WORSHIP GOD ALONE - by Revd Gilbert Wong

Texts: Deuteronomy 26:1-11; Luke 4:1-13
25 February 2007

All-stage hook

Jesus went into the desert after he had been baptised, and had a very hard time out there being tempted.  We all know what it feels like to be tempted.  It’s when we want something or want to do something which we know is wrong.  Jesus was tempted to turn stones into bread so he could eat them, but he knew that this would be using his power in a selfish way.  He remembered that he loved God and he loved other people (remembering the two commandments) Temptations use truth but distort it.

Worship

Worship means worth-ship, showing what is worth most in your life.  You don’t have to say any prayers when you worship.  Your actions speak louder than words in proclaiming what’s worth most to you.  Someone who polishes their car  on a Sunday can rightly be said to be worshipping their car, whether or not they get down on their knees before it – they’re showing that their car’s worth more to them than God is.  In the story of the temptation of Jesus, which we’ve read in St Luke’s version today, the Devil’s shown tempting Jesus to worship him.  In effect, Jesus was asked to show that the Devil’s worth more to him than his Father is, because the Devil can give him earthly power and authority.  It was a real temptation, because Jesus really wanted the power to bring peace to this troubled world. But he realized that you can’t bring about God’s ends by using the Devil’s means.  Peace can’t be bought about by force.  So Jesus quoted, or paraphrased, the first two of the Ten Commandments: 

‘I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery; you shall have no other gods before me.  You shall not make for yourself an idol…You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I the LORD your God am a jealous God, showing steadfast love to the thousandth generation of those who love me and keep my commandments.’

The small print

Like the three slides, we need to read the small prints!  The commandments were given in the form of a covenant or a contract.  You should always read the ‘small print’ before signing any contract: the terms and conditions.  If not, you’ve only yourself to blame if the contract’s made null and void because you haven’t kept the conditions.  In the covenant at Mount Sinai, God made a contract, promising to care for his people Israel; the only condition was, they must keep the Ten Commandments. The commandments were the ‘small print’ in the contract; if the parties don’t keep those conditions, there might as well have never been any contract.  They’re the basic minimum conditions for life together as a society:  God can’t easily protect us if we go round killing each other and stealing one another’s husband or wife.  Our relationship with God’s like a marriage – it‘s an exclusive contract.  God simply can’t help us if our loyalty’s divided.  Unless we’re wholeheartedly committed to God, there’s not much that God can do for us.

Ten headlines

So the four commandments summarize our duty to God, to love him wholeheartedly; the other six are about our duty to our neighbour.  I can’t love God while I’m cheating on my neighbour.  God loves my neighbour just as much as he loves me.  So if hurt my neighbour, I’m also breaking God’s heart.  Duty to God and duty to neighbour are inseparably entwined together.  The commandments are ten headlines, under which we can write the ways we should show love.  What’s important to a Christian is not so much keeping the letter of the law, as showing the love, which is the spirit that lies behind it.

Learning the Commandments

It would be good use of Lent to learn the Commandments by heart, and examine ourselves on how well we have kept them.  They used to teach candidates for confirmation a little rhyme:

Love God, idols away,

Swear not, keep Holy Day,

Parent honour, do not kill,

Be pure in heart and never steal.

Tell the truth and never lie,

Shun all evil and say goodbye

It’s not profound, but it helps us remember the Commandments.  If you know the Commandments, you can quote them to yourself when you need to.  When you’re tempted, as Jesus was, to divided loyalties, then you can quote to yourself the scripture: ‘”It is written, ‘Worship the Lord you God, and serve only him.’”

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