For the last six weeks I’ve been engaged in a study of the Ten Commandments for a series of messages at Zoar Church. Rather than seeing the Ten Commandments as ways God wants to keep his thumb on our freedom, I’ve been interested in how Jesus reflected on them and how Christians might view them as guidelines for living life in the freedom of Christ.
If you believe the Ten Commandments are worthy of public display, then you ought to also believe they are worth emulating in your personal life, your economic life, and your politics. Martin Luther saw three “uses of the Law”. One “use” was as a curb against runaway sinful nature. Somewhat like you might turn your wheels into the curb when you park on a hill, the Ten Commandments prevent us from crashing when our all too human brakes fail.
Several weeks ago I preached on the commandment, “Thou shalt not take the Name of the Lord thy God in Vain,” often seen as a prohibition against the casual use of “God” or “Jesus” in conversation, as in OMG, the use of his name in cursing, as in “Jesus H. Christ” (I guess the H stands for Hallowed?) or cursing in general. I was intrigued, though, to learn that the Hebrew word the King James translates as “take” also means “carry” and the word the King James translates as “vain” might also be rendered “worthlessly.” It strikes me then that perhaps this commandment isn’t just concerned with swearing, but in how people of Christian faith “carry” God’s name into their communities – worthily or worthlessly.
Are Christian people today known to “do justice and to love kindness and to walk humbly” in the words of the prophet Micah? Do Christian’s today reflect the teaching of Jesus Christ in their lives? Do we give drink to the thirsty, feed the hungry, welcome the stranger, clothe the naked, and visit the prisoner? Are we peacemakers? Are we willing to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ crucified – the gospel of grace – to all who would hear it? Are we known as Jesus’ disciples because of our love? Or do we convey a different message than the message we profess to believe?
As I’ve reflected on our current politics of division, it seems some who are called to carry God’s name are engaged in bearing false witness against their neighbors instead. Jesus clearly establishes “neighbor” to be anyone: the co-religionist, the hated Samaritan, or the Roman occupier. Scripture affirms that truth matters. Deception is inconsistent with Christian witness. Ours is a faith founded on the truth of the empty tomb, condemning deception as a tool of the evil one. There is no such thing as alternative facts. I wince when I know those who claim to be Christ followers forward mistruths in email chains, re-tweet hateful Twitter rants, or defend those in high positions who use lies as political weapons.
When Christians truck in the politics of deception and participate in covering over truth, they throw stumbling blocks up before those who would come to know Jesus. No matter how righteous their goals – protecting the unborn or defending their communities from terrorists – their witness to the Lord of Lords and King of Kings is forever damaged.
Martin Luther’s second “use of the Law” was as a mirror. When we hold the Commandments up to our lives we see the ways we’ve missed the mark and our need for a savior. In a foreshadowing of our own times, Pontius Pilate asked, “What is truth?” as if truth were in the eye of the beholder. Jesus said, “I am the Truth.” He shows us what truth looks like and through his selfless death and victorious resurrection we can grasp the truth that there is eternity beyond this life – for those who carry his name worthily.
Pastor Daren Blanck, Zoar Church, Tofte, A Lutheran Congregation in Mission for Christ Each month a member of the Cook County Ministerium will offer Spiritual Reflections. This week our contributor is Daren Blanck, pastor of Zoar Church in Tofte, a teacher at William Kelley High School and a student of Beyond the River Academy, a ministry program of Lutheran Congregations in Mission for Christ.
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