April 8, 2016

“‘Honor your father and your mother, as the Lord your God commanded you, that your days may be long, and that it may go well with you in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.” Deuteronomy 5:16

“What does this mean?
We should fear and love God so that we do not despise or anger our parents and other authorities, but honor them, serve and obey them, love and cherish them”. (Martin Luther’s explanation to the Fourth Commandment – Small Catechism)

“To this estate of fatherhood and motherhood God has given the special distinction above all estates that are beneath it that He not simply commands us to love our parents, but to honor them. For with respect to brothers, sisters, and our neighbors in general He commands nothing higher than that we love them, so that He separates and distinguishes father and mother above all other persons upon earth, and places them at His side. For it is a far higher thing to honor than to love one, inasmuch as it comprehends not only love, but also modesty, humility, and deference as to a majesty there hidden, and requires not only that they be addressed kindly and with reverence, but, most of all, that both in heart and with the body we so act as to show that we esteem them very highly, and that, next to God, we regard them as the very highest. For one whom we are to honor from the heart we must truly regard as high and great.” (Martin Luther’s explanation to the Fourth Commandment – Large Catechism)

“For it is a far higher thing to honor than to love…” So says Martin Luther in the Large Catechism. To honor is to show humility and deference – sort of like we show honor to a President of a country, or the Royals. This is the sort of approach we are to take to our father and mother. Now, we do live in an era where so much of what it means to be family, to have a family unit, has changed. So many children today live with only one parent – or have to travel between two different family units because their “birth” parents have separated and remarried. Honoring our parents is so much more of a challenge today than it was 500 years ago – or 2000 years ago. And still we are commanded to “Honor” our Father and Mother. Remember, commandments are supposed to be hard – if they weren’t, G-d would not have needed to make them commands.

Pastor Dave

April 7, 2016

“‘Observe the Sabbath day, to keep it holy, as the Lord your God commanded you. 13 Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 14 but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work…” Deuteronomy 5:12-14

“What does this mean?
We should fear and love God so that we do not despise preaching and His Word, but hold it sacred and gladly hear and learn it.” (Martin Luther’s explanation to the Third Commandment – Small Catechism)

“But to grasp a Christian meaning for the simple as to what God requires in this commandment, note that we keep holy days not for the sake of intelligent and learned Christians (for they have no need of it [holy days]), but first of all for bodily causes and necessities, which nature teaches and requires; for the common people, man-servants and maid-servants, who have been attending to their work and trade the whole week, that for a day they may retire in order to rest and be refreshed.

Secondly, and most especially, that on such day of rest (since we can get no other opportunity) freedom and time be taken to attend divine service, so that we come together to hear and treat of God’s Word, and then to praise God, to sing and pray.” (Martin Luther’s explanation to the Third Commandment — Large Catechism)

Keeping the Sabbath can have two distinct meanings. It can mean to make sure that you are attending a worship service on a regular basis, no matter what day of the week. As long as you are regularly attending worship, you are meeting part of this commandment. But it also carries the intent for each one of us…people… who have been attending to their work and trade the whole week, that for a day they may retire in order to rest and be refreshed.” In other words, Sabbath time is time spent resting, refreshing, and finding ways to recharge our batteries. As a pastor, I know what it is like to feel stressed and tired most of the time. We all have to carve out time in our days, and our weeks, to have some Sabbath – that is outside of our worship time.

Pastor Dave