10 COMMANDMENTS 

FOR DUMMIES 

INTRODUCTION

The title of my homily for this Friday in the 3^rd Week of Lent is, “10 COMMANDMENTS FOR DUMMIES.”

Every once and a while there is a story in the news about a protest against someone or some group who want to remove a stone monument with the 10 commandments on it. When that happens there is always uproar.

Religion can do that every time.

Recently there was mention in the Annapolis Capital newspaper the following: “Maryland Judge Halts Prayers at County Board’s Meetings: Wednesday, March 26, 2014 - 4:40 pm WESTMINSTER, Md. (AP) — A federal judge in Maryland says the Board of County Commissioners for Carroll County has to stop with opening meetings with prayers that reference Jesus Christ or any specific deity.”

SEPARATION OF CHURCH AND STATE

Mentioning Jesus is different than mentioning or displaying the Ten Commandments – but both bring us right into the issue of Church and State.

Separation of church and state is a button – in many ways – in the United States and around the world.

If Catholics were a minority, it might be a different story. For example, Christians are being killed or penalized or churches burnt down in various places in our world. There we would want separation of church and state.

As Catholics we know from  U.S. history there were attacks on Catholics and Catholic churches by the Know Nothings etc. etc. etc.

Religion can cause an uproar

THE 10 COMMANDMENTS

The title of my homily is, “10 Commandments for Dummies.”

Back to public displays of the 10 Commandments.... A good case can be made for allowing the 10 Commandments to be made public – because much of our laws have them as a background.

Moreover, many of our courthouses and government have had the Ten Commandments up there on walls or near ceilings for the longest time.  They constitute a precedent. Moreover, we mention God on money and on public buildings, etc.

We might have heard scholars point out that the Ten Commandments were around before Moses – in various forms. [1]  And we know there are variations of the 10 Commandments in the Bible as well. [2]

Do you know the Ten Commandments by heart. If I asked you to take out a piece of paper and write down the Ten Commandments, could you do it. You’d surely get, “Honor your father and your mother!” “Do not steal”, “Thou shall not commit adultery.”  But the other 7 you’d come close to naming each specific commandment – not to covet – not to work on the Sabbath – and what have you, but in general it’s my experience, most people can’t name all 10.

John Shea loves to tell the story that he was in a rectory on a Sunday morning and the phone is ringing. He picks it up – to avoid the person getting an answering machine answer for when the Masses are. If I remember the story somewhat correctly, a voice says, “Quick! Can you tell me the 9^th Commandment – I’m having a discussion with my daughter about the 10 commandments and she says, “Well tell me the 9^th commandment?’ I lied and told her I had to go to the bathroom. What is it?” And Jack Shea paused and said, “Off hand I don’t know.”

Maybe that’s why they put them in stone.

CONCLUSION: JESUS MADE IT EASIER

Here in the gospels we have the 10 commandments for dummies.

We just have to know 2 of them.

Jeremiah 31: 31-34 says that the day is coming when there will be a new law – and I will write it in your hearts.

So if anyone asks us for the 9^th commandment or all 10 commandments, Jesus made it easier. It’s in Mathew, Mark and Luke, the 10 commandments for dummies.

One of the scribes came to Jesus and asked him,
“Which is the first of all the commandments?”
Jesus replied, “The first is this:
Hear, O Israel!
The Lord our God is Lord alone!
You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart,
with all your soul,
with all your mind,
and with all your strength.
The second is this:
You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

Check your heart, those 2 commandments are written there.

Notes:

Statue in picture on top: 10 Commandments monument outside the Oklahoma State Capital Building.

[1] Cf. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary, “Exodus”, page 52-56

[2] Compare Exodus 20: 2-17 with Deuteronomy 5: 6-21