This week we explored a very, very well-known story – the story of the Ten Commandments. While these are really important, we also talked about the stuff that comes after. There are commandments for the people in addition to the 10. There are 603 other commandments. These commandments were about how to live.
Remember, the people found themselves in the desert having escaped Egypt. Once food and water was provided, the people were left with one question: now what?
For more details, check out the rest of the sermon:
Now, if you’ve listened to the sermon or were in church, there was a “pause in the sermon. That pause was to explain what I didn’t get a chance to explain: the setting.
Exodus 19 sets the scene for the receiving of the commandments: a mountain. And it made clear that in this particular story, it is not a clear day for a hike and conversation. No, the mountain is covered in smokes and earthquakes. God is going to show up and it is important that the people are fully attentive.
Yet, this idea poses a problem. Aren’t we trying to escape from notions of the fiery wrath God who sits on a throne and rules with fear? So, how do we reconcile this story?
Let’s focus on the word story. These are stories. These are stories written down after 100’s of years of oral tradition. These are stories that people tell around the campfire and to their children. We could believe these stories literally happen, or we could read them as something else – mythology.
Now I don’t think mythology is a bad word at all. Myth teaches and helps us understand.
Now, if you’re writing a story, what makes for a good story? Well it certainly doesn’t hurt if you have some drama, tension, suspense. If you want to highlight a specific part of the story, maybe you add some elements to help remember it or highlight significance.
Let me me give you an example. Let’s say you have a movie, like Mary Poppins. Depending on how you cut and edit the movie you can achieve different effect. I found this trailer for Mary Poppins that someone cut in a very different way. Add some horror music and you get a very different story, right?
So when we read these incredible stories, read them with a grain of salt. They certainly add flavor to the story. Read them as myth. Remember that we are trying to figure out how God works in the work. Remember that these stories are really important and so emphasis is added.
Frankly, I don’t think this cheapens the story at all – in fact, I think it enhances.
Questions to Ponder:
How will you live out love this week?
How do you think Chemainus United Church can love our neighbor and love God moving forward into the wilderness of the 21st century?