Each Friday morning I rise early around 5.45am to go walking for an hour or two with a long time friend. Following our walk, and after we have discussed our medical issues then every subject under the sun including ethics, politics, religions and family are discussed and canvassed. Then we have breakfast at the North Rd Café. Our normal meal is poached eggs and bacon. Only one of us orders bacon and we share the serve. Then we often sit back, enjoy our coffee, and comment on the other walkers trying to think what work they did and whether they have also retired?
While our political views are very similar, although I am not as rosy eyed as he often is, and he probably thinks the same of me, we discuss the major ethical issues confronting and challenging our community life and what we believe have been the traditional views of the Australia we grew up in the post second world. These include, resilience, perseverance, tolerance, a fair go for all and a shared sense of tolerance for difference. We often end our walk describing ourselves as grumpy old men.
My friend is not a Christian, he would say atheist, I would say agnostic. He trained as a Christian minister in another tradition however he left the church and faith many years ago and has worked as a social worker, advocate and strong champion for the disposed and in particular older Australians.
Most of my friends no longer attend Church or practice their faith, but like my walking mate are honorable, trustworthy and compassionate people. I suspect some if not all of you here today would have similar experiences. Despite the negativity of the media along with the concerning behavior of some people there are “Lots of good and honorable people “. Many like my friends have a strong Christian /Church upbringing, but no longer see the need for the Church of for God. We would call them cradle Christians baptized as an infant and received the Church-leaving certificate at Confirmation or their teen years.
On the other hand, we are also seeing many who claim to be Christian blurring the lines on ethics and justice for ideological reasons, poor Christian understanding and self- interest, whether it be in the area of personal ethics, public service or the use of parliamentary privilege and benefits.
The 10 commandments as we read this morning from Exodus is one of three covenant stories we have been reading on Sundays over the past three weeks. They are not to be understood as many have in the past as simply a list of rules but rather a formula or strategy, an ideal, whereby God seeks an enduring relationship with the Israelites and the coming Kingdom or community of God. It is an invitation to be God’s people. If you wish, to live close to God the Israelites were to live compatible lives reflecting the very nature of God. God first,, others second and possessions least. As I said in my letter in this weeks bulletin this presents us somewhat of a challenge in today’s post enlightenment and postmodern world.
Henry Warnsbrough, leading catholic biblical scholar says we need to reflect and think on the 10 commandments not as prohibitions but as expressing positive values and understood as the basis of an ethical framework for enlivening and enlightening our search and journey to become fully human created in the image of God. So he sees ‘Keeping the Sabbath” implies freedom of worship and freedom of Leisure. I may have told you about by my first altercation with the Vicar of my parish around sport on Sunday.
Honour your parents, includes not only obedience of children, but real parental care for children, and of adult children for aged parents as well as other family values. I love reminding my children they will need to look after Judi and I in our doddering years.
No adultery, means fostering marriage and relationship bonds and yes no playing around.
No false evidence includes the right to free speech, innocent till proven guilty and a good reputation, free of slander, no brain washing or distortions by school systems or the media.
Similar laws can be found in other ancient law codes and religious traditions but to the people of Israel, as they are for us, they are a guide a pointer, an ideal to build God’s kingdom on earth both now and in the future. They are to help us define a common humanity based on trust and love.
The challenge for us is to ask ourselves the questions are these laws still relevant for us? The answer is yes, but the challenge is how.
Our rule of law is deeply ingrained in the Judaic /Christian tradition although not practiced as preached. The assumption of innocent until proven guilty often compromised or minimized by all forms of media, including Facebook and Twitter. False news abounds and racist, violent and abusive comments appear increasingly normal. Each day the laws of our nation are challenged, violated or ignored to address a particular cause or to satisfy the demands of a special interest group.
During Lent on Wednesday morning we are reading from Luke’s sermon on the Plain. Luke’s Jesus says love your enemies, if one takes your jacket give them your shirt, love your enemies, give to everyone who begs from you, if one strikes you give them the other cheek and on he goes. I wonder what sort of society we would have if we really lived according to the commandments and the teaching of Jesus.
In your own mind is any of the 10 commandments more important than the others. How about “thou shalt not murder”. How is this interpreted in war, or the aborting of an unborn child, or the right to take your own life?
I do not have any absolute answer to these questions challenging our community life or any simple,” you must or you must not”, other than to say that our freedom as human beings is not absolute. Individuals or nations for that matter cannot live without consequences for their actions .The human condition as is the whole of creation is rather about relationships, social cohesion, stewardship of resources, compassion, and for the Christian our faith, hope and trust in God.
The challenge for us is not to trivialize, abandon, or ignore the 10 commandments but rather to embrace and connect with them in a vastly different time and world of today.
As the journey to Jerusalem continues the cross and the suffering cross looms before us showing us that in Christ’s loving acts of service and concern for the other we are challenged to rise above a rigid and legalistic interpretation of the Law but rather a society that the commandments envision, respects boundaries and affirms relationships as central to loving God and your neighbour.