Worship March 11, 2012

March 11, 2012

Morning Prayers
Prayer of Confession
Call to Reconciliation
Perhaps we have spoken words which harm another.
It may be we have failed to honor another of God's
children. Maybe we have let our fears, our worries,
our desires come between us and God. Whatever
we might have done, God waits to listen to us,
to offer us grace and healing. Join me as we pray
together saying,

Unison Prayer of Confession
Even with those simple commandments, Eternal
Love, we manage to get it wrong. We misuse your
name on an almost daily basis, and dishonor our
friends and neighbors by talking behind their backs.
We hunger for what others have, and think we can
put you in a box, storing you away on a shelf. We
find little enough time for our families, for ourselves,
you - much less setting aside an entire day for that
rest you call Sabbath.
Forgive us, Abiding Love. We think we are so wise
with the choices we make, only to end up with all that
keeps us from you. Your Word has come, to fill our
speech with grace, with hope, with peace. As we journey
to Jerusalem, may we invite others to join us as we seek
to follow Jesus Christ, our Lord, our Savior.

Silence is kept

Assurance of Pardon
L: Day to day, God offers us mercy and hope. Moment
to moment, we are surround by God's never-ending
love. Friends, trust this Good News for you!
God takes our brokenhearted prayers and crafts them
into words of grace, of joy, of peace. Thanks be to
God, we are forgiven. Amen.
The Pastoral Prayer
Loving and gracious God, you have given us guidance to create communities of faithfulness and justice: Cleanse your people that we may be your willing servants in your work of healing and reconciliation, as we pray: Let the words of our mouths and the mediation of our hearts be acceptable in your sight, O God, our strength and our redeemer.
Let the words of our mouths and the meditation of our hearts be acceptable in your sight,
O God, our strength and our redeemer.
Your judgments are true and righteous altogether, O God: Let the message of the cross destroy the wisdom of the wise and thwart the discernment of the discerning, that the nations of the world may abandon their idolatries of power and wealth in order participate in God’s justice and compassion. Let the words of our mouths and the meditation of our hearts be acceptable in your sight,
O God, our strength and our redeemer.
You commandment is clear and gives light to the eyes, O God: Free this community from our addictions and idols and cleanse us from our sins, our secret faults and our presumption, that we may be whole and sound and innocent of great offense. Let the words of our mouths and the meditation of our hearts be acceptable in your sight,
O God, our strength and our redeemer.
Look upon your world and inspire all peoples to follow your commandments, to live justly and honestly with one another, and to offer compassionate relief to all in any need or under any threat. Let the words of our mouths and the meditation of our hearts be acceptable in your sight,
O God, our strength and our redeemer.
Let your healing grace be with those for whom we pray, especially those we have named and left unnamed in our silence.
Let the words of our mouths and the meditation of our hearts be acceptable in your sight,
O God, our strength and our redeemer.
Presider: Bless and consecrate this day of rest and prayer and hear our prayers and intercessions to you, O God; that we may join in Christ’s work to overturn all forms of exploitation and injustice in order to lead your people out of the house of slavery into the house of love, where your Spirit reigns in glory everlasting.
We lift these prayers to you in the name of Jesus. Amen.

Exodus 20:1-17
Then God spoke all these words: 2I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery;
3you shall have no other gods before me.
4You shall not make for yourself an idol, whether in the form of anything that is in heaven above, or that is on the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. 5You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, punishing children for the iniquity of parents, to the third and the fourth generation of those who reject me,6but showing steadfast love to the thousandth generation of those who love me and keep my commandments.
7You shall not make wrongful use of the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not acquit anyone who misuses his name.
8Remember the sabbath day, and keep it holy. 9Six days you shall labor and do all your work. 10But the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God; you shall not do any work—you, your son or your daughter, your male or female slave, your livestock, or the alien resident in your towns. 11For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but rested the seventh day; therefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day and consecrated it.
12Honor your father and your mother, so that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.
13You shall not murder.
14You shall not commit adultery.
15You shall not steal.
16You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
17You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or male or female slave, or ox, or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.

“Taking the Name in Vain”
The Ten Commandments have been revered, ridiculed, litigated, misused, and ignored throughout its history. But, we rarely stop to think of the history behind it.
After its liberation from slavery in Egypt, Israel was hardly a model nation. They complained. They rebelled against God. They fought amongst themselves. And, they cheated each other. And the widows, especially needed to seek justice from a higher authority. That authority was Moses. Now, Moses’ father-in-law, Jethro, watched Moses holding court one day from morning until evening. And he could see that Moses was headed for a burnout. And so Jethro recommended that Moses appoint judges to help settle the disputes of the people. Moses would still be the Supreme Court judge, but the others would have authority over most matters. Moses would retain the role of mediator between the people and God, and he would be the teacher--the one who would communicate God’s law to the people.
This is the context in which Moses climbs Mount Sinai and is given the law--to guide the people, but also to guide the judges in their decisions in bringing justice to the widows and downtrodden in the people.
There have been numerous efforts to post the Ten Commandments on walls over the past couple of decades. Some people want to post them on public schoolroom walls in the hopes that they will be a kind of tutor for the children. Some people want to post them on courthouse walls, I guess so that the lawyers will better behaved. There have been numerous constitutional battles over these issues as close as our own courthouse.
Stephen Colbert asked a congressman who favored posting the 10 Commandments in all public buildings if he could name them. He got three.
Our Jewish neighbors call the Ten Commandments the Decalogue, Greek for “10 words.” The ten words begins with a statement. This statement is a part of every word after that.
That statement is, “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. And that statement is the reason for the ten words.
I am the Lord your God.
Before any “thou shalt nots,” a relationship is established. God claims the people as his very own and calls them to live out this relationship. The commandments really read,
Because I am the Lord your God, you will have no other God’s.
Because I am the Lord your God, you will not take my name in vain.
Because I am the Lord your God, you will not commit sexual infidelity.
Because I am the Lord your God, you will not kill.
Because I am the Lord your God, you will not bear false witness against your neighbor.
This, says God, is how people who are in relationship with me behave.
Notice that the relationship with God is not conditional. It doesn’t read, if you will not steal, then I will be your God. Not, if you will keep the Sabbath, then I will be your God.
No. God says emphatically, I am the Lord your God. Here is one of the many arguments for grace in the Hebrew Scriptures. God claims the people before placing her expectations on them.
It is the relationship that God claims that is the basis for the entire document--or, might I say, tablets. Posting the 10 commandments on a schoolhouse wall presupposes a relationship which may or may not exist. The same goes with the courthouse walls.
It is absolutely untenable to expect someone to follow the rules without knowing the ruler. People cannot be expected observe the commandments without being in relationship with the maker.
Some will argue that there is no other way to begin that relationship with those not in it. But, that’s not so. It is not the school board’s job to share the Good News of a relationship with God with the children in their districts. It is not the judge’s job to do the same in their courtrooms.
The job of sharing the Good News falls to us. We have been brought into relationship with God through Jesus Christ. And we are compelled by God’s love to share the Good News, because we belong to God.
But, of these commandments, which is the greatest? When Jesus was asked which is the greatest commandment, the answer did not come from the ten words. Do you remember that conversation in its varying versions? The greatest commandment is to love the Lord your God with all that you are, and to love your neighbor as yourself. The first four of the ten commandments are about loving God and the last six are about loving neighbor. So, it is the ten commandments that make up the greatest commandment.
I want to spend a few minutes talking about the third commandment--on not taking the Lord’s name in vain. This is, I believe, an entirely misunderstood commandment in our times. I confess to you that I came to this conclusion at the feet of Professor Newton Fowler in seminary.
First, I have to tell you that Professor Fowler and I did not get along very well. One day, he was making a point about the bible appearing in popular culture. He said that the Beatles had recorded Turn, Turn, Turn (a setting of Ecclesiastes 3). Having an encyclopedic knowledge of rock and roll, I informed him--in front of the class--that it was Pete Seeger who wrote the song and a band called the Byrds who popularized it. Embarrassed, he never called on me again in class and my grades in his classes were lower than I expected they should have been. Can you imagine, me, challenging authority?
Anyway, Prof. Fowler insisted that taking the Lord’s name in vain had nothing to do with swearing, or saying “O my God,” or anything of the sort. He claimed, and I believe rightly so, that taking the name in vain was about claiming God’s name, but then acting in such a way as to deny it.
An example from scripture: Jonah. God tells Jonah to go one way, and Jonah heads the other. He ends up on a ship that get’s caught in a storm. The others on the ship ask him who he is and where he is from. Jonah answers, “I am a Hebrew; I worship the Lord God of heaven who made the sea and the land.” See, here Jonah claims to belong to God--he takes God’s name--but he acts in a way that is totally contrary to God’s wishes. Jonah claims God as his own, but does the opposite of God’s will. By taking God’s name (claiming to belong to God) and not doing what God wishes, he takes God’s name in vain.
And so it is with us. We have all taken the Lord’s name--but do we live out God’s will in our lives? Do our ethics show us to be God’s people living up to his name which we have taken? An ethics teacher I once knew said that there were two books on ethics for all of us--our checkbooks and our datebooks, or how we spend our money and our time. Does the way we spend our time and our money show what we truly believe? Does it show that we are truly bearing God’s name or taking it in vain?
If this pinches a bit--it should. But one thing we learn in Lent is that we have forgiveness. God forgave Jonah--and even the evil kingdom of Ninevah to which he was sent. God’s grace and love are stronger than all our sin--even the breaking of the third commandment. Our call is to live lives worthy of the name of God.
And I’d love to know what you’re thinking.

Offering Invitation & Prayer
Invitation
For just one minute, consider your passion. What creates energy in you? God puts that fire inside so that we will give our very best effort. Everything that we offer to God feeds that fire, including our weekly offerings. Our collective support provides for ministry and outreach—the very things that excite us as Christians. As we now present our offerings, consider how in giving you are also feeding your spirit.
Prayer
Lord, please accept the offerings presented here as a symbol of our passion for you, for our congregation, and for the Christian Church. Help us to use all our gifts for your mission, as you would have us do. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.
.
Benediction

Go in peace;
- And may the love of God uphold you
- the mercy of God sustain you
- and the Word of God direct you
The Lord bless you all - both now and forevermore. Amen