The 10 Commandments: God's gift of love to us

Today, we conclude our series on the 10 Commandments.

We have now discussed each of them, starting with #10, and ending yesterday with #1.  I hope you have found the reflections worthwhile.   Here they are again.  We should have these all memorized!

1.       I am the LORD your God:
you shall not have
strange Gods before me.

2.       You shall not take
the name of the LORD your God in vain.

3.       Remember to keep holy the LORD'S Day.

4.       Honor your mother and your father.

5.       You shall not kill.

6.       You shall not commit adultery.

7.       You shall not steal.

8.       You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.

9.       You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife.

10.   You shall not covet your neighbor’s goods.

In the very first post in this series, which introduced the 10 Commandments as a whole (http://jimscatholicblog.blogspot.com/2017/09/the-top-ten-commandments-of-all-time.html) , we made some points about them as a whole, some of which are worth repeating here as we close out this series.

1)      They form an organic whole.  The Catechism (#2069) has this excellent quote which reflects this reality: One cannot honor another person without blessing God his Creator. One cannot adore God without loving all men, his creatures.

2)      They are part of the covenant between God and his chosen people (which now includes all of us through Baptism).  In a covenant, God promises to be with his people for their benefit, and the people, out of love, commit themselves to do what we says out of love and gratitude for Him.  Therefore, the 10 Commandments are not a legal entity; they are a statement of love, like a parent giving his or her children guidelines out of love and care for them.

3)      Although the Commandments are not a legal document, they are a revelation of the law of God, which is the Wisdom of God, which is the Second Person of the Trinity, which is Christ.  The law, far from being oppressive, is liberating.  When we discover the law, we discover God, the source and end of our lives.  For more details on the law, here is a link to my recent post on it http://jimscatholicblog.blogspot.com/2017/09/the-law.html.    A more detailed description of the 10 Commandments place in the law can be found in the aforementioned opening post in this series.

4)      Finally, they are obligatory on every man and woman, for as the Catechism (#2072) says, The Ten Commandments are engraved by God in the human heart.

I would like to end this series with a few quotes from Our Lord in the Gospels that show how much value he placed in the 10 Commandments.   The 10 Commandments were not done away with by Christ, contrary to some who want to place the “love” of Jesus against the “law” of the Old Testament.   If Jesus did not want not do away with them, then certainly neither should we.

Then someone came to him and said, “Teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life?” And he said to him, “Why do you ask me about what is good? There is only one who is good. If you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments.”  He said to him, “Which ones?” And Jesus said, “You shall not murder; You shall not commit adultery; You shall not steal; You shall not bear false witness; Honor your father and mother; also, You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”  The young man said to him, “I have kept all these;^[ what do I still lack?”  Jesus said to him, “If you wish to be perfect, go, sell your possessions, and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.”  When the young man heard this word, he went away grieving, for he had many possessions. (Matthew 19:16-22)  Following the Commandments may not be all there is to gaining eternal life, but one cannot obtain eternal life without following them.

Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets; I have come not to abolish but to fulfill. For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth pass away, not one letter, not one stroke of a letter, will pass from the law until all is accomplished.  Therefore, whoever breaks^[ one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, will be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.  For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. (Matthew 5:17-20)    This may sound harsh and strict, but we must recall that through the Holy Spirit, we have the grace to live the law heroically.  God provides the means!

When the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together, and one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question to test him. “Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?”  He said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the greatest and first commandment.  And a second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’  On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.” (Matthew 22: 34-48)   This is the way Our Lord summarizes the 10 Commandments.  Commandments 1-3, the ones that deal with loving God, are summarized in his first sentence.  Commandments 4-10, which deal with loving neighbor, are summarized in his second.  The 10 Commandments are indeed great!

May our lives, by the way we live them, be a summary of the 10 Commandments!