Grace, Peace and Joy be onto you from God our Father and His Son, Jesus Christ.  Amen.        

            The last Sunday I stood before you in the pulpit it was confirmation Day.  Now on that day we took pictures of the class and of the pastors so that the Confirmands might have memories of that day.   A few weeks back, I was asked to deliver some pictures to the homes of the families who had ordered pictures.   It was a wet and rainy Wednesday, but I enjoyed roaming about getting lost in the side streets, marveling at the colors of the trees in comparison to the gray, gray sky.  I drove north on 41 exiting in Lake Bluff rounding a block before coming to a stoplight where one could not proceed straight any longer but you have to make a decision to go right or left.  I remember seeing the red light and the “no Turn on Red” sign as I looked downward to see where on the map my last delivery was.  I hummed along to the radio.  With my blinker on, I eased up on the brake and started to go around the corner.   RRRRRRRRRRRRR  Suddenly, behind me there was a police car flashing its lights at me, the loudspeaker blared telling me to proceed to the side of the road.  My heart pounded and my adrenaline rushed as I realized that I had indeed ignored the sign and had broken the law.   Denial hit as I straighten up in my chair, thinking about my perfect driving record and the reasons for my slip-up.  As I explained to the officer that I was still new to the area and that I was delivering confirmation pictures, I realized that this rationale did not excuse my breaking the rules.  Time seemed to stand still as the officer checked my license and registration.   I saw him writing on his clipboard.   He came back to the car and told me that he knew he could read and that I surely could read.     By the some sheer grace he only gave me a warning, I had escaped the fine, but I still felt great shame with each rubbernecker.   As we are constantly reminded, carelessness and disobeying traffic laws can lead to serious accidents and death, most recently in Libertyville.  In hindsight, I realize that it was healthy for me to be pulled aside and to be reminded that laws exist for reasons, namely to benefit the people.

          We have all sorts of laws and rules to follow.  We have of course, traffic laws, civil laws, house rules, work regulations, the list goes on and on.  Some might make more sense to us personally.   Laws help us to order our lives.  Choas would ensue without the structure and boundaries that laws provide. 

In our Old Testament lesson, we hear a litany of directions for our daily lives.  These are just a few of the over 600 laws found within the Torah, the first five books of the Bible.  This particular account is of the Lord speaking to Moses, giving instructions on what he should say to the Israelites.  The list instructs them and us to be holy, to be just to both great and poor.  Furthermore it directs us not to be slanderous against one another, or hate our kin and to reprove our neighbor.  We should not seek revenge but rather we should love our neighbor.  On a first reading this may appear to be the gist of the passage.  But let us not overlook the fact that in these six verses, God reminds us that he is the Lord four times.  This reiteration is not coincidental, but points us to recall that the Israelites were traveling in the wilderness.   They had did not escape slavery on their own doing, but it was the Lord God who called Moses and the Israelites to be freed.  “I am the Lord your God, the Holy One who brought you out of Egypt and you, you are my Holy people.”

To completely appreciate the relationship between Israel and the Lord and the giving of the Ten Commandments and the numerous laws, one cannot presume that these laws were seen as a restriction laid down on the people.  It is crucial for us to understand that both the people of Israel and us, the spiritual descendents of Israel have been given these instructions not to burden us but to enable us to easier lead lives reflecting our holiness and that of our Creator.  Our psalm for today helps us to grasp this point.  Clearly those who follow the law are happy and those who do not are wicked.  The happy “delight in the law and meditate on it day and night.  Through this revering of the Law, the happy are like trees planted along the river bearing much fruit. The way of the righteous strives to honor the commands of God.   And while we cannot be perfect in the law, we cannot ignore its ability to model for us a life worthy of a child of God.

Now I will be first to tell you that some of the 600 laws do not translate to us 3000 years removed from the golden age of Israel.  Nevertheless, we can be mindful of God’s intention behind the law.  The fact is that none of us agree with every law we adhere to.  A friend of mine in seminary decided to try out his rollerblades on the nice smooth roads of the national military park in the battlefield at Gettysburg.  WE warned him that bikes and rollerblading was strictly prohibited.  And so he strolled off only to get a mile out and be stopped in his tracks by the park ranger.   There was no compromising with the ranger, my friend would tell us later.  The ranger put it best, “The regs are the regs!”  No amount of rhetoric would alter the fact that the regulations were in place for the safety of all parties.   And so it is with the commandments of God.  We cannot believe in such a thing as small violations.   Jesus teaches us that even thinking lustfully is a form of adultery.  Whether one steals a candy bar or thousands of dollars, the sin is equal.  Now it was this debate that the Pharisees were having in the Gospel for today.   In an attempt to corner Jesus they tried to get him to rank stealing over adultery, or the keeping the Sabbath over killing.  “Which commandment is the greatest, they asked Jesus?” 

To this Jesus responded with the wisdom only the Son of God could have.  Jesus says that we must love the Lord with all ones heart and soul, and all of ones mind.”  This is the greatest commandment.   Not only this but we must love our neighbor as ourselves.”   Through His response Jesus manages not to negate the law but to point out that all the law and all the words of the prophets hinge on the idea that we should fully love the Lord and that He has created us not to fight or compete or step on each other, but we should live in community, in unity, with compassion and love.

And finally our Gospel reaches its climax in Jesus asking the Pharisees who the Messiah is.  When they respond that he will be the Son of David, Jesus reminds them that David by the Spirit calls him Lord and that one does not call ones own son Lord.  In this moment, Jesus silences his critics, but more importantly, returns to what God had said four times in Leviticus.  Jesus tells them that he is the Messiah, the holy one, the Lord.  And this truth which silenced the Pharisees later was revealed to the world on a cross in Jerusalem and in the resurrection three days later.  The truth that once silenced now is shared loud and clear in this place.  The truth of Jesus as Christ and the great commandment to love both God and neighbor touches us all.  And it is the center of the law which teaches us how to live and brings order out of chaos and protects and serves us as the people of God.   Let us give thanks for the Lord God who points the signs out to us and warns us firmly and lovingly when we stray.  Today, let us celebrate the gift of these commandments and renew our lives to live according to God’s word that we might reflect the holiness of the one who creates, sustains and redeems us, yesterday, today and tomorrow.  Amen.