Tues., October 31, 2023

The Rev. Anne C. Williamson

The 10 Commandments: are they rules? or are they gifts?

The Rev. Anne Williamson preaches on the Gospel of Matthew 22:34-46.

In the Gospel of Matthew, Chapter 22, we have Jesus proclaiming the Great Commandment: Love God with all your heart, soul and mind; and a second commandment: Love your neighbor as yourself.

Commandments can be considered rules or regulations but actually they are gifts: gifts to the people of God to help us to live as our best selves, to help us live lives pleasing to God. These words from Matthew’s Gospel, as well as from Paul’s first letter to the Thessalonians, and Psalm 1, remind us who we are and whose we are. They point us to a way of love, to the Way of Jesus. We are offered direction from the word of God, the Bible, words giving us insight and understanding: words to help us know how to live and walk in The Way of Love.

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In this part of Matthew's Gospel, Jesus asserts that there are two commandments that sum up the tenets of our faith: Love God with all your heart, soul and mind, and a second commandment: Love your neighbor as yourself.

I invite us all to think of these commandments not as rules or regulations but as gifts; they are gifts to the people of God to help us to live as our best selves, to help us live lives pleasing to God.

We are reminded that Christianity is a relational faith, however hard people have tried to make it one of rules and behavior. At the heart of our faith is relationship: relationship with God and with one another — and those relationships are founded on love.