks of study and it already is turning these stone tablets on their heads.
I understood these four commandments as showing respect for God. They are more. When we disregard these first commandments, we fail to see the greatness of God and his ability to sustain us. Following them gives us hope.
The first commandment is “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery; you shall have no other gods before me.”
The line begins with the reminder that God was able to take care of them in the past. He did not fail them. We do not need any other god. It is as if God is reminding us, he was enough for us in the past and he is enough for our future.
We are commanded to not make God into an idol. God is bigger than we can imagine. If we create something that means we can imagine it and we just shrunk God down to the point of our limited imagination.
Adam Hamilton shared that there are two ways God has made his image visible. The first is through seeing Jesus. The second is by looking at each other. We were created in God’s image. We can see God in each other.
We are also at risk for making God small when we misuse his name. His name is not a truth rod that we can hold on to that causes us keep promises. Jesus dealt directly with this command as well when he said in Matthew 5:37, “Let your word be “Yes, Yes,” or “no, no”; anything more than this comes from the evil one.”
This command also includes those times when we speak what we think God is saying. I take it very seriously and pray I am listening to the Holy Spirit’s guidance whenever I talk to you, but this is only my interpretation. God did not etch this message into stone tablets for me. I also pray the Holy Spirit is helping you take in what God wants you to hear.
You may not take the pulpit, but anytime you divide people into “us” and “them” and claim God is on your side, you have shrunk God down to be a mini-you. Watch out for putting words in God’s mouth. There have been many times God favored people that I would not have thought deserving. We cannot know the mind of God.
Sabbath keeping is one Rev Dawn has taught about at length and I still fail at. I ask myself why? Do I think if I stop running on my hamster wheel my life will fail? Trusting God enough to be willing to rest is another way we let God be God. The people receiving these commands had just been freed from slavery with no days off. God is telling them he is not that kind of taskmaster.
Jesus said in Mark 2: 27 Then he said, “The Sabbath was created for humans; humans weren’t created for the Sabbath.” Sabbath is a gift to enrich our lives. It is God attempting to take care of us.
It is interesting how looking at the first commandments in this way helps us understand the greatness of God. Commands five through ten are easier to keep if we trust and acknowledge commands one through four. Our God is big enough to care for us. We do not need to be fearful and selfish.
We also need to remember the universe does not revolve around you or me individually. There is a bigger picture. There is a different relationship we are dealing with.
Deacon Susan taught us about the covenant relationship God entered with Abraham. Rev Dawn taught us about Jesus being baptized and the voice of God saying, “You are my Son.” Each of these relationship moments included a journey. Jesus journeyed in the wilderness. Abraham walked into an unknown land. There were unknowns but the relationship with God was solid.
Our verses from Exodus are also ones of relationship and covenant but not with an individual. The relationship is between God and the people. All the people. This was about community having a relationship with God. This journey is not measured in days or years. It is one measured in generations.
As I pondered this shift in the message, I thought about how Christ called us Children of God. Paul called us a body with many members and Christ at the head in 1 Corinthians12:12. In Exodus the people were descendants of Abraham. Jesus Christ added the whole world to that covenant by putting the community above himself and paying the cost of our sin for us on the cross.
1 Corinthians 1:18
“The message of the cross is foolishness to those who are being destroyed. But it is the power of God for those of us who are being saved.”
Christ gave his life for the good of many. He taught us the way of love. He taught us by example that God could be trusted.
He put a positive spin on the two tablets of the commandments by his response when asked what the top commandment was.
Matthew 22: 37 He replied, “You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your being, and with all your mind. 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: You must love your neighbor as you love yourself. 40 All the Law and the Prophets depend on these two commands.”
Only when you understand how to love, and honor God, will you realize that God is big enough to handle all your fears. You have no need for running on the hamster wheel in this dog-eat-dog world. You can step out of that earthly wisdom and realize there is more to you than this earthly life.
We are invited to be part of God’s family. Christ’s death on the cross gave us this opportunity.
Maybe, these ten commandments are not just a guide to our current behavior, but a vision of what the world will be when we truly grow into the people God intends. Imagine a world where love is at the center. There is no more killing, no more stealing, no desire to have your own way, and respect is shown to all people. That sounds like a glimpse of heaven.
Rev Dawn said she wanted this period of lent to be a period of hope. This is my hope.
Know God is bigger than any need you may have. God’s love is bigger than any sin you commit. God’s plan is bigger than your life, but he still holds your life as special to him. Let him be your all in all.
Trusting in that vastness will give you more strength to love your neighbor. Who needs to take from another when God can provide all your needs? In Christ alone our hope is found.
When we celebrate Communion Sunday, we recognize we cannot trust in our righteousness but only in this table being a table of grace. We remember Christ’s sacrifice to bring us to God as part of God’s family. It is a moment to pray that we grow into the likeness of Jesus Christ. He knew his journey spanned more than his limited time on earth. Ours does too.
Jesus showed us God’s face in the flesh. My prayer is that we can show God’s face to each other by how we live our lives. We serve a mighty God. Trust in that knowledge. Live in love not in selfishness. We are not only children of God, but together we are the body of Christ. We stand in the power of Christ.
How incredibly awesome is that?!
We are called to be God’s people. We are called to live as though we are in eternity already. Each time we say the Lord’s Prayer we ask, “May your kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven.” That may not happen in our generation, but we have a role to play in its creation. Help others see the greatness and goodness of our God. Share this good news far and wide! The whole world needs to hear it because the whole world is part of this covenant of love.
In this time of Lent I pray you can know these truths in your heart. God is bigger than we can imagine. God loves us more than we can imagine. His words are words of life that are sweeter than honey dripping off the honeycomb.
Amen
