Friday 24 July

Exodus 20:1-17, Psalm 19B, Matthew 13:18-23

The Ten Commandments

The first part of Exodus 20 gives us a basis for society. I don’t think anyone would argue with this. But it wasn’t long before people were inventing complex ways of implementing the commandments. In Jesus’ time, there were twenty-two laws that governed drawing water from a well on the Sabbath. These days there is a tendency to dilute the commandments with exceptions: for example, it’s okay to kill people if you first label them the enemy. This reading invites us to return to the original statements and to reflect on their wisdom.