Calling Plays & Time Outs (Commandments 3 & 4)

⁷ No using the name of God, your God, in curses or silly banter; God won’t put up with the irreverent use of his name.

^8-11 Observe the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Work six days and do everything you need to do. But the seventh day is a Sabbath to God, your God. Don’t do any work—not you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your servant, nor your maid, nor your animals, not even the foreign guest visiting in your town. For in six days God made Heaven, Earth, and sea, and everything in them; he rested on the seventh day. Therefore God blessed the Sabbath day; he set it apart as a holy day.

When I was in Riverside, we worked a lot with a lot of people.  We worked with the teenagers, many of whom would spend their afternoons tucked away in a corner of the building smoking, or smoking out.  We also worked with the homeless, some of whom were chronically homeless having been on the streets for 10 or 15 years. And, as you might imagine, we had a fair number of issues.  We tried to offer  a safe place where people could receive food, a hot shower, fresh clothes, and God’s grace.  We also tried to be a place that didn’t permit illicit drug use, or enable bad behaviors.  Our policies and practices changed over the years as we adapted to the ministry needs and often, my name carried the greatest weight for enforcement.  People knew I was the pastor of the church and people knew that the pastor’s word was the law of the land.  That wasn’t my thing, it’s just how things panned out.  On more than one occasion, in an argument with a church member, one of our ministry friends would counter with, “Well, Pastor Debbie said I could.”  Generally the church folks knew better, but that wasn’t always the case.  And some of our friends would even use my name when the police came through claiming that I had offered permission for this or that or the other. But the best was when I would come upon someone new and offer a reminder of the rules and they would argue with me saying, “well Pastor Debbie told me I could.”  That was fascinating.  They used my name because they thought it held power.  But they had no idea who they were talking to or what “power” they might be invoking with that name. They had just been told that “Pastor Debbie” was the name to use in order to win the argument. 

I can laugh about it now, but at the time I would get frustrated that they were using my name in vain. I hadn’t talked to them. I hadn’t given them permission. Yet they were using my name for their purposes. 

I don’t equate myself with God, but those encounters help me catch a glimpse of what God is getting at when we are told not to take the Lord’s name in vain.  In simpler terms, the third commandment means, “Don’t use God’s name carelessly, as if it means nothing to you, or without an appreciation for the weight it holds.” Said in a positive light, “Use God’s name according to the power it holds.” 

God’s name is powerful.  Do you realize that?  I think most of us don’t believe that. It’s just a name. Sure it’s God’s name, but still it’s just a name. But according to the scriptures, God’s name holds power.  The Jewish scribes who used to copy the Bible by hand would stop every time they came upon God’s name. They would say a prayer before they wrote the name and then stop and say another prayer after they wrote the name.  Why? Because they understood and respected the power of God’s name.  The scribes knew it means something when it’s said aloud.  God’s name has the power to bless, to heal, to work miracles. And God’s name has the power to curse and to destroy. Just the name is powerful. And more often than not we use it as if it means nothing. We use it carelessly.  God wants more than that from us.  We are permitted to use God’s name, but with intentionality, respect and purpose. 

Let’s think about it in football terms:  If I wanted to yell a play, I might say “Blue 32, blue 32” to which my husband replies, “That’s a cadence, not a play.” And I say, “See, that just proves my point.”  It sounds like a play to me. And I want to sound official, so I say “blue 32” but I don’t have any idea what I’m calling or what it means, or what the other players are going to do as a result.  The calls means something. The numbers, the colors, the letters,  they all mean something. And if I want to be effective, I have to understand what I’m saying both for myself and for the other players.  But to be effective, I have to learn the game, learn the plays, learn the strategies, learn the positions, and learn the calls so that I can get my team to work together.  If I want things to happen, I have to know what I’m saying and say it with intentionality.  So, if in the huddle I call 34 blast, and then we get to the line and I see the defense has lined up differently, I have to call an audible to get my guys to move, we’re changing plays, so I call “Chocolate pudding! Chocolate pudding” which, for us, means “spread 2MO Jet TB Sweep 27.” Yeah that (indicate the picture). Admittedly, I have no idea what that means, not even with the picture.  I’m just saying what my husband told me to, but at least this time I could get the rest of the team to do what they’re supposed to do, unlike when I call “blue 32”. But to be good at the game, to be worth my salt as a player, I’d have to stop relying on Rick to clue me in and learn it all for myself.

It’s not an exact parallel, but it’s like that with God’s name.  We might use God’s name in ways and phrases that we’ve picked up. They seem to sound right, or make sense to us. Or we’ve been coached to say them. But honestly, we don’t really know what it means or what might happen if we say, “Be healed in Jesus’ name.”  or “God bless you” or even if we use “G. D.” Unless, we understand that God’s name has power and use it with meaning and purpose, we lose the opportunity to do amazing things for God’s sake.  If we really appreciated the power of God’s name and how to use it, we might have the faith and courage to heal the sick, give sight to the blind, or allow the lame to walk.  God’s name has the power to do all of that.  So the question becomes, will we learn God’s plays?  Will we use God’s name with purpose and intentionality? Or will we just pretend we know what we’re saying and only wish God would do something? 

The next commandment is the one to honor the Sabbath and keep it holy.  I don’t know why, but it seems like the 4^th commandment is taken as mere suggestion and considered kind of trivial.  I’m not sure most folks even think about what it would mean to practice Sabbath or keep the Sabbath day holy. We understand what it means to have a day off…it means you don’t go to your paid job, but instead you run around like a crazy person doing all your errands, washing dishes, doing laundry, and getting caught up on house work and yard work.  And most of us think our day off is our Sabbath and if Sabbath is errands and chores, it’s no wonder we think it’s kind of a worthless suggestion instead of a commandment that’s meant to benefit us. J. Ellsworth Kalas is a scholar and a professor and a pretty extensive writer and he translates the 4^th commandment like this: you shall keep the Sabbath for the Sabbath shall keep you.  The Sabbath shall keep you.  To understand what that means it’s actually most helpful to turn to the New Testament.  In the Gospels, we see Jesus heal on the Sabbath and he’s often rebuked by the Pharisees for breaking the Sabbath…for working.  But Jesus argues against them. In essence, he says, the Sabbath is meant to be restorative. It’s meant to offer healing, wholeness, and peace. The purpose of the Sabbath is redemptive. And so, when he heals, forgives and redeems on the Sabbath, he’s fulfilling the law, not breaking it.  So when Kalas says “the Sabbath shall keep you” he means, “the Sabbath will restore you, heal you, and offer you wholeness.” 

All of that sounds pretty different from running errands and doing chores.  Because most of the time those things aren’t restful or redemptive for us.  So what is?  Well, that depends on the person.  For some of us, sleep is redemptive. For some of us it’s reading a book. For others of us it’s a 20 mile bike ride. Others it’s a run. Others it’s cooking a meal, for others it’s gardening. For others it’s crafting.  There are lots of things that help us feel whole and complete, it all depends on who we are. 

When I was in seminary, I heard a talk about Sabbath that was really compelling. I had never practiced Sabbath before. Like most, I had been dismissive about its relevance in my life.  I would go to school all week and work on the weekends at a church, plus study, read, and write for my classes. Every day was full. Every day was busy. And every day required something from me. And then I heard that talk, and she talked about doing things that were good for her soul. That could include a pedicure or a massage or a good book.  And that sounded different and desirable. So I started practicing Sabbath. Even then, Sundays were a work day, so I decided to take Saturday instead.  Saturday was my Sabbath. No church work and no school work.  And at first it was really hard. I had intense feelings of guilt. I was supposed to be productive. I was supposed to be doing things.  And I had huge guilt that I wasn’t. I literally had to fight those thoughts and tell myself, “it’s ok to sleep or watch movies, today is your Sabbath, you can do work tomorrow.” I fought that for awhile, and, in time, what I noticed was if I allowed myself to rest on Saturdays and do what I wanted to do with my time, then when I went back to work and to school on Sunday, I had more energy and more drive. I wasn’t fatigued and always asking myself to give and do and be. Instead, I felt restored, my reserves were being filled on the Sabbath and I was better able to do my work on the other days.  Sabbath was becoming redemptive.  That time practicing Sabbath in seminary convicted me.  The Sabbath would keep me, it would heal me, fill me, and restore me.  It wasn’t some ridiculous thing God suggested, it was God’s gift to me and I was meant to enjoy it. 

I’ve continued to practice Sabbath.  Each week I have a dedicated day set aside for rest and restoration.  Admittedly, it’s different with a husband and a child.  There are some “jobs” like cooking,  diapers, and the demands of parenting that don’t ever really stop.  But instead of seeing those things as taxing, I try to think of what helps us rest and be restored as a family.  It’s not always naps, but those help. But it’s play time. It’s meal time.  It’s hanging out together.  And it’s not work.  Of course, there are exceptions. I’ve always been flexible to do a hospital visit, a memorial, or a wedding rehearsal on my Sabbath.  But, for those things that can wait, they do. It’s important that I allow God to fill me before I try and do my job day in and day out.  The scriptures encourage us to work and to do our job well. They also say we should rest and keep it holy.  Holy in the Hebrew is qadash and it means holy and hallowed, it also means set apart.  God is holy for who God is but also because God is separate and set apart. So in keeping the Sabbath holy, we are meant to set that day apart and find time with God.  Some of us are wary of that part. We think it means we have to sit and meditate or pray all day. But I don’t think that’s the commandment. I believe we can find God in the things we love and enjoy. I listen better for God’s voice when I’m rested and enjoying life.  I find God in Ruth’s laughter. I find God in my own laughter. I find God in Rick’s hugs. I find God in a savory meal. I find God in the creativity of a good book. I find God in the construction of a sewing project.  I find God in the restoration of order in my house.  We don’t do every Sabbath the same.  Each Friday is different.  But the sacredness is in our time away from work and the demand to be productive.  The divine is present in the moments where I am receptive to God at work and I’m more receptive when I’m not stressed and drained. 

Most of us have made the mistake of treating the Sabbath like a time out.  We think if we take a momentary pause from our work, that’s enough.  But restoration and redemption take more than that.  If we play a long hard football game, a two minute time out isn’t going to do a whole lot for us. It allows us to catch our breath and get a swig of water. But it doesn’t allow our muscles to relax, our bodies to be cleaned, our mind to stop focusing on what we have to do.  We should play a good game and give the best of what we have, and take our time-outs, our momentary breathers. But beyond that, we need the Sabbath. We need a chance to slow down and stop. We need to not be plagued by productivity. Instead we need to relish and enjoy the fruits of our labor.  We need to allow God to fill our spirits and restore our bodies.  Most of us are convinced we can’t afford to do that. There’s too much responsibility. There’s too much to do. But really, we can’t afford not to do it.  The Sabbath shall keep us.  It shall be our life source in the midst of our busyness. It shall be a time set aside for us to attend to our souls—maybe reading scripture and praying, or maybe simply being present in the things we love most. 

I will say this, the transition can be tough. You will likely have to quash the voices that tell you there’s no time for this, that you have work to do, that you need to be more productive.  Tell them to be quiet and come back tomorrow. Your day of Sabbath is a gift that is meant to be enjoyed.  Amen.

The Head Coach You Can't Subsitute (Commandments 1 & 2)

Then God spoke all these words: 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. You shall not make for yourself an idol, whether in the form of anything that is in heaven above, or that is on the arth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.  You shall not bow down to them or worship them, for I the Lord your God am a jealous God.

  

If I randomly pulled 22 of you up here and said, let’s play the game. Ready go. What would you do?  Well, some of you would probably make up your own rules and start playing. Others of you would be wondering: What’s the game? How do you play? How do you win? How do you score? What can you do? What can you not do?  What’s the objective of the game?  What’s the strategy of the game? You’d be asking for the rules.  We need rules. 

We believe a lot of things about rules.  Sometimes we like rules, they give us structure and know what to do.  Rules help us distinguish between right and wrong.  Rules help us know who’s in and who’s out.  Rules help us navigate all kinds of things. They help us navigate our computers, our cars, the road, our work, our appliances and our relationships.  Often the “rules” are unspoken and even unnoticed until someone breaks a rule, or we go somewhere and the rules are different.  You don’t use the rules of soccer while playing football, or the rules of football when you’re playing baseball.  We may not often claim it, but we like rules.  We’re at least quick to cry “foul” when someone breaks a rule.  Anyone who’s watched a football game with a “Real” fan knows what I mean.  “Off-sides! Off-sides! Come on ref! Get some glasses!” or “That’s holding.  Did you see that?!  Holding!” The rules matter to us, mostly when they’re broken or when we suffer injustice at the hands of another.  We don’t always mind so much when we’re the ones breaking the rules. 

Here’s the thing, if you’re playing the game, it’s in everyone’s interest to play by the rules. Because if you all play by the rules and you play well, then what’s supposed to happen, happens. 

Before we understand God’s rules, we have to understand why we have them  in the first place.  Some of us feel like the Commandments are ancient and outdated. Some of us feel like only some of them are worthy of being followed. Some of us feel like they seriously impinge on our fun. So what’s the point of God’s rules anyway? 

The point of the 10 commandments is to nurture our relationships with God and with each other.  From Genesis 3, the story of Adam and Eve and the snake, we learn about our inclination to disobedience and the ways our sins breaks trust in our relationship with God and with each other.  The story of “The Fall” is to show us the nature of human sinfulness.  The story of Scripture and particularly the 10 commandments are about how God tries to help us restore those relationships. It matters to God whether or not we have a relationship with God, and it matters to God that we have good relationships with each other.  So, in starting fresh with the Israelites, after freeing them from Egypt, God sets out the rules of the game, so to speak. The first 4 commandments are the things we can do to foster a healthy, loving and trusting relationship with God and the last 6 are about the things we can do to foster a loving, trusting, healthy relationship with the people in our lives.  Simply stated, God wants good things for us, and God knows we need rules to know how to attain those good things. 

But in hearing the rules, some of us have a big hang up.  All the rules tell us are the things we can’t do.  Don’t do this and don’t do that.  Don’t have any other God’s before me. Don’t use my name in vain. Don’t murder. Don’t steal. Don’t lie. Don’t covet. Don’t. Don’t. Don’t.  It can be hard to imagine that the commandments are about what God DOES want for us when all we hear is what God DOESN’T want us to do.  So we’re going to try and see, and hear, and understand the commandments for what God DOES want for us and from us. 

Commandment #1 say: thou shalt have no other gods before me.  Said another way, “God shall have all of you.”  Why?  Because God wants your complete buy in. God wants you to show up and participate and give the best of what you have.  God doesn’t want your left-overs. God doesn’t want to be your last thought. God wants what’s first.  Now, that might sound greedy on God’s part, but think about it. God knows you. God knows your talents, your abilities, your fears, your worries, and your failures. God knows what you are capable of before you do. AND God wants what’s best for you.  And when you show up and give God the best of who you are and what you have to offer, then God has the opportunity to help you live into that potential….the one you were created for, the one you are called to, the one God imagined for you.  Who better to help you become your best, than the one who made you?!

There are a lot of coaches out there. A lot of people who are happy to tell you what to do and who to be.  They have techniques. They have strategy. They have philosophy. Many of them even “get” it. But none of them will know you like God does. None of them will see your full potential like God does.  They may be good coaches, but they only have specialties.  One might be special teams. One might be offense. One might be defense. One might be focused on just your position.  But none of them are THE coach.  None of them are God. And while they might play the game well, or coach the game well. No one will know and understand the game quite like the one who created it and has spent His entire existence coaching it.  If you want to play well, you go to the experts.  If you want to throw like Troy Aikman or Payton Manning, then you go to the best quarter back coach. If you want to catch like Michael Irvin, Jerry Rice, or Randy Moss, then you go to the receivers coach.  You don’t ask the line coach to teach you to be the best quarterback. That’s not his job.  And if you want BIG picture, for the overall game, not just for one game, or one season, but for a lifetime, then you go to the best of the best, you go to the top coach. So, if it’s not just the game of football, but it’s life, then you go to THE life coach…the one who sees the big picture, who understands all the ins and outs of life, then you go to God.  To put it in sports terms, the first commandment is God saying, I should be your head coach, and your general manager. I should be the one you go to when you need to understand what’s going on, or what you should do.  Choose me.  Let God be your coach, first, last, and always, you won’t ever find anyone better. 

Commandment #2: “You must not make for yourselves an idol that looks like anything in the sky above or on the earth below or in the water below the land. ⁵ You must not worship or serve any idol, because I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God.” Said another way, “You should enjoy the majesty of God.” 

Admittedly, most of us don’t worship or create idols…not physical ones anyway. So this commandment often becomes one of those that feels incredibly outdated and irrelevant.  But it’s about more than the rule; it’s about more than physical idols that stand in the place of God. Instead, the second commandment is about allowing for the mystery and awesomeness of God.  When we create idols, we set parameters for God. If we create a statue of God, in whatever form, then we are saying, that’s who God is….whatever is captured in that statue.  And maybe God is some of what’s captured in that statue, but ultimately, no statue, no figure, no image, could fully encapsulate who God is.  Even if we think about it in terms of words, titles, and characteristics, we’ll still fall short.  Say we say God is compassionate. Say we label God that way.  That’s the idol. Compassionate.  It’s great to be compassionate, but that doesn’t tell us anything about God as majestic, or just, or jealous, or merciful.  Idols set limits on God.  They box God in. And God is so much more than limitations.  God is beyond our imagination. God is greater than any word, or image, or combination of them could ever encompass. 

Think about it this way.  If what you want in a quarter-back is 80% accuracy and you have that, and that’s what you highlight and that’s what you focus on, that becomes the idol. 80% accuracy becomes the characteristic that trumps all others.  But say your quarterback has a bad attitude, what do you do?  You look for a new quarterback with 80% accuracy, and maybe a good attitude.  So you find that one, and you’re satisfied as long as he has 80% accuracy and a good attitude. But say he’s injured, what do you do?  Go look for another one.  Maybe you want 80% accuracy, good attitude, team player, and a leader.  You can make the list as long as you want, but ultimately, we all know that every player can be replaced.  But God is bigger than a list of characteristics.  And no one can replace God.

When we limit God to just one or two, or even 5 or 10 things, and don’t see how much greater God is, then it can be easy to allow for replacements. If we say, God is compassionate and that becomes our idol. That becomes the only way we want to see or understand God, not only have we blocked out all of the other things God is, but, we’ve made compassion the greatest thing. If God is compassionate, then compassion is the most important thing, and anyone who is compassionate, could become our coach.  If we allow for God to be bigger, maybe adding in God as just and majestic, then we might eventually look for someone or something that is also compassionate, just, and majestic, to stand in place of God when we’re busy, or distracted, or mad at God.  While we can acknowledge that no one could BE God, we could be comfortable finding the one who is compassionate, just, and majestic.  But if we add in that God is comforter, teacher, friend, and peace-giver, the bill is harder to fill.  And if we add to that Savior, Redeemer, companion, creator, immanent and transcendent, then we know, forever and always, that there are no substitutes.  No one can take God’s place, because God is above all others and different from others. God cannot be simplified. God cannot be replaced.

To appreciate the awesomeness and majesty of God is to recognize that God, as a whole, is beyond our full comprehension and cannot be replaced by any other. We understand parts of God through Scripture, and more of God through Christ, and finally through the Holy Spirit.  But we are still limited.  We won’t quite get it all.  That’s the mystery of God.  And that’s why idols fall short. No idol can capture the fullness of God.  And no substitute could replace God. 

Intro to 1st and 10 series

Worship Focus: Most of us know the commandments exist, and most of us can quote some of them.  Though, often, if asked, people confuse the commandments with the Golden Rule “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you” or the “greatest commandment” Jesus said of “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength, and love your neighbor as yourself.”  Those are relevant, and related, but they aren’t the commandments.  Over the next 5 weeks, we will be learning about and studying the commandments, not just because it’s good to know them, but because they are the foundation of the Old and New Testaments.  I know, most of us wouldn’t rank “rules” as the most important part of the Bible. But the 10 commandments aren’t really about rules.  They are so much more than that.  The 10 commandments express God’s heart and desires for our life and relationships, both with God and with others.  To understand God, we have to know more than the rules, we have to know why the rules exist in the first place.  What’s the point of the commandments and what difference does it make if we keep them?