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In touch

Up-to-the-minute jumping-off points for sermons, linking the reading to the latest news and global issues

Laws mean love

God’s laws come from his love for us, helping us focus on the right things (Exodus 20:1-17)

 

Context

• Everton FC have been docked 6 points (down from 10 originally) for breaking Premier League Financial rules.
• Accusations of antisemitism and Islamophobia have been thrown and an MP, Lee Anderson, was suspended this week as the boundaries between acceptable opinion and oppressive hate speech continue to be debated.
• The ongoing discussion about how the UK is impacted by EU law continued.

 

Ideas for sermons or interactive talks

• The Premier League have introduced rules around ‘financial fair play’ and Everton FC have been the first club to fall foul of these. Portsmouth and Leeds are just two of the clubs who have historically overspent and found themselves crashing down the football pyramid. Other clubs have been served with winding-up petitions over non-payment of debts and the clubs of Bury and Macclesfield simply ceased to exist. Fans of Everton have been crying foul and complaining that other football clubs are equally guilty and perhaps other clubs will be punished in due course, but we saw this January the first transfer window where clubs were holding back from overspending not because of the risk of future failure but because of the risk of punishment from the Premier League. The rules are starting to impact the way these businesses (often a football club is a significant employer in its local community) are run to make them more sustainable and less likely to blow up.

• As people, our first reaction to rules is often to deride them or to push back against them but in this, and with the Ten Commandments, we can choose to step back and see a bigger picture. The Ten Commandments are not, as they are often portrayed, a list of ‘Thou shalt not’s. Instead, they are guidelines to help God’s people to live in peace and to work well as communities. Occasionally it is helpful to take that step back and appreciate that God’s law is a sign of his love as opposed to any desire to control us.

• Whatever your political opinion, there has been a struggle in recent weeks to distinguish between those expressing a valid opinion and those who have crossed a line to condemn and generalise a whole group of people. The suspension of MP Lee Anderson is the most high-profile example. The Ten Commandments begin with identifying God as our focus in worship – there can be no other. This rule means that all our thoughts about how we live and what we do begin with God, his authority and nature. When we stop making God our focus, our gaze shifts to ourselves and we can become more concerned with our own needs and preferences. We can start defending ourselves and attacking others to ensure we continue to feel safe. The response to wrong actions in others isn’t to fight back immediately but to turn to God as the creator and sustainer of the world. It is God’s right to judge all human action – our responsibility is to keep our eyes on him and to ensure that we ourselves are living well with those around us.

• A friend has recently taken up a new sport called ‘pickleball’ – a form of short tennis with solid bats and plastic balls that move slower than normal tennis balls. It is mostly played as doubles which makes it quite a sociable activity but it has meant learning the rules as he has played. One rule is ‘you can’t volley in the kitchen’ which led to the odd shouts of ‘Get out of the kitchen!’ from his partner. The ‘kitchen’ is the area next to the net where it is easiest to hit the ball before it bounces past your opponent. To make the game slower and more tactical, a rule was introduced that you can only volley from behind the ‘kitchen’. It is taking my friend a while to adjust but he has told me that he can see now the value of the rule. Often rules are there to help us to engage well with others, to look beyond our own immediate preferences. The Ten Commandments can fulfil a similar function helping us to live well with others rather than focusing on our own needs and desires.

 

Questions for discussion

• Can you think of any good rules that help you in your daily life?
• Are there any rules you think could be done away with?
• If you had to introduce a rule for a new community, what would it be?
• What links can you see between God’s laws and God’s love?

The Revd Steve Taylor is joint-vicar of St James Alperton near Wembley. He shares the job with his wife, Ali, and shares his house with their two children, two cats and numerous fish.

 

Check-in

Connecting faith with everyday, real-life issues for young people

This weekend, the BRIT Awards take place, celebrating and recognising songs and artists from the UK and around the world who have made an impact on the music industry in the last year. In the category ‘International Song of the Year’, one of the nominees is ‘What was I made for?’ by Billie Eilish originally made famous in the Barbie movie.

In the film, the song plays as Barbie transforms from a doll to a person. It captures Barbie’s feelings, wondering what it is she is meant to do next, asking herself ‘What was I made for?’ It’s a question often asked as we try to make sense of our identity and purpose in the world.  How would you respond to that question? Around 400 years ago, a gathering of people from churches across Britain met in the ‘Westminster Assembly’ and asked that same question: What are we human beings made for? They concluded that our main purpose is ‘to glorify God, and to enjoy him forever’.  If that’s what we are made for – to glorify and enjoy God – how do we do that? What does a life that glorifies God look like?

When Moses led the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt, they faced this same challenge. How could they live in a way that glorified God who had freed them? In Exodus 20:1-17, God speaks to Moses and gives the people a set of commandments to live by – guidelines for living life the right way. It would be easy to read this list of rules and instructions negatively, but to a people who had lived in slavery, they must have come as great news. Rules like ‘Do not murder’ and ‘Do not steal’ help guarantee everyone can live in safety, while a rule like ‘Remember the sabbath day’ guarantees everyone a day of rest, which they wouldn’t have enjoyed in Egypt. These commandments help everyone to remember ‘what they were made for’ and still offer us a guide to living in a way which glorifies God today. What difference can these ancient rules make to your life today?  What commandments help you answer the question ‘What was I made for?’

Darren Philip is National Stewardship Consultant with the Church of Scotland where he writes resources for intergenerational ministry.

 

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