“God spoke all these words. He said, ‘I am the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. ‘You shall have no gods except me’.” (Exodus 20:1-2)
Previously in the Old Testament:
A fortnight ago we were with Noah, emerging from the Ark with God’s promise of compassion and salvation. Then, last week, we heard of the failed sacrifice of Isaac, son of Abraham, and heard of the promised sacrifice of the Son of God who appeared in all his glory. And now, this week, the God of the Hebrews, who has rescued his people from slavery, now binds them closer to himself by a charter, a pact, a covenant of love and service.
Here’s a good quiz for the family. Give each person a piece of paper, and ask them to write down the Ten Commandments. See who can get all ten. Try it out.
I bet some of them put down, even those who think they know their faith, put ‘Love your neighbour’ which of course isn’t one of then. And I also bet that few of them put down about coveting - and might not even know what the word means (It means jealously/envy wanting to have what others have, sort of keeping up with the Jones’. In many ways our society is built on covetousness).
Now we can deplore the fact that few know the ten commandments off by heart, and still less understand them, and yes, of course, there is a point to be made, but the reciting of words is not quite the same as living them. It’s not that the words aren’t important, of course they are, but far more important than to know the words by heart is to put them into practice.
Notice that, in giving these laws - laws which most of us, for most of the time, recognise as the basic principles of life in family and in society - God begins not by telling us what we must do - but tells us what He has done. The Law begins with the actions, the love and compassion and salvation of the Law-giver. Laws are not letters on page, words to learn by heart, but principals to put into practice.
It is one thing to know it is wrong to tell a lie - it is quite another to be outraged by the temptation to benefit from a convenient untruth.
It is one thing to know it is wrong to steal - but it is another to turn our backs on the odd scam or bargain from a questionable source.
It is one thing to know that we should keep each Sunday by going to mass - yet another to rejoice in the celebration of our faith.
And sometimes when people hear today’s Gospel - of Jesus clearly angry, furiously overturning the money changers’ tables and madly, frenetically, driving them out of the temple - people ask if this could be right? Could Jesus be angry, violent, destructive?
But Jesus’ apparent anger is not a loss of temper, but a focussing of it, a zeal for truth, a thirst for honesty, a hunger for justice, and a yearning for a faith that comes from the heart - not lip-service, not words only, not aspirations, but works, and actions, and deeds.
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