Lent 3 March 15, 2009

LAW AND/OR GRACE?

The Rev David Kidd

"For the Law indeed was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ." (Jn 1:17)

"And Jesus concluded, ‘The Sabbath was made for the good of humankind; humankind was not made for the Sabbath. So the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.’" (Mk 2:17-18)

Think about it! Much of our modern civil and criminal law codes are based on the Ten Commandments. This is especially true of the last six of the ten, which spell out how we, as human beings ought - but mostly ought NOT to relate to one another. Yet if it hadn’t been for all the controversy in recent years over the display of the Commandments on public property, how many people in these United States would even have heard of them? How often do we hear or recite them in this congregation? A truthful answer might be once or twice during our Lenten services, plus a time or two during the year when they might just happen to be included in our Old Testament reading for the day.

Why is this so? Why are the Ten Commandments given so little attention in our worship and study?

Those of us who go back to the 1928 Prayer Book may remember that it directed the Ten Commandments should be used following the Collect for Purity at least one Sunday per month. On those Sundays on which it was not used, the priest was directed to read the Summary of the Law, followed by the "Lord, have mercy.". The Ten Commandments were also part of the Catechism - in their full King James Version text - which persons being confirmed were expected to be able to recite verbatim, from memory, in the presence of the confirming Bishop.

In our current 1979 Prayer Book the Commandments are still in place, but the rubric requiring their regular use has been dropped. What I find really helpful is that they are offered in three different translations. If you turn to page 317 in the Prayer Book, you’ll find them presented in the traditional King James English for use with the Rite One service. On page 350, they are presented in modern English, for use with the Rite Two service. But for my money, the star of the show is the way they are presented in the Catechism, beginning on page 847. The interpretation of the Ten Commandments given here reflects Jesus’ teaching in the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew, chapters five through seven. This is the Ten Commandments for Christians!

The Commandments are not able to save us. Even Jesus’ teaching on the "Great Commandment" only succeeds in putting them in positive trems. "... Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. The second is this: Love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other commandment greater than these." (BCP, p 351)

None of us loves God or neighbor perfectly. That’s why grace is crucial - not just for our ultimate salvation, but for the living of our daily lives. Grace allows us to accept imperfection - both ours and other’s -, to forgive ourselves and others, and to get on with the business of living free from the burden of perfectionism.

Which brings us to our Gospel for today - the cleansing of the Temple. This is not a spur of the moment outburst of righteous indignation. The money changers and the sellers of animals may have been less than honest in their dealings, but they were performing functions necessary for the Temple worship to take place. Jesus’ message is not that they are a bunch of crooks. His message is that the whole system is wrong! Salvation by Law just doesn’t work! God’s grace is the only solution. Jesus replaces the Temple of Jerusalem with the temple of his own body. "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up." (Jn 2: 19)

Jesus continues this teaching in his encounter with the Samaritan woman at the well. He tells her: "Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. ... ... The hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth, for the Father seeks such as these to worship him." (Jn 4:21, 23)

So, what about Law? Don’t throw the baby out with the bath water! Law can’t save us, but it can point us to our need for grace. And, in the meantime, it can provide us with guidelines as to how to live our lives with God and each other. I think the Collect for Guidance on page 832 of the Prayer Book sums it up quite well:

"Direct us, O Lord in all our doings with your most gracious favor, and further us with your continual halp; that in all our works begun, continued and ended in you, we may glorify your holy Name, and finally, by your mercy, obtain everlasting life; through Jesus Christ our Lord. AMEN."