Matthew Hoxsie Mead
Preached at Saint James Church, Fair Haven, CT
March 23, 2003
Exodus 20:1-17

"I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.
You shall have no other gods before me.”

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost, Amen.


A few days ago our nation went to war. We all have a general sense of unease about war and rightly so. Aside from the terrible nature of war and the obvious effects and dangers it has for those who are directly involved in it, we have questions that cannot easily be answered and fears that cannot easily be addressed. How will the war affect us as a nation? How will it affect us individually? How long will the war last? How will it affect our safety and security? Will there be more terrorist attacks? Will it affect our jobs? How will it affect our daily lives? What does it mean for me to be a Christian during a war?

Amidst all the TV watching, newspaper reading, and discussions about the war, you may have noticed that we have settled into Lent, albeit with other things on our minds. Normally, Lent is an opportunity for us, as we prepare for Easter, to try to become closer to God through various acts of piety. We do this by giving up things and occasionally taking on new challenges, adding new disciplines to our lives, or avoiding certain things. Whatever act of piety we may pick up and drop off after forty days, whatever state of mind we might be in, whether we are at peace or at war, in good times or bad times, we are reminded today through the reading of the Ten Commandments as the Old Testament Lesson that there are certain things that are constants in our Christian lives.

Several thousand years ago the Israelites were given the Ten Commandments by God when they too were full of questions and fears. The Israelites were on the run from the Egyptians, away from the land and the homes that had always known, lost and homeless with no idea what their future held. It was in this situation that God gave them the Ten Commandments. What comfort did those commandments offer to the Israelites when they were afraid and lost in the desert and what comfort can they give us as Christians today?

To answer that question I invite you to open your pew Bibles so we can take a look at the first two of these commandments: "You shall have no other gods before me.” And "You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.”

In ancient Israel, the Israelites were in a world where there were many other cultures, each of which had their own Gods. The most prominent nations, the Egyptians, Babylonians, Greeks, and later the Romans, practiced polytheism. That is to say, they worshipped many different gods. For example, in Greece there were gods and goddesses for everything you could think of. Zeus was the god of thunder and king of the gods, Dionysus was the god of wine and debauchery, Aphrodite was the goddess of love, Athena was the goddess of sport and hunting, and so on. Anything and everything had a particular deity and a particular cult. It was almost like the internet is today. Just like in Greece I could have found a cult for anything at all, I can today go online and find that there is a message board or chat room for everyone: whether you are looking to meet other music lovers, other sports fans, other stamp collectors, others who want to talk about politics or world affairs or anything at all.

The difference between today’s “gods” [with quotes] and the ancient gods of polytheism is that today we simply don’t call them gods anymore. In many ways we are just like the Greeks, Babylonians, Egyptians, and Romans. Whenever we put anything first in our lives, whether it is music, food, hobbies, political causes, sex, work, our cars or homes, or anything at all we too are worshipping man made gods. The Greeks simply attached a name and a divine character to each of these things. The only difference between someone who worshipped Athena, or Dionysus and someone who lives to enjoy sports or partying is that that the first person has attached a name and a character to that desire. We all in many different ways make our own gods out of the things that we do or the things that we have or want. With our mouths we may say we worship Jesus, but with our actions we are often worshipping something else. When our priorities are aligned like this and we through our actions worship something else by making it the be all and end all of our existence, we are committing idolatry. Today, as much as in ancient Israel, we are called by God to leave behind these other gods and put Jesus Christ first.

But often it is very hard. It is very hard to put our Lord Jesus Christ before the things that we see and do every day. It is very hard to trust ourselves to God when we are uneasy or afraid and there are very scary things happening in our world. The ancient Israelites were commanded by God to have no other gods because they too were questioning and fearful. By giving the commandments, God assured His people that He loved them and would be there for them no matter what.

The Ten Commandments, just like our own Lenten disciplines are not necessarily about laying down rules to try to break bad habits, but about resetting our priorities. Just like the ancient Israelites we too must reset our own priorities. If we make idols out the things that are around us what good does it do in the long run? If we put all of our worldly cares and concerns at the forefront of our lives and forget about God, what good does it do us? Jesus asks us this same question: What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul? [Mark 8:36-37]

War or no war, Lent or no Lent there is always one constant: God’s love. The Israelites may have been homeless in the desert but they knew that God loved them and they knew that they could never be separated from the love of God no matter what suffering they went through. Struggling through life is nothing new. Saint Paul went through many struggles and eventually was martyred in Rome. Yet, throughout all of his struggles he also knew that he could never be separated from the love of God. Listen to what he writes in the 8th chapter of his letter to the Romans: “For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” [Romans 8:38-39]

My message to you today is to open your hearts to God, trust in God and put your faith wholehearted in Jesus Christ. By placing your whole trust in Jesus you can be assured that no matter what he will be with you. The commandment tells us that God shows love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commandments. Love God and keep His commandments, put Him first in everything you do and have faith that through good times or bad times, through life and through death He is with you and He loves you.

We are in the middle of Lent now but in a few weeks Lent will be over. We are at the start of a war but at some point that war too will be over. The things of this world are fleeting, they come and go. Some are good some are bad, but even if we gain the whole world we still lose it all when we die. Reset your own priorities so that Christ is at the forefront of your life because Christ transcends life and death. The Gospel of John tells us that eternal life begins now with faith in Jesus Christ. Put our Lord God Jesus Christ at the forefront of your life now and know that no matter what happens, nothing, not even death itself can separate you from his love.

Let us pray. Almighty God, we ask through your Son our savior Jesus Christ that you give us the strength and guidance to put you first in our lives. We pray for perseverance and resolve so we can press on through our own lives toward you, Father. We ask that you illuminate and strengthen us with your Holy Spirit so that we may walk with you in holiness and faithfulness throughout this Lenten season, through these times of unease and worry and all the days of our lives. Bless us, sanctify us and help us to trust in you above all else in our lives. Comfort us in our struggles. We pray that you will gently correct us and lead us on the paths of righteousness so that we may follow your commandments and live together in faith, peace, and love. All this we ask through your son our Lord, Jesus Christ. Amen.