Fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost

“Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore, love is the fulfilling of the law.”

Often, we have a hard time with Old Testament laws. While some are obvious, others seem strange even for their time.

Why are there so many rules, regulations, commandments, and laws? Is this even realistic?

Sometimes, we struggle with the Old Testament laws because of mixed messaging. At points in the New Testament, the apostles seem to minimize the law. How are we supposed to reconcile these writings?

Also, as Christians, we focus on God’s grace, yet the laws of the Old Testament seem to focus on works to please God. Many people will point to a new covenant sealed by Jesus that supersedes the old burdensome laws.
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When we find ourselves wrestling with the Old Testament, we might give up and decide that the New Testament is just “better” or “newer.” (Hey, it’s definitely shorter.) Unfortunately, this can lead to some troublesome assumptions about the Old Testament.

For example, when we decide that the New Testament supersedes the Old Testament, then we are erasing the witness of the Israelites. When we suggest that there is a new covenant, we are not acknowledging the Israelites’ prior claim on relationship with God.

This idea that the New Testament supersedes the Old Testament has historically led to the genocide of the Jews for thousands of years. It is the foundation of antisemitic beliefs and behaviors.

So, what are we to do with our conflicted feelings about the Old Testament and especially those unrealistic laws?

One approach is to play amateur anthropologist. We can take into account the cultural and historical context of the people in order to gain new perspectives on their writings.

For example, we might find the idea of driving an awl into a slave’s ear to be brutal and violent. (Exod. 21:6; Deut. 15:17). When you think about it, pointy stick, big hammer. It seems like a painful and dehumanizing practice.

However, in our modern culture, we take it for granted that people today will pierce their ears. It’s not hard to imagine that another culture might think Americans are brutal for allowing children to be pierced at a young age.

It’s also important to factor in the historical time frame of the Old Testament, especially the books that include the laws and commandments. Given the realities of life several centuries before the birth of Jesus, it’s expected that life was a little different.

Think about how different the world was at the time of the American Revolution, and that was just 250 years ago. When we talk about the historical context of the Old Testament, we’re referring to a time that was up to 3000 years ago.

Also, because of our modern perspective, we think laws are the product of the justice system. We, of course, have lists of laws. Some of these are also quite strange, but they are not maintained in the scriptures, right?

However, in the time of the earliest stories of the Bible, there was no differentiation between religion and daily life. There was no concept of secular and religious. God was a part of every part of life, and the written records reflect the codes for all parts of daily life. Thus, the laws were incorporated into the Scriptures.

As helpful as an anthropological perspective might be, in our current context, that is, being in church, it’s even more critical that we address some theological concerns with how we might view the Old Testament.

There is a very common tendency to reason out the Old Testament laws backward. We get the cart before the horse, so to speak.

Let me explain, and let’s look at the Ten Commandments to simplify our example.

We often interpret the commandments as the rules that must be followed in order to please God and gain salvation. This comes from a fundamental but very common misinterpretation of the Scriptures.

See, the Israelites were already saved by God. The Ten Commandments were given to the Israelites AFTER God saved them from Pharoah and AFTER God made a covenant with Abraham.

The Israelites are already God’s Chosen people.

The commandments describe HOW the Israelites organize their lives so that God’s promise might be fulfilled as soon as possible.

Ultimately, the laws and especially the Ten Commandments are about living in loving relationship with God and others in gratitude for God’s covenant. First, God promised the people of Israel, then the laws were set to guide how to live into that promise.

But, you might say, Jesus gave us the Greatest Commandments.

‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the greatest and first commandment. And ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ (Mat 22:36-40)

Don’t these override the old commandments?

The short answer is no because these are not new commandments. Jesus is quoting Deuteronomy and Leviticus. Yes, those two books that are filled with seemingly archaic rules:

Hear, O Israel: The Lord is our God, the Lord alone. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. (Deut 6:4-5)

You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against any of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself... (Lev 19:18)

See, these two commandments from God reflect the overarching intent of the Ten Commandments.

If you look at the list, the first part of the Ten Commandments is about our relationship with God. Listen:

• You shall have no other gods but me

• You shall make no idols

• You shall not take the Lord’s name in vain

• Keep the Sabbath day holy

  
  And the second part of the list is about our relationship with others:

• Honor your father and mother

• Do not murder

• Do not commit adultery

• Do not steal

• Do not bear false witness

• Do not covet

  The Ten Commandments are a historical and culturally appropriate response to God when one is living according to the intent of loving God above all else and loving our neighbors as ourselves.

  
  The Ten Commandments help define how people of faith live in a community that reflects the greatest commandments of love every day.

  
  And this is the point that Paul is making in Romans today.

  
  Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore, love is the fulfilling of the law. (Romans 13: 10)
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  If we take them out of context, the rules of the Old Testament, including the Ten Commandments, can look harsh and arbitrary. But when we consider them historically, culturally, and most importantly, theologically, we may see that these are laws that define a community of faith living to the best of their ability in line with God’s intent that we love one another.

  
  While our times have changed, we, too, are called to consider how to live into the intent of God’s commandments. Our own rules may look different, but they still exist.

  You might recognize this list:

• Continue in the Apostles’ teaching and fellowship...

• Persevere in resisting evil...

• Repent and return to the Lord...

• Proclaim by word and example the Good News of God in Christ...

• Strive for justice and peace among all people...

• Respect the dignity of every human being...
  
  We take comfort in these vows, and similarly, the Israelites took comfort in the commandments of the Old Testament as they defined a society of hope that sought to bring forth the fulfillment of God’s eternal promise.

  
  All of these rules, Old Testament, New Testament, and modern Baptismal Vows are responses to God’s promise. We follow the rules not to please God but because we earnestly desire to help create the fulfillment of God’s promise in the present time.

  Through our rules and commandments, we respond to God’s grace by working in our lives to bring the Kin-dom of God a little closer every day.

The Rev. Mercedes Clements