Exodus 20:1-17, Psalm 19

Exodus 20:1-17, Psalm 19 = &nb= sp; = &nb= sp; The Blessing of Boundaries

Mar= . 15, 2009 &nbs= p; &= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp; &nbs= p; = By Rev. Kathy McDowell

Mark Twain tells a st= ory of a certain business acquaintance,

a man well-known for = his ruthlessness, who made a vow one day.

“Before I die,&= #8221; he declared, “I mean to make a pilgrimage to the = Holy Land.

I will climb Mt. Sinai and read the Ten Commandments aloud at the top.”

After listening to hi= s plan, Twain replied, “I have a better idea.

You could stay at hom= e in Boston and keep them.”[1]

Mark Twain’s co= mment is just as timely today as it was back in his day.

Although there’= s no shortage of talk about the 10 commandments,

including where and w= hen they should be posted,

actually living by th= ese 10 commandments is much more difficult. =

And since Mark Twain = was so blunt, I hope you’ll permit me to be too.

Besides, it’s L= ent, a time when we take the time to talk about these things.

The fact is, we’= ;re all sinners.

As Paul writes in the= Letter to the Romans in the 3^rd chapter,

“There is no distinction, since all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” =

The word for sin in t= he Greek is hamartia and it means to mi= ss the mark,

like a person misses = the bulls eye when shooting an arrow at a target.

In fact, in many cases we’re way off the mark,

completely outside of= the boundaries of the target.

When we miss the mark= , the result is always a diminished life.

The law, which is und= erstood in both of our readings for today

as all of the teachin= gs of scripture, offers us a boundary.

But say the word “boundary” to we Americans who love our individualism, our independence, our freedom, and our right to life, liberty, and the pursuit = of happiness,

and our hackles begin= to rise.

Boundaries. . .

Won’t that inte= rfere with our rights, especially the pursuit of happiness one?

Boundaries . . . Won’t boundaries limit = our freedom?

But like it or not, very often there are consequences to having unlimited freed= om.

When you turn on the news these = days all we hear is bad news:

the latest stock market report, =

the latest analysis from an econ= omist,

the latest index of debt or foreclosures or joblessness.

It’s the worst economic do= wnturn since the Great Depression. <= o:p>

But there’s something else we’ve begun to hear about the present economic crisis.

Some analysts are insisting that= this may be the result of finally hitting our limits,

limits that up to now, we have b= een unwilling to admit.

American writer Wendell Berry re= cently put it this way: <= /span>

“The commonly accepted basis of our economy

is the supposed possibility of limitless growth, limitless wants, limitless wealth,

limitless natural resources, limitless energy, and limitless debt.

The idea of a limi= tless economy implies

and requires a doc= trine of general human limitlessness;

all are entitled to pursue without limit whatever they conceive as desirable.

Our national faith has become, ‘There’s always more,’” Berry says.

Living without limits, living without boundaries, we have created a new god, =

suggests the Rev. Samuel Lloyd, who is the head pastor of the

National Cathedral in Washington D.C.

“The god that we Americans worship, isn’t simply the god of wealth,”= he says,

“but the god of “More.” [2]

In the same way t= hat we as a nation may finally be learning

that there is a w= isdom to having limits,

there also is a blessing to God’s boundari= es. =

Boundaries guide us into the freedom of living God’s way. <= /span>

The boundaries we hav= e come to know as the 10 commandments,

or the Decalogue, app= ear in 3 different places in the OT.

And although I could = preach at least 10 different sermons on this text from Exodus 20,

today we’re goi= ng to take the long view and look at the role of the law or the Torah/teachings in the lives of God’s people.

But there are a few t= hings we should note about this reading in order to understand this law we call the = 10 commandments.

First, this passage i= s not all law and no grace.

God does not have a s= plit personality,

where there is the OT= God who punishes and judges,

and then there’= s the NT God who loves and forgives. <= o:p>

In a single verse = 211; verse 2 – God reminds us that before the law,

God’s grace was= already there.

“I am the Lord = your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt,

out of the house of slavery.”

This God – our = God – is the God who has saved and freed his people

from slavery in Egypt -- and from slavery to sin.

God’s grace and= love always come first.

Keeping the commandme= nts is the way we respond to God̵= 7;s grace and love.

This has been underst= ood since the very early beginnings of the church.

In the fourth century= , St. Augustine wro= te this:

“It is not that= we keep his commandments first, and that then he loves;

but that He loves us = , and then we keep his commandments.

This is that grace, w= hich is revealed to the humble, but hidden from the proud.”

Secondly, if we read through the 10 commandments,

the first four have to do with our relationship with God,

while the last six are about our relationship with others.

The commandments begin with God: “Have no other gods beside me.

Do not make idols. Don’t use God’s name in empty, meaningless ways.

Honor the Sabbath day.”

The next six commandments are all about how we get along with others beginning = with “Honor your parents.”

Then there is a series of short injunctions

that are really more accurately translated from the Hebrew like this:

“No murder! No adultery! No stealing! No false testimony against your neighbor!”

And then finally that last big one, “no coveting.”

We are not to covet the house, wife, servant, possessions,

or any stuff that belongs to our neighbor.

No wanting, desiring, yearning, longi= ng for more. <= /p>
When we long for more, it can become our god.

Finally, when we read= the 10 commandments,

we can’t help b= ut notice that they’re almost all negative.

Except for #4 and #5, “Thou shalt not” is a part of each = one of these commandments.

What would these commandments sound like if they were more positive?

“You shall have= no other gods before me” might be “Worship only God.”

“You shall not murder” could be “Embrace life.”

“You shall not = commit adultery” might be “respect your vows.”=

“You shall not covet” could become “Be satisfied with what you have.”

This all sounds good = – these positive commands.

We who have been shap= ed by 20^th century psychology

certainly do like to = put things in the positive.

But negative commands= can have some force behind them.

Picture this – = a mother standing on a curb, holding her small child’s hand,

while the child tugs = and pulls on her hand, trying to dart into the busy street. <= /p>
What is going to have= more authority for this child?

“Honey, stay ne= xt to mommy.”

Or “Don’t= you dare cross the street!”

We sometimes need tha= t kind of authority in our lives,

in our personal lives= , in our families, in our churches.

We need the 10 commandments to say NO to us

so we can say YES to God and God’s way for life.

John Calvin, the 17th century theologian who helped shaped Protestant Christianity, described thr= ee uses for the 10 commandments: as a mirror, a fence, and a guide.[3]

When used as a mirror= , the 10 commandments reveal how we deceive ourselves.

Like the young man wh= o asked Jesus about how to gain eternal life,

we insist that we have followed all the rules. =

We justify and relativize.

We define stealing on= ly in Bernard Madoff Ponzi scheme sizes of $64 billion in fraud.

Adultery is only the scandalous stuff that occurs with congressmen or TV evangelists.

Murder is what happen= ed last week in Alabama

when someone goes on = a shooting rampage.

Yet, those who would = never consider themselves thieves

easily make personal = copies on their company copier

or fail to disclose a= ll their income on the IRS form.

People who have never committed adultery

compulsively return t= o porn sites on the internet

or ignore or neglect = their spouses.

People who have never murdered kill someone’s reputation

with a few well-chose= n words or by failing to speak up against injustice.

But the law is more t= han a mirror. It is a fence.

The structure of our = civil law is based on many of the 10 commandments,

a religious document = from the Judeo-Christian tradition.

These laws not only p= revent us from sin in the religious sense,

but also enable us to= live cooperatively in communities and nations.&= nbsp;

As a mirror and a fen= ce, the law,

the teachings of scri= pture, also become a guide for our lives,

which is stated so beautifully in Psalm 19.

Although Psalm 19 is = divided into three parts, v. 1-6, 7-11, and 12-14,

there is a strong thr= ead which weaves through it all. =

The psalmist declares= that the same One who gave us the universe

also gave us the law = which guides our lives. =

The whole creation is= a witness to the God’s mighty presence -

the heavens themselve= s tell of God’s glory.   <= o:p>

In the same way that = creation reveals God and his goodness,

so do the teachings of Torah.

Six different names a= re given to the law -

words like precepts, = and decrees, commandments and ordinances -

it’s as if the = psalmist is trying to be as comprehensive as possible

as he gives praise fo= r the law.

The law of the Lord r= evives the soul; makes wise the simple;

gives us reason to re= joice; enlightens our lives.

The teachings of the scripture guide us to the pure, enduring,

true and righteous wa= y of life - God’s way.

Near the end, the psa= lmist offers a humble prayer,

seeking God’s h= elp in keeping God’s law,

asking for forgivenes= s for even hidden faults,

and offering the enti= re psalm as an act of worship.

“Let the words = of my mouth and the mediation of my heart be acceptable, O Lord, my rock and redeemer.”

Psalm 19 is a celebra= tion of our God

who created the bound= aries of the universe and the boundaries of the law.

These boundaries let us live out of bigger reali= ties - God’s realities.

Without rules, we hav= e no limits - our emotions and lusts and desires dictate our lives.

It might sound like f= reedom to live without those limits, but

in the words of a poe= t whose hymn we’ll be singing as our closing hymn:

“We are not fre= e when we’re confined

To every wish that sw= eeps the mind.

But free when freely = we accept

The sacred bounds tha= t must be kept.”

Jody will play the tu= ne through first once, and then we’ll sing together
the hymn that is prin= ted on your bulletin insert.

GOD MARKED A LINE AND TOLD THE SEA