God Relations – Setting Our Priorities 1st – 3rd Commandments
On Holy Trinity Sunday, when we would expect the conversation to lend itself to talk about the three-in-one, it might seem strange to begin our review of Luther’s Small Catechism. At least we would not expect us to look at The 10 Commandments. After all, you would think we would have at least begun with The Apostles’ Creed. And we will get to that in a few weeks.
However, I want to draw for you a connection between the first three commandments and the topic of the three articles of The Apostles’ Creed, about the Trinity. We want to see how the whole being of God is addressed in the first three commandments.
I think to begin our review of these commandments, we need to re-familiarize ourselves with the actual text of the First through Third Commandments and the explanations. We begin on page 1160, in the back portion of the Evangelical Lutheran Worship hymnal. We will read the commandment together and I will ask you “Was ist das? Or “What does this mean?” Then we will read the meaning together. Page 1160 in the ELW.
The 1st Commandment –
You shall have no other gods before Me.
What does this mean?
We are to fear, love and trust in God above all things.
The 2nd Commandment –
You shall not make wrongful use of the name of the Lord you God.
What does this mean?
We are to fear and love God so that we do not curse, swear, practice magic, lie or deceive using God’s name, but instead use that very name in time of every need to call on, pray to, praise and give thanks to God.
The 3rd Commandment –
Remember the Sabbath Day and keep it holy.
What does this mean?
We should fear and love God so that we do not despise preaching or God’s Word, but instead keep that word holy, and gladly hear and learn it.
How many of you could recite it by heart without even looking at the hymnal? If so, thank God for the pastor who taught you.
When Jesus refers to the Commandments, he speaks of two great commandments, or the two tables of the Law, as we hear in Mark 12:28-31:
28One of the scribes came near and heard them disputing with one another, and seeing that he answered them well, he asked him, "Which commandment is the first of all?"
29 Jesus answered, "The first is, 'Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one; 30 you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.' 31 The second is this, 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no other commandment greater than these."
These are the Two Tables of the Law. Today we are looking at the first table, about loving the Lord our God with your everything. We connect these first three commands to the Trinity in this way.
A key concept here is about “prioritizing” our lives. How we prioritize our lives affect our relationship to God.
You shall have no other gods before Me. That is, to reverence, love and trust in God above all things. It is about our relationship with God the Father. The focus is on Godself and the relationship we share with God. There are no other gods except the ones we choose to make gods, how we choose to set priorities, from where we decide to draw our strength. Martin Luther writes in the Large Catechism, “A god means that from which we are to expect all good and to which we are to take refuge in all distress,” and “If your faith and trust be right, then is your god also true.” If we or things are our source then we have a false god. Pretty clear cut. If this priority is right, then everything should fall into place.
You shall not make wrongful use of the name of the Lord you God. That is, to reverence and love God so we don’t misappropriate God’s name, but handle it with reverence and thanksgiving. We focus here on how we use God’s name, particularly in relation to Jesus’ name, the only name by which we are saved. The one whose name in which we are told to ask and pray. How and when we use God’s name is dependent upon how we fear, love and trust in God. When we seek to use the name of God, of Jesus, to exercise injustice upon and separation from others, or how we judge others and act towards people different than ourselves, we misuse God’s name. We are to call upon the name of God for the improvement of others’ lives as well as our own and to seek strength to do so for others.
Remember the Sabbath Day and keep it holy. That is, to reverence and love God so that we do not despise preaching or God’s Word, but instead keep that word holy, and gladly hear and learn it. We connect the Holy Spirit with the Sabbath Day because Luther again, tells us, “it is the Holy Spirit who places us in the bosom of the church where we are preached to and hear the good news about God’s love” for us in Jesus Christ, the Son of God who was sent to die for us, and, for the sake of his death on the cross, we are forgiven, and in whose resurrection we are given not only hope for new life but new life itself. It is in the church where we receive the sacraments instituted by God through Christ to declare the forgiveness of sins and receive the strength to speak, to will and to do justice in the world. It is where we learn to prioritize life and faith.
As you go forward in life, I cannot emphasize enough that you must prioritize life and faith for living.
First, make God a priority. Hold on to God for dear life through reverence, love and trust. Second, use that name that God has given to call upon God in times of stress, in times of questions, and even in times of joy and success. Call upon the name of the Lord. Third, and you knew I would encourage this. Do not neglect God’s Word in daily devotions, weekly and regular worship and group study, and regular attendance at the Lord’s Table.
When we set our priorities right, when your faith and trust is right, then your god is also the true God. When God sits enthroned in your life, then your present and your future will also be right.
God bless you in the days to come and in the years that follow.
Amen.
