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Thou shalt not, says Oklahoma Supreme Court

05 Jul 2015 - Preaching the News for Sunday

Ezekiel is summoned to bring an unwelcome message to a resistant audience in this Sunday’s first reading. Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt finds an unwelcome message in the Oklahoma Supreme Court’s ruling Tuesday that a Ten Commandments monument must be removed from the state capital grounds. The justices said the monument was in violation of the Oklahoma Constitution. Pruitt argued that the monument is nearly identical to a Texas monument that was found constitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court. He said he plans on petitioning for a rehearing. Homily hint: While we do well to remember the special place the Ten Commandments has in our religious history as well as in shaping modern law systems, we can do so whether or not a monument is placed on public property. Let's keep religion strong at home and in places of worship, the proper home of religious imagery. For more on the Oklahoma Supreme Court's ruling, see: Oklahoma Supreme Court rules Ten Commandments monument must go

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Thou shalt not, rules Oklahoma Supreme Court

02 Aug 2015 - Preaching the News for Sunday

Moses the lawgiver, famous for delivering the Ten Commandments, plays a central role in the Exodus saga referenced in several readings this Sunday. Despite their historical significance, a stone monument of the Ten Commandments must be removed from the Oklahoma state capital, the state’s Supreme Court ruled Monday. The justices denied a request by the Oklahoma Capitol Preservation Commission to rethink the court’s June 30 decision that the statue’s placement violates the state constitution’s ban on the use of state property for the benefit of religion. Homily hint: The issue of separation of church and state can be looked at from many angles, and certainly the state must remain impartial when it comes to religious background. At the same time, there are certain bedrock cultural icons that deserve a special place in our heritage, without denying the value of other heritages. Let’s work to find the right balance. For more on the Ten Commandments decision, see: Oklahoma top court agrees Ten Commandments stone at Capitol must go

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Homily stories

11 Mar 2012 - Third Sunday of Lent, Cycle B

THERE ARE people who would like to see the Ten Commandments posted in public places like courthouses and state capitals. Constitutional issues aside, they think, it seems, that even nonbelievers would benefit from such reminders of the Commandments, so basic are the moral laws they contain. Such moralizing of the Decalogue, however, overlooks the fact that they are more than rules of conduct designed to keep the lid on a chaotic society. Rather, they are the very terms of God's covenant with God's people. Take, for example, the Commandment not to "covet." Is it referring to envy? If so, then God appears to be guilty of it, for we hear that "I . . . am a jealous God." A more appropriate reading, however, understands jealous to mean "devoted"--as in the devotion God both shows and expects from God's people. For its part, "coveting" is not simply the vice of wanting something that is not yours; it's the active planning to act against God's will. The heart of the Commandments lies not in avoiding the "shalt nots" for their own sake but in the passion God has for God's people and the passion for God the people demonstrate in keeping them.

Authors Joel Schorn

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Homily themes

12 Jun 2011 - Solemnity of Pentecost, Cycle A

When the time for Pentecost was fulfilled. The Jewish holiday, Shavuot, the Feast of "Weeks," occurs seven weeks after Passover. It is also known as Pentecost, the "fiftieth day" (after Passover). As well as being a harvest celebration, it commemorates the giving of the Ten Commandments to Moses and the Israelites at Mount Sinai. The timing and events of the Christian Pentecost therefore have great significance. When the disciples gathered in the upper room, "a noise like a strong driving wind . . . filled the entire house," just as "the whole mountain shook violently" (Exodus 19:18) when the Israelites gathered at Sinai. At both Pentecosts covenants are made. And they both celebrate harvests: the food of daily bread and the bringing together of many peoples in the presence of God. Homily points Power is the world's greatest currency. It's also at the heart of its greatest atrocities. Power is also and primordially an attribute of God and therefore essentially good. What is the best use of power? What Jesus used it for: to forgive sins. This power now belongs to the church and is its greatest treasure.

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Quotes

12 Feb 2017 - Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle A

Say what you will about the Ten Commandments, you must always come back to the pleasant fact that there are only ten of them. —H. L. Mencken Knowledge comes, but wisdom lingers. –Alfred Tennyson

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Featured Exploring the Word

15 Dec 2024 - Third Sunday of Advent, Cycle C

Some of us don’t do well with imperatives. Maybe it’s the rugged individualist streak in Americans that makes us resist being compelled. But at times we all benefit from clearly defined do's and don’ts we can follow to avoid disaster (“don’t put your finger in that socket!”) or achieve success (“insert bolt A into slot B”). For those who thrive on imperatives, the Ten Commandments are set in stone for your convenience. In many less formal ways as well, the Bible’s stuffed with advice about what to do and not do as we navigate through life. Need help planning your diet? See Leviticus. Want to be happy and not full of woe? Check out Luke’s Beatitudes. Is your family in disarray? Paul’s letters contain many sets of household codes guaranteed to keep relationships neat and tidy. And when it comes to the Advent season, even John the Baptist sets out his shingle as spiritual director for the community at large. “What should we do?” the newly baptized and not-yet-persuaded alike ask John. They’re not looking for generic advice. John has just assured him that the divine axe will soon fall, and first on the chopping block are those lives that have produced no good fruit. How does one produce such fruit (and avoid such punishment)? John is precise in his reply: Share what you have with those who don’t have. Stop cheating each other. Don’t commit libel. Quit coveting. Some of John’s advice is borrowed from the Decalogue, but the sharing aspect comes from other parts of the Mosaic Law. So is that all we have to do? Mind the Commandments and care for our neighbor? Maybe that’s enough to satisfy the Baptist’s repentance agenda, but that’s not the sum total of do's and don’ts for Advent. On this third Sunday of the season, Gaudete Sunday, we’re also encouraged to rejoice. Maybe “encouraged” isn’t strong enough, but “obliged” seems too heavy-handed. We are exhorted to shout and sing by the prophet Zephaniah, urged to exult and give thanks by the psalmist, and practically begged to rejoice by Saint Paul, who insists on saying it twice. Why this imperative? Remember, it’s not an emotion that’s required of us nor a simple attitude adjustment either. What’s obliged is an acknowledgment that we believe as we say we do. If we believe judgment has been removed, sins forgiven, divine compassion offered, and love between God and us renewed—well, wouldn’t we crack a smile at least? Even God is so happy that we’re back together again that God sings joyfully over the idea, as heartily as one sings at festivals. If God’s happy about it, shouldn’t we be, too? Related scripture links There is cause for rejoicing here: 1 Pet. 1:6-7 The vocation to rejoice: John 15:11; Rom. 12:12; 1 Thess. 5:16; Neh. 8:10 Joy as a fruit of the Spirit: Gal. 5:22-23 Possessing our souls in patience: Luke 21:19 [KJV] Catechism links Baptism and responsibility: CCC 535; 694; 696; 2437-2449 Adapted from a previously published Exploring the word.

Authors Alice Camille

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