7/21/11

<sup>The Ten Commandments: 5th Command: Honor Your Father and Your Mother

1</sup> Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. ² “Honor your father and mother”—which is the first commandment with a promise— ³ “so that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth.”
⁴ Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord. (Ephesians 6:1-4)

(Becca Hancock with Ugandan orphans- in the name of Christ)

Thoughts: The command to honor parents is not just an Old Testament command, but one that is good for every age. As a general principle, the ability to listen and follow advice leads to safety and health.  This command does not just obligate children toward parents but implies an obligation of parents to the children.  To expect your children to honor you, you should be honorable.  In the Roman world a patristic son could not own property until his father died.  The son could be imprisoned, sold as a slave by the father.  But to Christians, children were not to be enslaved or possessed as things.  Rather children were also treated as people created in God's image.  Jesus welcomed the little children and protected them from those who would harm them.  So Christians are called to care for these "least of these" who are dependent and vulnerable. 

Prayer: May I have grace, O Lord, to be a respecter of people of all ages and abilities. 

7/20/11 Honoring Parents

<sup>A devotional on the Ten Commandments with attention to the New Testament;
Fifth Commandment: Honor your Father and Mother that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you.

3</sup> “‘Each of you must respect your mother and father, and you must observe my Sabbaths. I am the LORD your God.(Leviticus 19:3)

[Jesus said]: ¹⁹ You know the commandments: ‘You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony, you shall not defraud, honor your father and mother.’(Mark 10:19)

(Parents bringing children to Vacation Bible School at Lake Murray Pres. 7/19/11)

Thoughts: We did not create ourselves.  Life is a gift from God through our parents. God has given us a tatoo reminder to us of that: our bellybutton/navel.  We are made to be dependent on God and on others.  That dependence puts us in a position to be in continual rebellion against others, to seek to love others, or some mixture of the two.  Christ told the Rich Young Man that one essential for inheriting eternal life was to honor our parents.  There is a natural tie between honoring our parents and honoring God.  Rebellion and ingratitude toward one spills over toward the other.  Perhaps this is why this command is so important, even in Jesus' mind. 
     Parents have the opportunity to be the first priests of God to us.  They have the opportunity to tell us of God's love and forgiveness. In response, we are called to be grateful and honor them.
     Jesus certainly set us an example of honoring his parents.  Tradition says Joseph was older and died when Jesus was still young.  Jesus did not begin his ministry until he was 30 when his younger brothers and sisters would have left home.  He stayed to support his mother and family, all the while preparing himself for his ministry.  When his family tried to protect him from harm- even accusing him of insanity, Jesus did not call them names in return.  His first miracle was done in some ways in respect for his mother's wishes (Jn. 2).  On the cross, one of Jesus' last requests was that John would take care of his mother.  If He sets us such a sacrificial example for his half (adopted) family, should we also not care for those in our own family? 

Prayer: Help me God to be kind to my parents as you were kind to yours.

John Calvin Abridged: We are to obey our parents only "in the Lord" (Eph. 6:1).  For they do not sit in that position in which they have been placed by the Lord, who shares with them a part of his honor.  Therefore honoring our parents is a step toward honoring the highest Father. If they encourage us to break the law, we have a perfect right to regard them not as parents but as strangers who are trying to lead us away from our true Father.  So we should also act toward all princes, lords, and every kind of superiors.  It is unworthy and absurd for their eminence to be placed so highly as to degrade the loftiness of God.  On the contrary, their eminence depends upon God's loftiness and ought to lead us to it. (Institutes 403-4).

7/19/11 Honor Your Father and Mother

Devotional on the Ten Commandments with attention to the Ten Commandments
5th Commandment: "Honor Your Father and Mother"

¹⁶ “Honor your father and your mother, as the LORD your God has commanded you, so that you may live long and that it may go well with you in the land the LORD your God is giving you. (Deuteronomy 5:16).

³ Jesus replied, “And why do you break the command of God for the sake of your tradition? ⁴ For God said, ‘Honor your father and mother’and ‘Anyone who curses their father or mother is to be put to death.’^{[b] 5} But you say that if anyone declares that what might have been used to help their father or mother is ‘devoted to God,’ ⁶ they are not to ‘honor their father or mother’ with it. Thus you nullify the word of God for the sake of your tradition. ⁷ You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you:
⁸ “‘These people honor me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from me.
⁹ They worship me in vain;
their teachings are merely human rules. (Matthew 15:3-9)



Thoughts: Respecting those God has placed over us is a healthy thing.  To be in continual rebellion, unable to trust others keeps us from trusting in God, and puts us against a power that we cannot win against.  John Calvin said that this command had to do with respecting all those over us.  This was not said lightly.  The Queen of France had tried to kill Calvin.  The Pope excommunicated him.  Despite rumors in our day to the contrary, Calvin had little political power, little physical money, but much spiritual power- from his gifts. Jesus also taught respect for authority.  Yet he was killed by both the Roman and Jewish authorities of his day.  Christ told Pilate that the only reason he had authority was that he was given it from above.
     This command, then, does not mean that authorities placed over us in God's providence do not make grave mistakes.  Certainly, any parent will make mistakes.  Some will be horrible.  It is problematic to honor the dishonorable.  Yet our parents are not alone responsible for our failures and inadequacies.  Jesus reminds those in his day to quit making excuses for not caring for their parents.  We are not called to blind obedience.  But neither are we called to open rebellion.  Jesus sets us an example of how someone may triumph over those more powerful, yet without rebellion. 

Prayer: May my journey here be humble toward my own selfishness, and generous toward others.  Give me grace to listen, to learn, to grow, and to ultimately honor you.