Ever wonder how Moses would have possibly described those 10 precepts if he had received them in 2020? Since the ten commandments from Exodus 20 are one of the readings in our lectionary today, I thought I’d give it some consideration. Try re-writing them yourself! It’s quite a meaningful endeavor on a rainy Sunday morning…
1. I am your Liberator. I brought you out of the slavery to death-dealing ways of being and false ways of thinking about yourself and the world. I am Ultimate Reality.
2. Do not put anything in front of—or between—your awareness of me, your continual Liberator from false perceptions of Reality. Don’t try and substitute anything else for my Love.
3. Think before you speak my name—do not attribute things to be “God’s Will” casually or confidently. My ways are not your ways.
4. Rest and reflection are essential qualities of a life well-lived. Do not forget to include them regularly, with ritual even, within the life I have given you.
5. A holy life is one that seeks wholeness for self and others. Treat everyone and every moment as sacred.
6. We honor our ancestors when we stay connected to them even as we define ourselves. The legacies of every generation are linked.
7. Thoughtless removing of life from this planet harms you by doing it, as well as harming the victims. Do not justify killing in my name, for my ways are not your ways.
8. Constant fidelity and honesty about who you are and who you are not; and what you should rightfully possess and what you should not: these are essential to wholeness.
9. Seek and speak Truth always, being willing to admit with sincerity when you have made a mistake.
10. Practice gratitude. This inner work helps you to stay close to my ways in the world. Fervent attachment to even noble goals and ideals needs to be held lightly inside a life of prayer with me.
May your first full week of October 2020 be touched by an extra bit of unexpected goodness. And may you find yourself a part of extending that same goodness to others, as well.
LeAnn
Tending to the Margins 
Thanks, LeAnn–I needed these words this morning!
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You’re so welcome! Sometimes I like to try and put scripture in contemporary language to help me understand it better. I’m sure if I wrote the commandments out again in a year or two they would take on even deeper meaning. Such is the beauty of sacred text, whatever the tradition!
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