yeah, this they're so cure

when they got you in that condition

A sermon on Moses' sermon on the edge of the Promise land

Seeing as today’s Scripture is the Ten Commandments, I think it’s only fitting to begin with a confession. And so, without further ado, here you go: I have a conflicted relationship with rules… 

You know, you could act a little more surprised! 

Alright. I know that’s not the most revealing confession. But it is a bewildering one, at least for me it is! For instance, as an eldest and a midwesterner to boot, I’m a natural-born rule-follower. HOWEVER, there also exists within me this deep-seated aversion to rules. And given how knee-jerk and visceral my reaction can be, there might be something pathological to my complicated relationship.

If I had to play armchair psychologist, I’d speculate that my messy history with rules stems from growing up in an alcoholic home. In an alcoholic home, everything depends on the alcoholic’s mood. If they’re having a good day, it’ll be a good day for the rest of the house. But if not, well then, not. 

I can’t help but wonder if, after so many years under this regime, I sort of snapped. You know, like Ralphie in A Christmas Story. 

Remember? He’s so desperate to get a Red Rider BB Gun for Christmas, but his plans to win over his parents, teacher, and even Santa have all been foiled. And then, one day, when the school bully throws a snowball at him, Ralphie just blows his fuse and starts beating up on the poor kid! 

Yeah, I wonder if that’s how it is for me! Honestly, there is a bit of juvenilia to my remonstrances. And there’s something a little desperate about them, too.

…But you know what? While that diagnosis may offer a certain sort of satisfaction, it’s awfully convenient. Isn’t it? In that telling, I’m the victim through and through. But just ask anyone who ever stood on the wrong side of my outbursts, and there are some here right now, and they’ll tell you I’m not just the victim in my conflicted relationship with rules. 

Truthfully, there’s a goodly amount of that age-old rebellion laced with my tangled reaction to restrictions. I’m talking about original Sin. What I mean is, part of my resistance to rules is resistance to God. My antipathy to anyone telling me what to do is an unwillingness to anyone having mastery over me, anyone, that is, other than myself. I want to be in control. I want to do God’s job for myself.

And what about you? I bet you’re no different. Sure, you may not have grown up in an alcoholic home, but statistically, I’m not the only one. Either way, I’d be willing to wager I’m not the only one whose relationship with rules is at sixes and sevens. 

Let’s test my hypothesis. Shall we? How about this: on a scale between one and ten, one being a total rule-follower and ten being a total rule-breaker, where do you fall? Take a minute to think about your answer…

You know what comes next. Turn to someone and share your answer. As always, if you see someone sitting by themselves, please invite them to play along with your group! And I’ll go first. If I had to put myself on the scale, one being a total rule-follower and ten being a total rule-breaker, I’d say I’m a four. But I have mixed feelings about it!

Alright. Now you go and share…

Ok. Let’s bring it in. It’s the moment of truth. Are there any pure tens out there? How about straight ones? 

I didn’t think so! And even if you’re a two or a nine, I’d be willing to bet you’re not altogether happy about it. Are you? Odds are, if you’re a rule-breaker, you get frustrated with your impulsive need to buck the rule. And on the other hand, if you’re a rule-follower, I bet you feel repressed by your unwillingness to act out on occasion. Don’t you?

I’m right! Aren’t I? We all have a complicated relationship with rules. Don’t we? And that means today’s passage is a tricky one.

I can’t just stand up here and tell you how to obey these rules. Can I? Neither can I tell you you should abide by these rules. Why, I can’t even extol the merits of these rules, either! 

No, for us, all that is beside the point. Isn’t it? Until we’ve dealt with our ambiguity toward rules, no amount of cajoling on my part will be of any help. Will it?

Sure, some tips for marital fidelity might be helpful. And yes, we can even all agree that it would be better if we would all just follow these rules. In fact, we can even acknowledge that the laws laid down in the Ten Commandments are supremely good. 

But that’s not the issue! Is it? No, for us, the issue is that we don’t follow these rules! Good as they may be, we just don’t obey these commands! Do we? And worse still, we don’t heed these commands despite our best intentions! Why is that?

…Earlier, I did a little theorizing about my thorny track record with rules. And I stand behind my unwillingness to let myself off the hook. However, I can’t help but also wonder if I wasn’t actually onto something.

We all have this yearning to be free of and safe from the cruel indifference of this pell-mell ol’ world. Wouldn’t you say? And couldn’t it be possible that that has something to do with our backlash to rules? Couldn’t it be possible that part of our apprehension to rules is apprehension about those random hazards of life in this veil of tears?  

Our circumstances may not be the same, and our coping mechanisms may differ, but at root, we all want the same thing. Don’t we? We all want, as the old hymn goes, to be “safe and secure from all alarms.” In other words, we all want to be delivered. What we all want, deep down, is God. A God who’s up to the task. A God who’s worthy of that great name.

The trouble, though, is that this desire of ours so often comes out sideways. Doesn’t it? Instead of asking for help, we push others away. Instead of admitting we’re afraid, we shout at one another. Is it any wonder we’re running around hurting one another with what appears to be near-reckless abandon?!?

…I’ve got this pet-theory. I think we’d all be utterly gobsmacked if we just knew all the setbacks, disappointments, tough breaks, outright failures, fears, and griefs each and every last one of us dragged through those doors with us this morning. I believe that if we could perceive what each one of us is dealing with right now, we’d hold our tongues before we judged one another. In fact, I think we’d be less afraid to admit how rough of a go we’re having, too. Ultimately, though, I think we’d just break down and weep.

You know what, though? There is one here who sees all our wounds, self-inflicted or otherwise. His name is Jesus Christ! And unbeknownst to you, at the command of God and on the breath of the Holy Spirit, he’s saddled up next to you right now! Take a moment to let that sink in…

Because you know what? This Jesus doesn’t judge you. But neither does he make excuses for you, either! Instead, Christ does something about our intractable plight! 

Christ takes all the world’s brokenness, and that includes yours; he takes all that unto himself. And he suffers it all the way! Christ is wounded for our transgressions, as the old prophet Isaiah declares.

Now, this doesn’t mean Christ is powerless over this sorry state of affairs, though. No, nothing could be further from the truth! Christ’s willingness to suffer is an expression of his power and might. No one, and that means no one, no one takes Christ’s life from him. No, he lays it down of his own accord. 

The wages of sin is death. And that’s the final result of all our defective defense mechanisms. Christ, though, by his own power, has taken that sinking ship down into his death. And then, by his resurrection, he just leaves it there forever! 

When Christ is raised, he refuses to have any truck with our sad history. Instead, he is raised by the glory of the Father, as the apostle Paul proclaims. By the efficacy of Christ’s resurrection, that’s all there is! Now, it’s all one degree of glory to another!

And you, that’s all there is to you! By your baptism into Christ’s death, the life you now live is hidden in Christ and his triumph over all the forces that defy God’s good and gracious will. By Christ’s stripes, you are healed, as Isaiah also announced! 

I’m not talking about some mental gymnastics here, either! No, I’m talking about what Christ has really done! I’m talking about what Christ is really doing right now! In Christ, you are healed! 

In Christ, there’s more to you than you! In Christ, there’s another story to your story! In Christ, your history is not your history anymore. No, now it’s Christ’s holy story, full stop!

…And with that, if you can believe it, we’ve landed upon the safe harbor of the Ten Commandments!

I know! You thought we were talking about grace! And here I am, talking about the Ten Commandments. But they’re not so far about, you know. Trust me.

Martin Luther said it all hangs on the First Commandment. And what he meant is, when the First Commandment is kept, the rest of them just fall into place on their own accord. For instance, when you have the real capital-G God, none of those other idols will suffice! What’s more, when you have the real-deal God, the sabbath keeps itself! When you have the God who really is God, you will know with no uncertain doubt that there’s no better place to be on the sabbath than the pew you’re currently warming!

And that’s not all, either! When you have the one true God, your parents will be just one more gift from the hand of God worthy of honor. As will your neighbor, their life, their bond of marriage, their livelihood, and their good name, too. And as for coveting, well, when you have God, you have it all! And when you have it all, what else is there want?!?

You know what this means, though, right? We’ve got to get you a God! And not just any ol’ God, either. A god-in-general will not do. And neither will a god in principle. No, what we’ve got to get you is The God who’s willing to step out from behind the curtain of divinity. What you need is The God who’s strong enough to be the kind you can cling to, not just think about!

And in Jesus Christ, that’s just the kind of God you have! In Christ, God takes on flesh. But that’s not all! No, that’s just a historical fact. And in Christ, you have so much more! In Christ, God is so relentlessly and vigorously for you that God gets tangible all over again!

This bread and wine is not just bread and wine. No, by the faithfulness of God and the power of the Holy Spirit, this bread and wine is Christ himself for you all over again! In this meal, Christ gets so close you can touch him! In fact, in this meal, Christ draws so near YOU can take his very self, his body and blood, into yourself! And when you have all of Christ, you have the fullness of his divinity AND his victory over Sin, Death, and the devil, too!

…In Christ, you really do already have it all! In Christ, you’ve got The God who deserves to be called God! In Christ, you’ve got The God who can deliver! In short, in Christ, you have a deliverer, a savior.

That’s right, a savior. And isn’t that what we all need? Isn’t that what we’re all searching for? We want, we need to be rescued. Don’t we? 

And in Christ, you have been! You are! In Christ, God is not just the kind of God we need. No, in Christ, God is this God for you! You. Period. No ifs, ands, or buts about it!

Now, when you find yourself on the wrong side of all our futile devices, you’re on the right side of Christ and his redemption! Now, when your bad romance with rules gets the better of you yet again, you’re finally ready to really start your long love affair with the one who’s been the lover of your soul all along! And that starts right now, this very instant!

The key to our complicated relationship with the Ten Commandments is the Christ key! Christ and the salve his salvation is the solution that unlocks this passage, the rest of Scripture, the rest of your life, and your life enteral, too! 

Best of all, he’s all yours! Take hold of Christ. It’s what he came for. 

In Christ, you’re delivered, and all the commandments are kept, too! In Christ, you even have peace with God and the rest of creation, to boot! Why, in Christ, you can even be at peace with yourself! For if Christ loves you, you can love yourself, too.

…Pretty good, right? You know what, though? Don’t second-guess it! That’s the old game of playing God for yourself. And we just spent the entire sermon going on and on about what a bad idea that is! 

So, instead, how about we just settle into everything God has done for us? How about, for once, we enjoy the paradise God is restoring for us? 

How about, for one blessed moment, we celebrate that in this joyous instant, the commandments are all kept. And so are we! And so are we.

What a Fellowship, What a Joy Divine, ELW 774