Ex 20:1-17 In those days: God delivered all these commandments: "I, the LORD, am your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, that place of slavery. You shall not have other gods besides me. You shall not carve idols for yourselves in the shape of anything in the sky above or on the earth below or in the waters beneath the earth; you shall not bow down before them or worship them. For I, the LORD, your God, am a jealous God, inflicting punishment for their fathers' wickedness on the children of those who hate me, down to the third and fourth generation; but bestowing mercy down to the thousandth generation on the children of those who love me and keep my commandments.”
"You shall not take the name of the LORD, your God, in vain. For the LORD will not leave unpunished him who takes his name in vain."
"Remember to keep holy the sabbath day. Six days you may labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD, your God. No work may be done then either by you, or your son or daughter, or your male or female slave, or your beast, or by the alien who lives with you. In six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them; but on the seventh day he rested. That is why the LORD has blessed the sabbath day and made it holy.”
"Honor your father and your mother, that you may have a long life in the land which the LORD, your God, is giving you.”
"You shall not kill.”
"You shall not commit adultery.”
"You shall not steal.”
"You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.”
"You shall not covet your neighbor's house.”
"You shall not take the name of the LORD, your God, in vain. For the LORD will not leave unpunished him who takes his name in vain."
"Remember to keep holy the sabbath day. Six days you may labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD, your God. No work may be done then either by you, or your son or daughter, or your male or female slave, or your beast, or by the alien who lives with you. In six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them; but on the seventh day he rested. That is why the LORD has blessed the sabbath day and made it holy.”
"Honor your father and your mother, that you may have a long life in the land which the LORD, your God, is giving you.”
"You shall not kill.”
"You shall not commit adultery.”
"You shall not steal.”
"You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.”
"You shall not covet your neighbor's house.”
"You shall not covet your neighbor's wife, nor his male or female slave, nor his ox or ass, nor anything else that belongs to him."
Jesus said to his disciples: "Hear the parable of the sower. The seed sown on the path is the one who hears the word of the Kingdom without understanding it, and the Evil One comes and steals away what was sown in his heart. The seed sown on rocky ground is the one who hears the word and receives it at once with joy. But he has no root and lasts only for a time. When some tribulation or persecution comes because of the word, he immediately falls away. The seed sown among thorns is the one who hears the word, but then worldly anxiety and the lure of riches choke the word and it bears no fruit. But the seed sown on rich soil is the one who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and yields a hundred or sixty or thirty-fold."
When I read the first reading today, it reminded me of yesterday’s Gospel and the question that the disciples posed to Jesus—“Why do you speak to the crowd in parables?” Jesus explained that it was because “they look but do not see and hear but do not listen or understand.”
When I was a kid learning the Ten Commandments, most of what I got out of them was “thou shalt nots”. And, as a child I thought they were just rules that God gave to us just like my parents, who also had rules I had to follow. I didn’t know why there were rules, only that I could get hurt or in trouble if I didn’t follow them. But reading them again today, in context, there is one simple line that gives the reason why we must follow the rules of God. “I, the LORD, am your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, that place of slavery. “
Oh! Well then, that’s a whole ‘nother kettle of fish, as they say. The Israelites were slaves and didn’t know what it was like to be FREE. With freedom comes responsibilities and with responsibilities comes rules.
And, while there are a whole litany of the aforementioned “shalt nots”, we sometimes forget about the two “shalts”—to take a day off from all our labors and give glory to God (even the slaves, and any animals that we have) and to honor our elders, starting with our parents.
When I read the first reading today, it reminded me of yesterday’s Gospel and the question that the disciples posed to Jesus—“Why do you speak to the crowd in parables?” Jesus explained that it was because “they look but do not see and hear but do not listen or understand.”
When I was a kid learning the Ten Commandments, most of what I got out of them was “thou shalt nots”. And, as a child I thought they were just rules that God gave to us just like my parents, who also had rules I had to follow. I didn’t know why there were rules, only that I could get hurt or in trouble if I didn’t follow them. But reading them again today, in context, there is one simple line that gives the reason why we must follow the rules of God. “I, the LORD, am your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, that place of slavery. “
Oh! Well then, that’s a whole ‘nother kettle of fish, as they say. The Israelites were slaves and didn’t know what it was like to be FREE. With freedom comes responsibilities and with responsibilities comes rules.
And, while there are a whole litany of the aforementioned “shalt nots”, we sometimes forget about the two “shalts”—to take a day off from all our labors and give glory to God (even the slaves, and any animals that we have) and to honor our elders, starting with our parents.
In God’s infinite wisdom, He gave us the “shalt nots” to show us what we must avoid in order to do the “shalts”. While they are all important, I think our failure in today’s society to follow the Fifth Commandment is the reason we can’t or won’t follow the rest—and He will exact payment from us somehow. We can only pray and believe in His mercy.
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