Devotional 3-10-09

The Law

When I was a little girl, Easter was a very special family holiday. My mom and dad, Ruby and John Wright, would make sure that Jimmy, Bert, and I had new or presentable clothing in celebration of the new season. They also made sure that the Easter bunny paid us a visit even when we no longer believed in her. Easter dinner consisted of pot roast with onions, potatoes, and carrots; my mom, a home-ec major, was the best cook this side of Heaven. My dad always had his Brownie ready for the traditional shot by the daffodils in the back yard. And even though there were probably some cloudy, cold Easters, the child in me only remembers the sun warming my newly exposed arms as I raced to the Pontiac that would carry me to Johnson Memorial Methodist Church.

My Easter outfits always came from one of two places, my mother’s sewing machine or “the box”. Even though there was no Ebay at that time, nor do I remember visiting any resale shops, I do know that moms and grandmas made sure that good used clothes were passed down to family and neighbors. A grandmother in my Wilson Court neighborhood purchased beautiful, well-made dresses, skirts, and play clothes for a granddaughter who was slightly older than I. As Sarah outgrew the clothes, they were carefully packed in a box and delivered to my house. I never knew if my mother purchased the clothes or if they were a gift. Either way, opening the box each season was as much fun as opening presents on Christmas morning.

To enhance my outfits, my parents would usually put a small gift in my Easter basket – a piece of jewelry or a toy. They weren’t extravagant or expensive gifts, but they were special to me. My favorites were a silver bracelet with a tiny mustard seed ornament attached, a delicate silver cross necklace, and a silver charm bracelet. My favorite charm, the one that came with the bracelet, was a tiny replica of the Ten Commandments. I could even read the Commandments on the charm! I quizzed my family on the way to church; I think that my parents knew that it would spark a good conversation about how we were supposed to act and what we were expected to do.

I was reminded of that bracelet when I read one of the lectionary readings for this week, Exodus 20: 1-17. You and I know this as the Ten Commandments. You may have these verses in your long-term memory, but for those of us who don’t, I’ve listed them below.

1. And God spake all these words, saying,
2. I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage (Can’t you just hear Charlton Heston’s voice?
3. Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
4. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.
5. Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me;
6. And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments,
7. Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.
8. Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.
9. Six days shalt thou labor, and do all they work:
10. But the seventh day is the Sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor they daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates:
11. For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.
12. Honor thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.
13. Thou shalt not kill.
14. Thou shalt not commit adultery.
15. Thou shalt not steal.
16. Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor.
17. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbor’s.

As I look at these ancient laws again, I remember that the child in me saw nothing very difficult in following these laws. I imagine that my parents gave each other that knowing smile that means “Just you wait, little girl.”

I have waited for over fifty years, and I still think that God’s Commandments should not be hard to follow. But I also know that free will (my husband calls it obstinance) has led me away from God’s laws. It is during those time that I have called on Jesus Christ to intercede on my behalf – to save me from myself – to remind me how I’m supposed to act and what I’m expected to do as a child of God and a Christian. Only Easter has made that possible.

Dear Jesus, thank you for a love that surpasses all laws. Be with us as we make our Lenten journey to that glorious Easter Day when to save us, you break all laws of time and space. In Your name we pray. Amen

Becky Warren

Mission Prayer and Response Focus:

March 10: Give fifty cents for each person in your house who was in 4H. Give 1.00 for every animal you raised as part of your project!