Communion Meditation
Christ Church Downtown
Ty Knight – June 10, 2018
In many of the Ten Commandments, you are told not to do things––you shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal. We react, “Why all the negativity?” The negative command should be heard the same way a recently freed Israelite hears the command, “Do not return to Egypt.” Don’t go back there because God is leading you to the Promise Land. You have been set free to live free.
And so, in the Sixth Commandment, God says, “You shall not murder.” Short and simple––you shall not murder. Even if we’ve failed at the first five commandments, we feel good that we haven’t broken this one––“I’m pretty sure I haven’t murdered anyone.” But Jesus does not limit this command to the bloody corpse on the ground. He inquires, “Have you been angry? Have you screamed at your husband? Have you talon-scratched your brother in frustration? Have you cursed your roommate behind his back? Have you kicked the equipment because of your employee or boss? Have you hated your brother?” Then Jesus says you have broken the sixth commandment.
God forbids murder because his aim is the flourishing of human life. As the church, we must be the people that love and cultivate the flourishing of life. Christians ought to be on the forefront to research cures for diseases, to support those with disabilities, to encourage parents adopting or fostering kids, to visit the elderly lady next door.
Christians must support life from the cradle to the grave. But even this phrase––cradle to the grave, is no longer enough. Millions of humans do not even survive long enough to make it to a cradle. Their first and final resting place in the world is a dumpster behind Planned Parenthood. This murder is evil. And with doctor-assisted suicide, the grave is now able to be scheduled like a oil change. This self-murder is evil.
Our God is the living God who gives and celebrates life. But as a culture we have turned from God, and so we snip up and vacuum out life, we silence life with a syringe. We will continue to murder with our hands, our votes, our words, our hearts, until we repent and turn to the Author of Life, the Crucified Christ.
