All The Words Which the LORD Has Said We Will Do: Exodus 24:1-25:9

Exodus 24:1-25:9: "24:1 Now He said to Moses, 'Come up to the LORD, you and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel, and worship from afar. 2 And Moses alone shall come near the LORD, but they shall not come near; nor shall the people go up with him.' 3 So Moses came and told the people all the words of the LORD and all the judgments. And all the people answered with one voice and said, 'All the words which the LORD has said we will do.' 4 And Moses wrote all the words of the LORD. And he rose early in the morning, and built an altar at the foot of the mountain, and twelve pillars according to the twelve tribes of Israel. 5 Then he sent young men of the children of Israel, who offered burnt offerings and sacrificed peace offerings of oxen to the LORD. 6 And Moses took half the blood and put it in basins, and half the blood he sprinkled on the altar. 7 Then he took the Book of the Covenant and read in the hearing of the people. And they said, 'All that the LORD has said we will do, and be obedient.' 8 And Moses took the blood, sprinkled it on the people, and said, 'This is the blood of the covenant which the LORD has made with you according to all these words.' 9 Then Moses went up, also Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel, 10 and they saw the God of Israel. And there was under His feet as it were a paved work of sapphire stone, and it was like the very heavens in its clarity. 11 But on the nobles of the children of Israel He did not lay His hand. So they saw God, and they ate and drank. 12 Then the LORD said to Moses, 'Come up to Me on the mountain and be there; and I will give you tablets of stone, and the law and commandments which I have written, that you may teach them.' 13 So Moses arose with his assistant Joshua, and Moses went up to the mountain of God. 14 And he said to the elders, 'Wait here for us until we come back to you. Indeed Aaron and Hur are with you. If any man has a difficulty, let him go to them.' 15 Then Moses went up into the mountain, and a cloud covered the mountain. 16 Now the glory of the LORD rested on Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it six days. And on the seventh day He called to Moses out of the midst of the cloud. 17 The sight of the glory of the LORD was like a consuming fire on the top of the mountain in the eyes of the children of Israel. 18 So Moses went into the midst of the cloud and went up into the mountain. And Moses was on the mountain forty days and forty nights.

"25:1 Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying: 2 'Speak to the children of Israel, that they bring Me an offering. From everyone who gives it willingly with his heart you shall take My offering. 3 And this is the offering which you shall take from them: gold, silver, and bronze; 4 blue, purple, and scarlet thread, fine linen, and goats' hair; 5 ram skins dyed red, badger skins, and acacia wood; 6 oil for the light, and spices for the anointing oil and for the sweet incense; 7 onyx stones, and stones to be set in the ephod and in the breastplate. 8 And let them make Me a sanctuary, that I may dwell among them. 9 According to all that I show you, that is, the pattern of the tabernacle and the pattern of all its furnishings, just so you shall make it.'"

We have in this pericope what happens after our Lord God gave the Ten Commandments and other ceremonial laws that our Lord God had given to the people of Israel. What is their response? They say, "All the Words which the LORD has said we will do." They say this twice. This shows us that they received the Word of God gladly. The Law and the rights attached to the Law, that is, the requirements, did not seem to be that great of a burden to them. It was good news for them.

How often today, when somebody states the rules, are they met with joy? Furthermore, how often today when people are presented the rules do they even agree to do them? We hear it all the time in sayings like, "Rules were meant to be broken." Or, "Nobody's going to tell me what to do." Or, "You're just trying to force your moral will on me." This is not so with the Israelites, they hear the Law, that is, the rules, and gladly receive it, wishing happily to fulfill it. Now, I suppose someone could argue that the Israelites were not going to say no to God, while He was in their very presence, even if His true presence was veiled in a cloud. But the repetition of the phrase by the Israelites negates this theory, for it shows their willingness to obey God.

What is truly amazing about this pericope, is that after the people ascent to God's will, what happens? Moses and Aaron, and Nadab and Abihu, and the seventy elders of Israel sat down to a meal with our Lord God. Here we go again! Another meal that our Lord God has with His people. A meal in which they ate and drank. It is another allusion or prefigurement of the meal that we eat and drink with our Lord, and the whole host of Heaven, every Sunday and feast day. The meal in which He gives us His very own Body and Blood to eat and drink.

On Mount Sinai, this meal signified the unity that the people of Israel enjoyed with the Lord God. In Holy Communion, the same unity that exists between God and all those who eat is also signified. This is why the Church has always practiced closed communion, for those who are outside of the people of God, cannot eat this meal, without damning themselves. We can see this in this pericope, for even though God is claiming the Israelites as His people, and they have ascented to Him being their God, we are told that the Lord did not touch the seventy elders and the rest of the men gathered for the meal, for if He touched them, they would die.

The same thing happens in Holy Communion, for as we learn in Holy Scripture, through the Blessed Apostle, St. Paul in his Epistle to the Church at Corinth, those who eat and drink unworthily, are eating damnation unto themselves. To eat and drink unworthily means two things, first, to not believe that our Lord's Body and Blood are truly present in themselves in the bread and wine. The second thing, is to not be in unity and fellowship with those who one is eating and drinking with. This unity and fellowship includes agreement on doctrine and practice on what the Church teaches.

This is another rule of our Lord God, that when revealed to people, it draws ire and reproach from those that hear it. But those that show their disdain for the rules, show their disdain both for the fellowship that is enjoyed by those who eat and drink, and disdain for the Lord God, who gave the rule. How grand it would be if we all were like the Israelites, who when presented with the rules, gladly said, "All the words which the LORD has said we will do." For then there would exist true unity between us, and we could all join together in unity and eat and drink our Lord's meal.

God be with you!

Deacon Dulas

Love Your Enemies, Do Good, and Lend, Hoping For Nothing in Return: St. Luke 6:1-35

St. Luke 6:1-35: "1 Now it happened on the second Sabbath after the first that He went through the grainfields. And His disciples plucked the heads of grain and ate them, rubbing them in their hands. 2 And some of the Pharisees said to them, 'Why are you doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath?' 3 But Jesus answering them said, 'Have you not even read this, what David did when he was hungry, he and those who were with him: 4 how he went into the house of God, took and ate the showbread, and also gave some to those with him, which is not lawful for any but the priests to eat?' 5 And He said to them, 'The Son of Man is also Lord of the Sabbath.' 6 Now it happened on another Sabbath, also, that He entered the synagogue and taught. And a man was there whose right hand was withered. 7 So the scribes and Pharisees watched Him closely, whether He would heal on the Sabbath, that they might find an accusation against Him. 8 But He knew their thoughts, and said to the man who had the withered hand, 'Arise and stand here.' And he arose and stood. 9 Then Jesus said to them, 'I will ask you one thing: Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do evil, to save life or to destroy?' 10 And when He had looked around at them all, He said to the man, 'Stretch out your hand.' And he did so, and his hand was restored as whole as the other. 11 But they were filled with rage, and discussed with one another what they might do to Jesus. 12 Now it came to pass in those days that He went out to the mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God. 13 And when it was day, He called His disciples to Himself; and from them He chose twelve whom He also named apostles: 14 Simon, whom He also named Peter, and Andrew his brother; James and John; Philip and Bartholomew; 15 Matthew and Thomas; James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon called the Zealot; 16 Judas the son of James, and Judas Iscariot who also became a traitor. 17 And He came down with them and stood on a level place with a crowd of His disciples and a great multitude of people from all Judea and Jerusalem, and from the seacoast of Tyre and Sidon, who came to hear Him and be healed of their diseases, 18 as well as those who were tormented with unclean spirits. And they were healed. 19 And the whole multitude sought to touch Him, for power went out from Him and healed them all. 20 Then He lifted up His eyes toward His disciples, and said: 'Blessed are you poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. 21 Blessed are you who hunger now, for you shall be filled. Blessed are you who weep now, for you shall laugh. 22 Blessed are you when men hate you, and when they exclude you, and revile you, and cast out your name as evil, for the Son of Man's sake. 23 Rejoice in that day and leap for joy! For indeed your reward is great in heaven, For in like manner their fathers did to the prophets. 24 " But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation. 25 Woe to you who are full, for you shall hunger. Woe to you who laugh now, for you shall mourn and weep. 26 Woe to you when all men speak well of you, for so did their fathers to the false prophets. 27 But I say to you who hear: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, 28 bless those who curse you, and pray for those who spitefully use you. 29 To him who strikes you on the one cheek, offer the other also. And from him who takes away your cloak, do not withhold your tunic either. 30 Give to everyone who asks of you. And from him who takes away your goods do not ask them back. 31 And just as you want men to do to you, you also do to them likewise. 32 But if you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. 33 And if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. 34 And if you lend to those from whom you hope to receive back, what credit is that to you? For even sinners lend to sinners to receive as much back. 35 But love your enemies, do good, and lend, hoping for nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High. For He is kind to the unthankful and evil.'"

As we draw closer to Lent, we hear the Words of our Lord from the Sermon on the Mount once again, telling us how we are to behave towards our neighbor. The summary is to love without expecting to be loved back. To do good things, without expecting a reward, or receiving gratitude or thanks for having done it. We are to lend, whether that be money, or food, or clothes, not expecting it to be given back. In other words, we are to do these things freely. This is what Christians are supposed to do. However, we know all too well, that we fail miserably at this.

For we are always expecting some return for our good works. For example when it comes to love, even among the people we love the most, we expect that they tell us that they love us back, and if they don't then we assume that they are mad at us, or we did something we ought not to have done. We all like to have a pat on the back sometimes, and be told that we are doing things the right way, and that our efforts are being noticed.

Our Lord, though requires us to do these things without expecting anything in return, that is, to do these things that our Lord lists, unconditionally.

This prepares us for Lent. For during Lent we will hear instruction in the Ten Commandments. In the Second Table of the Law, we learn about what responsibilities we have toward our neighbor, and when we hear them, we will realize how far off we have missed the mark. This will produce in us one of two reactions. One, we will ignore the warning signs, and think about all the good things we have done, and we will tell ourselves, quite mistakenly, that we are not that bad of people, for there are numerous examples of more corrupt and incorrigible individuals. And we will go on with our lives as if we had never heard the Law and the preaching on the Commandments.

The second reaction that instruction in the Ten Commandments will produce in us is despair. We will realize how much we have failed, and how often we continue to fail to do what our Lord desires us to do. And we will sorrow over our sins, and desire to do better, but every time we hear the Commandments again, we will once again be reminded of our failure. For those of us in this category, we are ripe to hear the Gospel, and we are ready for the teachings of Passiontide, where we will hear over and over again, that our punishment, and our constant breaking of the Law, has been paid for, and the penalty is removed from us, and placed upon our Lord Jesus Christ, who placed all of our sin and guilt on the altar of the cross, and sacrificed it once and for all to our Heavenly Father.

And our Lord Jesus, Who stands has both High Priest, offering atonement on our behalf, and as the sacrificial Lamb, will have His sacrifice accepted by His Heavenly Father, and upon His intercession on our behalf to the Father, our sins will be forgiven. And upon hearing this, we have extreme joy.

This is something those who try to good work their way into Heaven, will never experience. Those who do not see the depravity of their souls, will never see the great sacrifice that our Lord and Savior offered for us. Therefore, count yourself blessed, when your sins are pointed out to you, for it is one more chance to hear of the cross. And when we have heard about the cross, and the unconditional love that our Lord shows us in it, we learn to show this same love towards our fellowman, the Holy Ghost working through us. More importantly, when we do fail, and don't do as the Law commands, we learn to place those sins into the ears of our Minister, who, standing in the place of our Lord Jesus Christ, forgives those sins, putting in front of our eyes, once again the cross, pulling us out of despair and sorrow over our sins, and giving us joy at God's great love for us.

May God be with you!

Deacon Dulas