Called to Sacred Relationships.
Marc Chagall, a French painter of the 20th century, did a lot of paintings related to Moses. One of them is about the Ten Commandments, which is very interesting. As you may have already noticed, Moses in his artwork has two horns. Why does he have horns? Take a look close, we notice yellow beams that spread out like a trumpet, but from a distance, it looks like horns. It seems to be a symbol of God’s presence on Moses by light.
The Ten Commandments are set in the context of God’s deliverance of his people from slavery in Egypt. God raised Moses to lead the people out of slavery, which culminated in their liberation at the Red Sea. They then embarked on their journey to the Promised Land, living in the wilderness as a community. They experienced God’s provision through manna and quail, witnessed the miracle of water springing from Mount Horeb’s rock, and were assured of survival in the desert. Then, three months after their Exodus, atop Mount Horeb or Sinai, God appointed Moses as the mediator to establish a covenant with the people and gave them the Ten Commandments.
Before giving the Ten Commandments, God introduces himself as the one who acted for his people by saying, “I am the Lord who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.” The Ten Commandments are a new frame for living a faithful life given to God’s people who are in a completely new circumstance. The Ten Commandments are a frame for living a faithful life given to God’s people who are in a completely new situation. Previously, they had lived as enslaved people in Egypt, and the rules had been enforced on them by Pharaoh. They needed new rules from a system that had been absorbed into their lives. It’s like this is about how to live well after a lifetime in jail. So, this new commandment gives God’s people a framework for how to live out their freedom as God’s people.
These ten commandments are grouped into two parts: the first four address the vertical relationship between God and His people, while the remaining six focus on the horizontal relationships among people. In other words, the commandments are a guideline for nurturing the right relationship with God and practising social commandments towards our neighbours.
At the very beginning of the Ten Commandments, we are warned not to put anything in place of the true God and not to make satisfying pictures of idols of God. We can very easily fill up the space in our minds or in our prayers with the picture of God that keeps us happy. We tend to shape these images based on our preferences and ideals, choosing an image of God that brings us a sense of security and comfort. Our lives often become filled with various idols—things to which we dedicate our time and energy—straying from the invitation to fully devote ourselves to God. When these idols dominate our faith life, they leave us empty, consumed by fear, loneliness, and despair, and we lose the wholeness that God intended for us.
The same warning is given by St. Paul in the Second Reading first Corinthians. God’s wisdom and God’s power are so different from the wisdom and power of the world. Some seek miracles, while others seek wisdom. What he’s saying is that we shouldn’t build a picture of the world as we understand it through religion. It tells us to stay away from what we think of as abilities and success. If we cling to that, we’re just as likely as the world to think the “gospel” is “foolishness.” Therefore, Paul urges us to set aside what we consider wisdom and common sense. In essence, the question becomes: Are you pursuing idols or truth? Religious rituals or the cross of Jesus Christ? Paul’s conviction is that the cross, which is seemingly weak in human eyes, is stronger than human strength.
The commandment to ‘honour God and make no idols’ is, firstly, to acknowledge who God is and to know that God cares for you and ‘loves’ you. Second, God desires to have the best possible relationship with you; He desires to be the centre of your life and to govern every aspect of your existence and the places to which you belong.
God didn’t leave us groping in the dark about how best to live; he gave us instructions to help us become people worthy of His creation’s purpose. It is truly amazing that God has not left us in despair; instead, God came down to our world at an immeasurable cost to Himself. In Jesus, He lived as a human being and embraced human death. He lived as a human within Jesus Christ, accepting human death. Therefore, He eveals a love that cannot be shaken by anything we may label as failure or the worst violence we can enact. God is the one above all, symbolised by the cross of Jesus Christ.
Lent is a time for deep reflection on whether anything other than God holds us captive, whether we are ruled by uncontrollable desires, whether we are serving God and other things at the same time, and whether something other than God is taking the foremost place in our lives.
In the name of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.