Sermon Notes for 10/2 repeat notes

We just had a unit on Judaism in the class I work with at Lewis and Clark on comparative religion. The author properly emphasizes Torah, the law, God’s teaching/leading as a core principle in Jewish thought. All Christians are heirs to that thought as we follow the Jewish Jesus of Nazareth. Torah is God’s presence in teaching,the wisdom embodied in the 10 Commandments and Scripture. On this World Communion Sunday we ingest God’s teaching, God’s emblem Jesus Christ into our very lives. Communion is a Sinai moment for Christians.

his morning, let’s pick one of the ten words, not taking name in vain-name has power, presence and blessing-handle with care it used to say on packages-We don;t shape God; God shapes us. The framework of OT ethics and often secular ethics as well presents a trajectory, resonance, Torah is a blessing blessing =putting my name on Israel -real vows commit us to action-(see Calvin 2.8.8)
Long part of catechises- Westminster takes pain to speak of positive and negative in them
twice, spoken directly, in the ark

The commandment about the name of God has been thoroughly domesticated and is often be limited warning against vulgar language,
Claiming god as behind an endeavor (Miller p.100) has become popular in the language or ordinary folks and in the language of candidates and occupants of office, -profane, make common- link to the holy One. Sin is not reverencing the Name as vain/empty, as if it has no meaning, no purpose in its power, as if god were nothing a delusion -words of no substance and right speech in Buddhism name opens up the character of god ha shem, the name know entire Scripture and are able to counsel, help, comfort, judge, and make decisions in spiritual and temporal matters.” right worship questions of order, of simplicity, of wholesale adoption of cultural practices- The 10 Commandments reflect the wisdom of the ages, across may cultures, the basics of human life. It all flows from the great commandment to love god body and soul together. this morning as Paul Lehmann said, we cannot act as if loving God can be sundered from our words, our lips, our breath.

Let’s link the use of the Holy Name with worship. One of the admirable things about this church body is its commitment to , let’s call it, elevated worship. Liturgy, music, and the worship space itself all aim at a sense of reverence in being in the presence of the Holy. Reverence is an attitude in short suppl;y in contemporary American culture, so our attempt itself is more than a bit counter-cultural. I would maintain that our attempt is right and proper however. Patrick Miller has done the church a great service with a fairly new publication of a commentary on the 10 Commandments links the name of God directly to how god’s name is to be rightly used, and that is in worship. no wonder then, we have a certain solemnity in intoning the divine Name, especially when we celebrating lifted up to the very precincts of heaven by god’s own spirit. In worship we cross a threshold to the powerful presence of god, and in marking that crossing our language and music are formal to reflect that charged situation. Let’s extend it. At the very least, using god’s name properly means that we swear truthfully to it in a courtroom setting. lawyers will tell their clients to be polite, civil, restrained, and dressed up. Here we struggle to put the the truth of our lives and our poor attempts to catch a glimpse of the divine in our full liturgy.