NOT FENCES, BUT SIGNPOSTS

Homily for July 28^th, 2017: Exodus 20:1-17.

          Our first reading gave us the Ten Commandments. Are they out of date? Many say they are. Take the first Commandment, for instance, which forbids idols. “We don’t have idols any more,’ many people say. ‘That was just back in Greek and Roman times.’

In reality the worship of idols is still flourishing. They just have different names. Today’s false gods are pleasure, power, possessions, and honor. None of those things is bad. They become false gods only when we put them at the center of our lives. The person who craves any one of those false gods will always be frustrated and unhappy. Why? Because he’ll never be able to get enough.

          What about honoring our fathers and mothers? Many teenagers do all they can to break away from their parents. Do they find happiness? The question almost answers itself.

          “You shall not take the name of the Lord, your God, in vain.” When was the last time you heart God’s name spoken with awe and reverence?

          “Keep holy the Sabbath day.” Sundays today are hardly different from any other day. 

“You shall not kill,” the next commandment says. Killing of unborn children is widespread today. Those who defend abortion claim it is one of a woman’s sacred rights. When we defend the unborn, we’re called bigots and haters of women.

          “You shall not commit adultery.” We do so whenever we use the precious and God-given gift of sexuality outside of marriage, which is the lifelong union of one man and one woman. The Lord God alone knows the amount of human unhappiness caused by our misuse of sexuality. 

          As for stealing, bearing false witness, and coveting or desiring what others have, and we do not – there is no need to recite the statistics.

            Too often we think of the Commandments as fences, to hem us in. In reality they are signposts, pointing to the Giver of the Commandments, who alone can satisfy the deepest desires of our hearts.