Preaching text: Exodus 20:1-11
(Pastor's note: Here begins a sermon series on the Small Catechism. This is in honor of the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation.)
From the Small Catechism...
The First Commandment.
Thou shalt have no other gods.
What does this mean?
We should fear, love, and trust in God above all things.
The Second Commandment.
Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord, thy God, in vain.
What does this mean?
We should fear and love God that we may not curse, swear, use witchcraft, lie, or deceive by His name, but call upon it in every trouble, pray, praise, and give thanks.
The Third Commandment.
Thou shalt sanctify the holy-day.
What does this mean?
We should fear and love God that we may not despise preaching and His Word, but hold it sacred, and gladly hear and learn it.
Sermon
“We are to fear and love God...” Luther begins every explanation of the Ten Commandments with those words. But do you ever ask yourself why we should fear and love God? Luther doesn’t seem to address that in his explanations, presuming our loyalty and trust in God is a foregone conclusion. But should it be? I mean, what has God done for us lately?
“We are to fear and love God...” Luther begins every explanation of the Ten Commandments with those words. But do you ever ask yourself why we should fear and love God? Luther doesn’t seem to address that in his explanations, presuming our loyalty and trust in God is a foregone conclusion. But should it be? I mean, what has God done for us lately?
Okay, I know that sounds a mite shocking, even a bit blasphemous, so let me put it another way. Why should we fear and love God? Well, have you counted your blessing lately? Taken stock of the joys and triumphs of your life? Have you smiled at a sunny day or at the wagging tail of a puppy-dog or at the pictures of your children and grandchildren lately? Have you enjoyed a good meal or the scintillating plot of a bestseller or film? Have you laughed at a good joke? Have you enjoyed the company of good friends? All those things and so many more are reason enough to “fear and love God.”
They are all things that God has given to us and they stand as evidence of God’s good will towards his people. Sure, not every moment of life is sunshine and rainbows, but neither is life utterly devoid of joy and pleasure either. God seeks what is best for his people. He hungers to give us joy and happiness. He loves us. And just as we do with those we love, our friends and family, he wants to take care of us as we do them.
It therefore stands to reason that God is displaying this same care and compassion towards us when he gives us his law and commandments. These rules are not here simply to arbitrarily inconvenience us. They are here to help take care of us, to keep us out of trouble, and to give us joy in life.
What is known as the “first tablet” of the Ten Commandments is the topic of today’s sermon. It’s the first three commandments and the ones that are about our relationship with God himself.
“You shall have no other gods.”
My goodness, I could probably preach a thousand sermons on this one alone. This is one is first for a reason; it’s the hardest one of all of them to obey. Oh, it’s easy to not bow down and worship Odin or Zeus or some deity of another religious understanding. That’s not the problem for the most part. In fact, I suspect God has less trouble with the people who do pray to those deities than he does with those who bow down to gods of their own fashion.“You shall have no other gods.”
Gods of greed and anger and lust and selfishness. These are far more dangerous idols than any figure of another religion. These are gods we make ourselves and they are invariably self-destructive. Gods of lust destroy marriages. Gods of greed destroy families. Gods of anger destroy societies. Gods of selfishness destroy everything. And yet time and again, we turn to them. We run to them to avoid our problems in life. We run to them thinking they will save us. If I only had more money...If I only had that hottie as a wife (or lover)...if I only I could just punch that creep in the mouth...if only I could make the world work the way I want it.
Down those roads lie disaster. God knows that. No good has ever come of our following such gods. You can lay nearly every problem of this world at the feet of our wanderings. We are to fear and love God, Yahweh, Jehovah, however we might name him, because he is the one and only God who can truly give us what we need. No other, despite our frequent beliefs to the contrary, can satisfy.
“You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain.”
This is about more than what language we choose to use, about more than whether we choose to say “gosh darn it” or the other thing. It’s about taking God for granted, about using his name to bring about things in this world for our benefit alone.
This is about more than what language we choose to use, about more than whether we choose to say “gosh darn it” or the other thing. It’s about taking God for granted, about using his name to bring about things in this world for our benefit alone.
When we turn God into a cosmic Santa Claus, we use his name in vain. Oh, Lord, if only I had a million dollars...(Hey, there’s that god of greed again.) I swear to God I didn’t do that (when we know darn well we did.) That’s using his name in vain. Share this picture on Facebook and God will bless you. That’s a popular one these days, but yes, it too is using his name in vain.
It’s disrespect. It’s using God to benefit ourselves alone, to get out of trouble, to change the world to help us alone, with no care for others or for God himself. It’s not taking his love and care for us seriously. It’s taking advantage. It’s taking God for granted. It’s being a jerk to God. He’s done so much for us, given us life, salvation, blessings beyond count. How could we be so thoughtless?
“Remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy.”
You know it’s funny. I know these commandments were first handed down thousands of years ago, but this is one we Americans desperately need to watch out for. You see, speaking of our idols and other gods, we Americans have one somewhat unique to ourselves: productivity. We want to be productive at work. We want to accomplish everything. No matter the consequences.
You know it’s funny. I know these commandments were first handed down thousands of years ago, but this is one we Americans desperately need to watch out for. You see, speaking of our idols and other gods, we Americans have one somewhat unique to ourselves: productivity. We want to be productive at work. We want to accomplish everything. No matter the consequences.
We never take a break. We never stop to smell the roses. That question I asked towards the beginning of this sermon about counting our blessings. How many of us actually do that more than once in a great while? Well, I did it last Tuesday but I’ve just been so busy lately. There’s the problem. We will work ourselves to death if given half a chance.
The Sabbath is a moment to take a breath, a pause, a break, a chance to relax and remember what really matters in life. And it ain’t how productive we are. It’s in relationship with God and others. It’s in joy and happiness and satisfaction with life. The old cliche is true. No one goes to the grave saying “Boy, I wish I’d spent more time at the office.” And yet that’s precisely how we live our lives.
God wants what is best for us. We see that, if bother to take that break (and we should...often), in all the wonders he gives us. Joy, love, peace, the salvation of his son, and so much more. This is what it’s really about. God loves us. God wants what is best for us. God wants to take care of us. And he gives us his law to see that happen. If only we’d listen from time to time. Amen.
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