How many commandments did you break today?
The First Commandment comes on the scene without much fan fare not unlike the opening declaration of God’s Existence found in Gen. 1:1 “In the beginning God created the Heaven and Earth”.
The First Commandment declares our God is one God and demands our love and attention. No explanation of who God is, or why we should be concerned with Him. But because He is … is all the explanation required to demand our undivided attention. The creator has no need for His creation. The creation however is dependent on the creator.
Three things come to mind as I have reflected on the First Commandment.
God created a covenant with Israel with the commandments
All sin is the result of the breaking of the First Commandment
God has provided the means through the sacraments and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit for us to keep the commandments
The Ten Commandments are God’s love letter to this creation. But they are much more that a love letter they are a covenant relationship between God and Israel. As a protestant I have viewed the dialogue from the negative “Tho shall not” position. But the commandants and in particular the first commandment declare God’s love for us. I am the Lord found in scriptures and at the beginning and end of his commandments.
You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve. Hear, O Israel …
God reached out, God expressed his love first. This action requires a response. The writings of the Old Testament reveal the nation of Israel’s response to God from the exodus the prophets, kings and finally to His son. The love God requires that we accept existence.
Atheism is a denial of the existence of God. I have met several atheists and I am not convinced by their arguments or actions that they actually deny God’s existence but rather use the argument to ignore God.
If my assumption is true our world has as abundance of people who choose to ignore God, call them what you will. We are called to love God and many ignore the call and the God who is calling.
We are to love with all out heart and soul and strength.
Many people who acknowledge God’s existence are guilty of ignoring Him. Calling upon Him when a need arises. Sickness, death or a natural disaster bring calls for God’s immediate assistance.
God is asking a great deal more from us. He is seeking a deep devotional love and relationship from His creation. But we continue to serve the gods of this world.
Materialism a desire to have or accumulate possessions and wealth. This attraction to things causes many to work instead of worship. Malls and stores open on Sunday without regards to God’s call to worship and rest.
We can elevate the most mundane of possessions to the place of prominence. How God must grieve over our choices of things to take His place.
Our moral life has its source in faith in God who reveals his love to us. The greatest hindrance to putting God first and that is what he expects is ME. The face reflected back at me in the mirror is the biggest hindrance in placing God first.
We are to nourish and protect our faith with prudence and vigilance, and reject everything that is opposed to it .
Rejecting everything opposed to faith. I will either reject the things that keep me from God or the God who has provided all the possessions I hold so dear. The unemployed pray for gainfully employment and then work day and night, forgetting the God who provided the work.
We seek the love and companionship of others, family, spouse and friends. Only to allow the love expressed toward them to take the place of the creator of love. Rest, vacation and leisure time are all valid and required to live a balanced healthy existence. But we must reject the notion that these activities take the place of worship and time devoted to God.
A place on the lake visited on Sundays, a golf course packed with people seeking quiet and relaxation. We need to set our priorities and goals with God in His proper place. Seek Ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness and all these things will be given to you as well. What things will be given; Food, clothing and drink.
The present sinful condition of the world can be attributed to the godlessness of those who profess to know God and don’t follow Him. God is calling us to place Him first to love Him with all our heart and soul.
All sin is the direct result of the breaking of the first commandment. If God had His proper place in our hearts the sin that haunts us would be diminished.
God has challenged us to put Him first. It is plain to see we have not in mass headed God’s call. What do we need to do to comply with the first commandment?
Acknowledge God’s existence and proper place in our world.
Love God above all things.
Love our neighbor as ourselves.
Consider a world where these three statements were true even if only for a few hours.
If God had His rightful place we would be good to ourselves and others. My mind would be free from sin, doubt and fear.
What one thing would I be able to do for God if I was not afraid? God never intended for us to be live in fear. But we are fearful due to sin in our lives.
To love God with all my heart, and mind; the words imply completeness. No small corner saved from Gods influence. No hiding place or secret room. So God must be master of our very being. We must surrender our hearts to Him without reservation.
Let’s consider the complete surrender of our hearts and minds to God. What does it mean? What does it look like?
A changed world must begin with one person, loving and serving God in their corner of the world. The church has been commanded to go into the entire world and preach the Gospel. We are the catalyst God uses to save the world one soul at a time.
The calling of the disciples in the gospel of Matthew impresses me in its simplicity. Jesus called and one by one these unlearned fishermen responded. They had a profound influence on their world and that influence has reached out over thousand years to me in my world.
A long line of the faithful is to witness to the need for and the availability of God’s love.
As a convert to the Church I appreciate the loving sacrifice made by many to proclaim the truth found in scripture and tradition of the Catholic Church.
The deposit of faith held by the faithful down through the years. The salvation of the world, salvation of the soul is found in the Catholic Church. Truths concerning God and salvation are found in all religions. But the truth from Peter to John Paul II has been entrusted to the Catholic Church. The celebration of the Mass is a moment frozen in time when we experienced the love of God as intended from the beginning. We if only for a moment surrender ourselves; we see God as He is. We say AMEN at the consecration of the Host. We receive the body of Christ, His divinity, we are Christ like. We love God with all our hearts, minds and souls and our neighbor as ourselves.
This transformation is possible through the reception of the body of Christ. The sacrament of the Eucharist, and outward visible sign of the application of inward grace. A physical sign of an invisible reality.
The First Commandment is fulfilled in our lives through the sacraments, specifically the reception of Holly Communion.
I have reflected many times on the last six years. My reception into the Catholic Church. What was it specifically that brought me to Mass, the OCIA process and the Easter Vigil? Desire to love and serve God? The opportunity to experience the symbols so prevalent in the Catholic Church? Finding a spiritual power through the Holy Spirit in the Sacraments? When I narrow my search it is the power of God in the Sacraments that help me succeed in living out the First Commandment.
The commandments are not negative stop signs on my faith journey but green lights to experience Gods love as I turn from things that separate me from God and say “yes” to God, to love Him with all my hear and soul through the Sacraments.
The power of the Eucharist has been and is being revealed to me on a regular basis. The Eucharist enables me to say yes I love God and my neighbor. Because I am full of the divinity of Jesus Christ. At this time I cannot fully understand all the theological implications of the Eucharist but I know the difference it has made in my life.
I am not capable in and of myself to meet the demand of God in the First Commandment. But God had provided all I need to succeed. God has provided the sacraments, the Church, the Scriptures and the people of God to assist me, encourage me as I strive to meet the demands of the First Commandment.
To keep the commandment is to correspond to the wisdom and the will of God as expressed in His work of creation. When I keep the commandments I respond to the wisdom of God. It is this wisdom that created the commandment in the first place. God desired a relationship with His creation. He does not need or require such a relationship but wants what is best for us. A relationship with the Creator – what could be better!
Jesus acknowledged the 10 Commandments but he also showed the power of the Spirit at work in the letter of the law. He preached a righteousness which exceeds that of the Scribes and Pharisees as well as that of the Gentiles, He unfolded all the demands of the commandments. “You Shall Love your neighbor as yourself.” Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.
If you love the Lord your God, by walking in his ways, and by keeping His commandments, then you shall love and multiply. God gave the commandments for our edification. The ten words sum up and proclaim Gods law. They also proclaim that God loved us first. The Ten Commandments have occupied a place of predominance since St. Augustine.
The commandments deal with loving God and neighbor. The first three deal with Loving God the last seven with loving our neighbor. “From the beginning God had implanted in the heart of man the precepts of the natural law. Then He was content to remind him of them. This was the dialogue. We are obligated to comply with the Law of God. The commandments are engraved on our hearts.
Apart from me you can do nothing. God makes demands and then provides the means for us to meet His obligations. Adoration is the first act of the virtue of religion. TO adore God is to acknowledge Him as God, as creator and savior, the Lord and Master of everything that exist, as infinite and merciful love.
All men are bond to seek the truth, especially in what concerns God and His church and to embrace it and hold on to it as they come to know it.
The revelation of the reality of Christ sharing His body and blood with the Church is the one doctrine that brought me to Catholicism. The fact that God is intimately involved in revealing the truth through the church was also important to my conversion. A Baptist sole source of authority is the Scripture. Thank God for tradition and on going revelation. The Bible is God’s revelation of Himself to mankind but it is not the only revelation.
The commandments push us to seek the truth, who is my neighbor? And once found we embrace it and live it. The scripture tells us of men and women of faith who followed God and loved their neighbor.
We gain insight and strength from reading about Abraham and his only son Isaac. Father we have wood and a knife but where is the sacrifice. Abraham responded “God will provide”. People caught in the snare of sin, the woman about to be stoned, Jesus said
“He who has no sin cast the first stone”. Then to the woman “GO and sin no more”. Truth revealed must be embraced and taken to heart.
God had placed his servants in my path to reveal truths to me with love and compassion. Truths that the commandments are expressions of love straight from the heart of God and not a list of Thou Shall Not's to make me miserable when I fall into the misfortune of sin. But valentines expressing God’s love for me.
Is the law valid in our day and time? Of course it is. The precept of loving God and our fellowman never goes out of date, but we are in the dispensation of Grace aren’t we? True we have been in a Grace period from the moment of our birth. The law points to our need of salvation and the inability of the law to save us.
We must love God with all our heart, mind and soul. We must love our neighbor as ourselves. Jesus said “Let not your heart be troubled” don’t be concerned with the concerns of day to day living.
God demands a great deal from his creation, but He has given so much more. I love God and my neighbor not out of obligation but from heart felt gratitude for all the blessings I have received. Not the least of which is the opportunity to receive Christ in the Eucharist and to worship and serve God in the one Holy and Apostolic Church, the Catholic Church.
If God’s revelation to me would cease today I am blessed by His body and His church. When I return to my seat after receiving communion and kneel down and pray I lift my head and watch my brothers and sisters receive Christ. As they make their way to their seats I see Jesus in them as they pass my pew. At that moment the Church is filled with the Love of God and His people are prepared to leave the mass to present Jesus to the world.
“This Mass has ended let us go forth from this place to Love and serve the Lord”, and the people respond –
THANKS BE TO GOD
The First Commandment declares our God is one God and demands our love and attention. No explanation of who God is, or why we should be concerned with Him. But because He is … is all the explanation required to demand our undivided attention. The creator has no need for His creation. The creation however is dependent on the creator.
Three things come to mind as I have reflected on the First Commandment.
God created a covenant with Israel with the commandments
All sin is the result of the breaking of the First Commandment
God has provided the means through the sacraments and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit for us to keep the commandments
The Ten Commandments are God’s love letter to this creation. But they are much more that a love letter they are a covenant relationship between God and Israel. As a protestant I have viewed the dialogue from the negative “Tho shall not” position. But the commandants and in particular the first commandment declare God’s love for us. I am the Lord found in scriptures and at the beginning and end of his commandments.
You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve. Hear, O Israel …
God reached out, God expressed his love first. This action requires a response. The writings of the Old Testament reveal the nation of Israel’s response to God from the exodus the prophets, kings and finally to His son. The love God requires that we accept existence.
Atheism is a denial of the existence of God. I have met several atheists and I am not convinced by their arguments or actions that they actually deny God’s existence but rather use the argument to ignore God.
If my assumption is true our world has as abundance of people who choose to ignore God, call them what you will. We are called to love God and many ignore the call and the God who is calling.
We are to love with all out heart and soul and strength.
Many people who acknowledge God’s existence are guilty of ignoring Him. Calling upon Him when a need arises. Sickness, death or a natural disaster bring calls for God’s immediate assistance.
God is asking a great deal more from us. He is seeking a deep devotional love and relationship from His creation. But we continue to serve the gods of this world.
Materialism a desire to have or accumulate possessions and wealth. This attraction to things causes many to work instead of worship. Malls and stores open on Sunday without regards to God’s call to worship and rest.
We can elevate the most mundane of possessions to the place of prominence. How God must grieve over our choices of things to take His place.
Our moral life has its source in faith in God who reveals his love to us. The greatest hindrance to putting God first and that is what he expects is ME. The face reflected back at me in the mirror is the biggest hindrance in placing God first.
We are to nourish and protect our faith with prudence and vigilance, and reject everything that is opposed to it .
Rejecting everything opposed to faith. I will either reject the things that keep me from God or the God who has provided all the possessions I hold so dear. The unemployed pray for gainfully employment and then work day and night, forgetting the God who provided the work.
We seek the love and companionship of others, family, spouse and friends. Only to allow the love expressed toward them to take the place of the creator of love. Rest, vacation and leisure time are all valid and required to live a balanced healthy existence. But we must reject the notion that these activities take the place of worship and time devoted to God.
A place on the lake visited on Sundays, a golf course packed with people seeking quiet and relaxation. We need to set our priorities and goals with God in His proper place. Seek Ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness and all these things will be given to you as well. What things will be given; Food, clothing and drink.
The present sinful condition of the world can be attributed to the godlessness of those who profess to know God and don’t follow Him. God is calling us to place Him first to love Him with all our heart and soul.
All sin is the direct result of the breaking of the first commandment. If God had His proper place in our hearts the sin that haunts us would be diminished.
God has challenged us to put Him first. It is plain to see we have not in mass headed God’s call. What do we need to do to comply with the first commandment?
Acknowledge God’s existence and proper place in our world.
Love God above all things.
Love our neighbor as ourselves.
Consider a world where these three statements were true even if only for a few hours.
If God had His rightful place we would be good to ourselves and others. My mind would be free from sin, doubt and fear.
What one thing would I be able to do for God if I was not afraid? God never intended for us to be live in fear. But we are fearful due to sin in our lives.
To love God with all my heart, and mind; the words imply completeness. No small corner saved from Gods influence. No hiding place or secret room. So God must be master of our very being. We must surrender our hearts to Him without reservation.
Let’s consider the complete surrender of our hearts and minds to God. What does it mean? What does it look like?
A changed world must begin with one person, loving and serving God in their corner of the world. The church has been commanded to go into the entire world and preach the Gospel. We are the catalyst God uses to save the world one soul at a time.
The calling of the disciples in the gospel of Matthew impresses me in its simplicity. Jesus called and one by one these unlearned fishermen responded. They had a profound influence on their world and that influence has reached out over thousand years to me in my world.
A long line of the faithful is to witness to the need for and the availability of God’s love.
As a convert to the Church I appreciate the loving sacrifice made by many to proclaim the truth found in scripture and tradition of the Catholic Church.
The deposit of faith held by the faithful down through the years. The salvation of the world, salvation of the soul is found in the Catholic Church. Truths concerning God and salvation are found in all religions. But the truth from Peter to John Paul II has been entrusted to the Catholic Church. The celebration of the Mass is a moment frozen in time when we experienced the love of God as intended from the beginning. We if only for a moment surrender ourselves; we see God as He is. We say AMEN at the consecration of the Host. We receive the body of Christ, His divinity, we are Christ like. We love God with all our hearts, minds and souls and our neighbor as ourselves.
This transformation is possible through the reception of the body of Christ. The sacrament of the Eucharist, and outward visible sign of the application of inward grace. A physical sign of an invisible reality.
The First Commandment is fulfilled in our lives through the sacraments, specifically the reception of Holly Communion.
I have reflected many times on the last six years. My reception into the Catholic Church. What was it specifically that brought me to Mass, the OCIA process and the Easter Vigil? Desire to love and serve God? The opportunity to experience the symbols so prevalent in the Catholic Church? Finding a spiritual power through the Holy Spirit in the Sacraments? When I narrow my search it is the power of God in the Sacraments that help me succeed in living out the First Commandment.
The commandments are not negative stop signs on my faith journey but green lights to experience Gods love as I turn from things that separate me from God and say “yes” to God, to love Him with all my hear and soul through the Sacraments.
The power of the Eucharist has been and is being revealed to me on a regular basis. The Eucharist enables me to say yes I love God and my neighbor. Because I am full of the divinity of Jesus Christ. At this time I cannot fully understand all the theological implications of the Eucharist but I know the difference it has made in my life.
I am not capable in and of myself to meet the demand of God in the First Commandment. But God had provided all I need to succeed. God has provided the sacraments, the Church, the Scriptures and the people of God to assist me, encourage me as I strive to meet the demands of the First Commandment.
To keep the commandment is to correspond to the wisdom and the will of God as expressed in His work of creation. When I keep the commandments I respond to the wisdom of God. It is this wisdom that created the commandment in the first place. God desired a relationship with His creation. He does not need or require such a relationship but wants what is best for us. A relationship with the Creator – what could be better!
Jesus acknowledged the 10 Commandments but he also showed the power of the Spirit at work in the letter of the law. He preached a righteousness which exceeds that of the Scribes and Pharisees as well as that of the Gentiles, He unfolded all the demands of the commandments. “You Shall Love your neighbor as yourself.” Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.
If you love the Lord your God, by walking in his ways, and by keeping His commandments, then you shall love and multiply. God gave the commandments for our edification. The ten words sum up and proclaim Gods law. They also proclaim that God loved us first. The Ten Commandments have occupied a place of predominance since St. Augustine.
The commandments deal with loving God and neighbor. The first three deal with Loving God the last seven with loving our neighbor. “From the beginning God had implanted in the heart of man the precepts of the natural law. Then He was content to remind him of them. This was the dialogue. We are obligated to comply with the Law of God. The commandments are engraved on our hearts.
Apart from me you can do nothing. God makes demands and then provides the means for us to meet His obligations. Adoration is the first act of the virtue of religion. TO adore God is to acknowledge Him as God, as creator and savior, the Lord and Master of everything that exist, as infinite and merciful love.
All men are bond to seek the truth, especially in what concerns God and His church and to embrace it and hold on to it as they come to know it.
The revelation of the reality of Christ sharing His body and blood with the Church is the one doctrine that brought me to Catholicism. The fact that God is intimately involved in revealing the truth through the church was also important to my conversion. A Baptist sole source of authority is the Scripture. Thank God for tradition and on going revelation. The Bible is God’s revelation of Himself to mankind but it is not the only revelation.
The commandments push us to seek the truth, who is my neighbor? And once found we embrace it and live it. The scripture tells us of men and women of faith who followed God and loved their neighbor.
We gain insight and strength from reading about Abraham and his only son Isaac. Father we have wood and a knife but where is the sacrifice. Abraham responded “God will provide”. People caught in the snare of sin, the woman about to be stoned, Jesus said
“He who has no sin cast the first stone”. Then to the woman “GO and sin no more”. Truth revealed must be embraced and taken to heart.
God had placed his servants in my path to reveal truths to me with love and compassion. Truths that the commandments are expressions of love straight from the heart of God and not a list of Thou Shall Not's to make me miserable when I fall into the misfortune of sin. But valentines expressing God’s love for me.
Is the law valid in our day and time? Of course it is. The precept of loving God and our fellowman never goes out of date, but we are in the dispensation of Grace aren’t we? True we have been in a Grace period from the moment of our birth. The law points to our need of salvation and the inability of the law to save us.
We must love God with all our heart, mind and soul. We must love our neighbor as ourselves. Jesus said “Let not your heart be troubled” don’t be concerned with the concerns of day to day living.
God demands a great deal from his creation, but He has given so much more. I love God and my neighbor not out of obligation but from heart felt gratitude for all the blessings I have received. Not the least of which is the opportunity to receive Christ in the Eucharist and to worship and serve God in the one Holy and Apostolic Church, the Catholic Church.
If God’s revelation to me would cease today I am blessed by His body and His church. When I return to my seat after receiving communion and kneel down and pray I lift my head and watch my brothers and sisters receive Christ. As they make their way to their seats I see Jesus in them as they pass my pew. At that moment the Church is filled with the Love of God and His people are prepared to leave the mass to present Jesus to the world.
“This Mass has ended let us go forth from this place to Love and serve the Lord”, and the people respond –
THANKS BE TO GOD
