3.3.24, "Grace & Gratitude" - Westminster Presbyterian Church, Pasadena, CA

Exodus 20.1-17; John 2.13-22

Methods to prevent a railroad accident …

A stalled train would send a crew member back a mile or two to place a torpedo on the track - an explosive devise, if an approaching train passed over it, the explosion was loud enough to warn the

engineer to stop right now.

Another device, the common flare or a fusee, with a steel spike … planted beside the track …

Both of these tools have been replaced by radio communication … though the flare, or fusee is still used.

For sidings, the Derailer … a cast iron device fitted to the track … if a loose rail car or two should approach the main line, the derailer derails the cars before they can hit the mainline.

Now that you know such things, no doubt, your life is enriched.

But seriously, the information came from an article entitled, “Railroading Is a Violent Business” … everything is big, heavy, and dangerous … and sometimes, things need to be stopped!

Stopped in their tracks to prevent a disaster … 

Who doesn’t need to be stopped, now and then? … whoa, settle down, take a deep breath, consider who you are!

The Ten Commandments are precisely that - stop; go no further …  

How do the Commandments begin?

It’s a trick question … 

The Commandments begin with a statement, a declaration of freedom:

I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery … Pharaoh didn’t do it, Moses didn’t do it, no one did it but me, says God … and that’s our guarantee, a guarantee of quality, purpose, and goodness. Whatever is at foot in the days ahead, remember, says God, I have you given life, and I will see you through.

Then, the First Commandment: You shall have no other gods before me.

The Commandments are a torpedo on the track, a burning fusee, a derailer … stop, go no further …

In the wilderness that day, before a mountain shrouded in cloud and smoke, the people receive the Ten Commandments … 

Behind this moment of freedom, a huge story … Let my people go … from movie makers like Cecil B. DeMille, with Charlton Heston playing Moses … to the pressing realities of a Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. … this is a story for the ages: Let my people go.

Pharaoh refuses to grant freedom, a series of plagues come upon the land … 

At every plague, Pharaoh digs in his heels … 

Not until the last plague, the most terrible of them all … the Angel of Death pays a late night visit to take away the first born of every family, the first born of all the livestock …  

The only escape: the blood of a lamb daubed on doorposts and lintels … upon seeing the blood of a lamb, the Angel of Death will pass over that home.

Passover …

To this very day, all around the world, Jews celebrate Passover! 

Pharaoh calls Moses in the middle of the night and tells him to get out with his people - take anything you want, just get outta here, leave me alone; leave my people alone, and if you can, bring me a blessing.

The people leave Egypt … on their way, before the Sea, a dust cloud behind them … Pharaoh is hot on their heels, to take them back - Pharaoh doesn’t give up … he’s a powerful man, with untold wealth, and he’s going to take back the people. 

You know the story … the waters of the sea are parted … Moses and the people walk through the waters on dry land … on the other side, they watch as Pharaoh’s army plunges into the gap, in hot pursuit, but the parted waters collapse, Pharaoh’s army is lost - every bit of it swept away in the waters of the Sea. 

Free at last, free at last, thank God Almighty, free at last … 

God says to the People, My mighty arm has set you free … and I invite you to celebrate your freedom, keep your freedom, share your freedom, every day of your life:

1. You shall have no other gods before[ me.

2. You shall not make for yourself an idol.

3. You shall not make wrongful use of the name of the Lord your God.

4. Remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy.  

5. Honor your father and your mother.

6. You shall not murder.

7. You shall not commit adultery.

8. You shall not steal.

9. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.

10. You shall not covet.

The Commandments are not impossible … they hold us accountable to the soul of life - 

the vertical dimension, our relationship to the universe, to the Creator of the Heavens and the Earth, the final reality of all that is, and all that shall ever be … the moral arc of the universe … the ground of our being … the soul’s ultimate concern, the soul’s hunger for meaning and purpose.

the horizontal dimension, our relationship to the here and now, our neighbor, our parents, our spouses, homes and family, our communities and the day-to-day stuff of life … fairness and honesty, kindness and decency … justice and liberty … 

The Commandments lack detail … we work them out like a piece of clay, to fit our time, our place, our circumstances.

We observe, judge, weigh up, decide and act … we examine our motives, the prospects, the value and purpose of our action  … some things are very clear … other things murky … 

There’s wiggle room in The Commandments … because God respects our intelligence, and expects some failure.

Maybe we’d like a little more information to feel safe - 

An aside here: this is the temptation to autocracy, when people are tempted to go with a dictator, political or spiritual, when people cry out for “law and order,” safety and security … a would-be dictator says, “I’ll fix everything! I have all the answers!” …

Michelle Obama said it well: “The unknown is where possibility glitters.”

Our safety is found, not with a heavy-handed politician or religious leader, but in the very heart of God … our safety is found within our own determination to live well, love much, be brave and kind, put up with our mistakes, of which there’ll be plenty, and be tolerant of one another.

When God gives The Commandments, God says to us, I trust you …  

When we take up The Commandments, we say to God, I trust you …  

God deals with us like we deal with our very best friend … a compliment when something is well done … and when it isn’t, counsel and correction, patience and kindness.

I trust you, says God … and we reply with heart and mind, We trust you, O God … We trust you with all that we are, and all that we hope to be.

I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery … have no other gods before me.

Hallelujah and Amen!

Freedom - October 5, 2008

Exodus 20:1-22

Audio Version HERE

Eddie Adcock … legendary bluegrass musician … afflicted with hand tremors … made it impossible for him to play the banjo.

Essential tremors … 10 million Americans affected …

Eddie went to Vanderbilt University Medical Center …
Surgery … to bring his hands back to life.

Electrode implanted into Eddie’s thalamus … a pacemaker of sorts … a bolt of energy to jam the tremor … deep-brain stimulation …

Awake during the surgery – 3 1/2 hours; playing the banjo the entire time … music all over the surgical wing; folks gathered at the window… as surgeons sought the exact location of the tremor … doctor and patient working together; Eddie playing the banjo, the doctor pushing the probe deeper … Eddie said, “I knew when he hit the sweet spot.”

Later, in a test … the electrode off …

Eddie could barely write his name, draw a simple spiral, or play his famous banjo …

Then, with a remote control … the doctor turned on the electrode … Eddie, “could feel a tingling” – this time, he could draw a spiral, sign his name, without shaking … and play the banjo freely … a second chance at sharing his gift …

Within hours, back on stage with his wife, Martha, playing their great bluegrass music.

Who doesn’t need a little deep-brain stimulation now and then?

That’s what the Ten Commandments are all about …
Deep-Brain stimulation …
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 other gods before me.
Don’t create an image of me … I am who I am … don’t put me in a box … don’t ever think you have me in your back pocket … I am always more than you could ever imagine.
Don’t take my name for granted … don’t claim to have all the answers, and then slap my name it … don’t use my name to bully and intimidate others … be very careful when you claim to know the truth and use my name to promote your position.
Bear in mind your mother and your father … that’s Abraham and Sarah … your original family, the Covenant, where it all began … remember who you are … where you came from, where you’re going.
Don’t work yourselves silly … I did everything in six days and then took a little time off … you can do the same.
Be careful what you say, especially about folks you know …
Don’t hurt one another … settle for what you have.

So how do we think about the Ten Commandments – just a few more rules to obey, or something to really get out teeth into?

Three objects to help us this morning …

First of all, a box of Kleenix … comfort – tear-wiping, hand-holding, heart-hugging comfort … the Commandments begin with comfort – I saved you and set you free!

Come to me, all you that are weary, and carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest [Matthew 11:28].
I am with you always [Matthew 28:20].
Do not be afraid, little flock; it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom [Luke 12:32].

A pastor was asked to come and pray with a woman’s mother. When the pastor arrived, she found the woman bedridden, with an empty chair beside the bed.
“I guess you were expecting me,” she said.
“No, who are you?” said the mother.
The pastor introduced herself and remarked, “I saw the empty chair and I figured you knew I was going to visit today.”

“Oh, the chair,” said the woman.
“I have never told anyone this, not even my daughter.
But all of my life I have never known how to pray. At church I heard pastors talk about prayer, but it went right over my head. I gave up on prayer until four years ago when my best friend said to me, ‘Betty, prayer is just a simple matter of having a conversation with Jesus. Here is what I suggest. Sit down in a chair; put an empty chair in front of you, and in faith see Jesus in the chair. Then just speak to him in the same way you're doing with me.’

“So, I tried it and I liked it so much that I do every day. I'm careful though. If my daughter saw me talking to an empty chair, she'd have a nervous breakdown or send me to the funny farm.”

The pastor was deeply moved by the story and encouraged the woman to keep on praying. Then she prayed with her, anointed her with oil, and returned to the church.

Two nights later the daughter called to tell the pastor that her mother had died that afternoon.

“Mom called me over to her bedside, told me she loved me and kissed me on the cheek. I left to do some errands, and when I got back from the store an hour later, she was gone.
But there was something strange about her death. Apparently, just before Mother died, she leaned over and rested her head on the chair beside the bed. What do you make of that?”

I am the LORD your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt …

Second item - a glass paperweight, a red heart …

When someone tries really, really, hard, goes the extra mile, gives it all they have and then some, we say about them, “They have ….”
Real heart …
A new heart …
A new heart I will give you, says God, and a new spirit I will put within you; and I will remove from your body the heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. … [Ezekiel 36:26

A heart for the things of God …

We have to be honest here …
You and me …
It’s easy to pretend … real easy for religious folk.
We look good, don’t we?
We go to church … we know the prayers … we know when to stand and when to sit, and what to say …

But listen to Jesus:
Not everyone who says LORD, LORD will enter the kingdom of heaven …
Lip-service, it’s called.
These people draw near with their mouths and honor me with their lips, while their hearts are far from me, and their worship of me is a human commandment learned by rote [Isaiah 29:13].

Folks who are religious need to be careful …
That’s me, that’s you …
We can slip into the form without the faith …
Folks can be married, without love …
Folks can have children, but not be a family …
Someone can have a driver’s license and be a terrible driver.

Religion without heart.
Churchiness without Christ.
Hymns without hope.
Prayers without power.
Liturgy without love.
Words without wonder.

Been hanging around the church for a while?
We have to be doubly careful about the character of our faith and the content of our soul … the heart can grow cold and become stone … and we don’t even know when it happens!

Religious people need to search their heart frequently … [1 Peter 4:17] - the judgment of God begins with the household of God …
We take the log out of our own eye first before we fuss about the speck in our neighbor’s eye …
From everyone to whom much has been given, much will be required; and from the one to whom much has been entrusted, even more will be demanded [Luke 12:48].

Do we have heart for the things of God?

The last item, martini glass …
James Bond?
Stirred or shaken?

In the last Bond movie, after a brush with death, Bond returns to the hotel, beaten up and tired, and orders a martini.
The bartender asks, “Stirred or shaken?”
To which Bond replies, “Do I look like I give a damn?”

Stirred or shaken … maybe both, now and then …
God stirs the conscience …
God shakes the conscience …

Now I don’t know about you, but I have way of managing my conscience … I put my blinders on and go my merry way …

The other day, I saw a little old lady in big old flannel shirt … pushing a shopping cart filled with plastic bottles and pop cans …
A part of me says, “Turn away – get on with your life; you can’t help everyone.”

Ever do that?
Maybe I settle for sentiment … a gush of love for the little old lady … maybe even say a prayer: O Jesus, bless her … but is that enough?
Sometimes, I rather not think about it.
Are you that way sometimes?

In Ohio this week, a 90-year old woman shot herself … when the sheriff came by to give her the second eviction notice.
She had lived in her home 38 years, and in the last few years became entangled in some kind of a predatory lending scam … and now they’re kicking her out of her home.
I don’t want to think about such things, do you?

Global warming, greenhouse gases, I just as soon not think about it … I like the way I live, and though we have less than 5% of the world’s population, we consume 25% of the world’s natural resources … I don’t want to think about it.
Do you?

Maybe global warming is just cyclical …
Or as Tina Fey says, “It’s just God huggin’ us a little closer.”
Maybe it’s all self-correcting, and I don’t have to do anything about it.

And what about Proposition 8 –
I’d rather not think about it … let fundamentalist preachers set the stage and call the shots … they’re not afraid to speak out … but as for me, I’ll be quite!
Just leave me alone … I don’t care if justice is at stake …
I’m not sure I want my conscience shaken; I don’t even want it stirred … I’d rather be left alone … wouldn’t you?

And the war … American soldiers, American civilians … wounded and maimed … thousands of Iraqi nationals dead – children crippled for life …
I’m not sure I want my conscience shaken, not even stirred … I’d rather be left alone, wouldn’t you?

We guard our conscience well, don’t we?

But God wants something different from us … something more …
A real conscience … to give unto others the comfort given to us …
To do unto others as we would have others do unto us …
To say Yes more often …
To welcome and include …
To refrain from judgment …
Offer grace …
Keep the mind open …
Change our lives to change the world for someone else …
Isn’t that what loving the neighbor as we love ourselves all about?

A woman was brought to Jesus … folks were hoping to see a stoning that day … but not Jesus … something better, something more.
The folks thought Zacchaeus didn’t belong … but Jesus called him down from the tree.
Folks never touched a leper … oh no … but Jesus did.
Folks thought the blind man had sinned, or at least his parents … isn’t that what the commandment says, punishing the children for the iniquity of the parents? … but not so says Jesus …
There are other ways of looking at it.

Remember who gives you life.
Don’t waste time with anything else.
Use God’s name with care.
Remember the long story … where you came from; where you’re going.
Take a little time off now and then … don’t work yourself silly.
Be kind … always kind, before anything else.
Give one another a break; cut each other a little slack, and don’t take anything away from anyone.
Don’t fret and fuss over what you don’t have; learn how to appreciate and give thanks for what you do have.

And the truth will set you free.

Amen and Amen!