The Revealing Mirror

This sermon was preached for my Preaching II course and turned in as a catechetical sermon for my Confessions course. My two primary texts are the catechism and Exodus 20.
_________________________________________________
The 10 Commandments have become so popular many have jokingly adapted the commandments to fit their context. On a quick Google search, I found the 10 Commandments of suburbs, fashion, nurses and even the commandments of team teaching and Minnesota. This state has it’s own version of the 10 commandments. I found these 10 Minnesotan Commandments posted on Professor Mary Shore’s blog. Please excuse my non-Minnesota accent.
1. Der's only one God, ya know.
2. Don't make that fish on your mantle an idol.
3. Cussing ain't Minnesota nice.
4. Go to church even when you're up nort.
5. Honor your folks.
6. Don't kill. Catch and release.
7. Der's only one Lena for every Ole. No cheatin'.
8. If it ain't your lutefisk, don't take it.
9. Don't be braggin' about how much snow ya shoveled.
10. Keep your mind off your neighbor's hotdish.
First commandment: “You shall have no other gods before me.” Luther’s Small Catechism asks, “What does this mean?” The Small Catechism answers, “We are to fear, love and trust God above all things.”

Let me offer a quick suggestion for answering the question, “do I have any gods before God?” What do I fear, love and trust most? (PAUSE). Thinking in broad strokes, some gods of today are money and possessions, food and alcohol, sex and pornography. For me, I think that I fear, love and trust my work, my bank account, my professors, my husband and family more than God. Anything that I fear, love and trust more than God is my god.

Luther explains in the Large Catechism, “If your faith and trust are right, then your god is the true one. Conversely, where your trust is false and wrong, there you do not have the true God. For these two belong together, faith and God. Anything on which your heart relies and depends, I say, that is really your God.”

It’s easy for me to say, “oh, that stupid law.” It’s the bad law that caused me to sin. If the law wasn’t there then I wouldn’t have sinned. God would realize that I have my plate full with school, work and family; I am living in the 21st century with many vocations to attend to. It’s not me – it’s that outdated oppressive law. Didn’t Christ come to fulfill the law so that we live in God’s good grace?

Before we jump ahead of ourselves let’s imagine for a moment what would happen if the law was fulfilled. For a moment, let’s envision a world where the law is kept in its entirety. The law is not only the first commandment. So that means we are to fear love and trust God above all things, but we also are keeping the other 9 commandments are as well. With the world full of the law what would or wouldn’t be present? (PAUSE) First I notice a few absences, I see the lack of war, poverty, disease, murder, rape and hunger. In addition to loosing bad aspects, we gain things too. Folks in El Salvador have clean drinking water, universal healthcare is available for the poorest African and or environment is healthy. We would be righteous and justified. We would fulfill God’s law and have no need for Christ.

The truth is, we are sinners and cannot fulfill the law. The law is not bad. In fact, the law is God’s good gift for ordering our lives. We Lutherans agree that there are two main uses of the law. First, it establishes order and justice in creation. This use of the law should be the basis to structure our life here on earth in our structures, institutions, and relationships – in our family life, our work and economics, our church organization, and in our lives as citizens. This use law is intended to establish order for those relationships and to make sure they are just.

The second use of the law is to show us our sin. If we were to examine ourselves by the 10 Commandments, we would never make it past the first commandment without being convicted, as we explored at the beginning of the sermon. The law is a mirror for self-examination – it shows us our sin so that we realize our need for Christ.

We are called to live in accordance with the law, but our salvation does not depend on this. We are justified by faith in the work of Christ, not the law. Christ came for us, sinners, the ones who do not keep God’s good just law. The ones that don’t even keep the first commandment. Christ came even before we saw our sin reflected in the 10 commandments.

Thanks be to God