Mel Brooks and the Eleventh Commandment (a Steve Orr Scripture reflection)

One of my favorite film moments comes from Mel Brooks’ “History of the World, Part One.” Moses (played by Brooks) comes down from the mountain cradling three stone tablets, spies the golden calf when he is about half way down and becomes apoplectic. He yells down to the Israelites, chastising them for their faithlessness. It goes something like this: “How could you do this?! Why couldn’t you wait until I came back? God has written down for us some of His thoughts to make our lives better, happier. He sent me back to you with 15 (one tablet falls and shatters. Brooks looks down, then quickly holds up the remaining two tablets) . . . 10! . . . 10 commandments to improve our lives!”

The scene is funny, but also gets at something that has been on our minds ever since Moses came down the mountain: was that it, just the ten? Are you one of the folks who wishes there were more than 10 Commandments? Do you believe we humans would benefit from just a bit more guidance from God? There have been many attempts over the millennia to add that extra layer of direction. The Talmud (literally “study”) contains another 613 “commandments” generated by Jewish Rabbis our the centuries to attempt to provide the everyday guidance many crave.

The Bible books of Leviticus and Deuteronomy are packed with extra detail on how to live. “Love you neighbor as yourself” wasn’t in the original ten (through some say it’s implied), but it does show up in Leviticus. Jesus said that loving God and loving our neighbor sums up all the law and the prophets. Those are not new commandments, but rather two that include all the others. Jesus also told everyone to love their enemies. Again, not so much a new commandment as a widening of the tent, so to speak.

So. Are there any new commandments? Is there an eleventh? Maybe. I guess it depends on how you number things. Ten? 613? Count all those in Leviticus and Deuteronomy? I do think there is one ... but not one for everyone.

I think this may be a big part of what Peter smacked up against in this week’s selection from the Book of Acts. After baptizing some Gentiles (non-Jews), effectively including them as followers of Jesus, Peter is ”called on the carpet” by the other Apostles and leaders of the early church. In explaining his actions, Peter reports “the Holy Spirit fell upon them just as it had upon us at the beginning.” While it may seem like there is only one message, here, in actuality, there are two.

Peter, on one level, is telling them, I didn’t choose these people, God did. Essentially, that’s the defense for his breaking all kinds of Jewish “laws” by being in the home of these Gentiles, eating with them, touching them. But he is also signaling something of a more lasting importance. In this week’s passage from John, Jesus actually says, “I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another."

Well, there’s your Eleventh Commandment.

It’s only given to followers of Jesus. And, differently from loving our neighbors and loving our enemies (each with its own challenges), this one is just concerning how believers are to treat each other. Jesus already knew that the “tent” of believers was going to not only get a lot bigger, but also a lot stranger than any of His earliest followers could imagine. He knew they (we) were going to need that extra commandment.

It will come as no surprise to you, I think, for me to say that we tend to love our neighbors and our enemies ... at a certain distance. Oh, it’s not supposed to be that way, but it is the way most of us approach the matter. It’s pretty difficult, though, for us to hold other believers at a distance. We’re all scrunched up in here, together. We need that commandment.

And here’s the reason why:

If we believers can learn to really love each other, we can start to learn how to love our neighbors. And if we can get to where we really love our neighbors, up close and personal, we can start the process of learning how to love our enemies. And if we can actively love our enemies ... well, there is no end to that kind of love.

No more commandments needed.

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Portions of this reflection were borrowed from two previous reflections from the Easter seasons of 2016 (“The Eleventh Commandment”) and 2013 (“The Project Manager”).
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PHOTO: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0082517/?ref_=nv_sr_3?ref_=nv_sr_3
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READINGS FOR THE COMING WEEK
Fifth Sunday of Easter (May 19, 2019)
https://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu//texts.php?id=137

Acts 11:1-18
Psalm 148
Revelation 21:1-6
John 13:31-35
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Another Friday morning gathering of DaySpring’s Lectionary Breakfast ... can you join us? It’s a quick hour from 8:00 to 9:00. Somehow, we cram in tasty food, interesting discussions, a prayer, and some Bible reading. Oh, and we tend to get tickled a lot (not sure what it says about us that we find some of this is funny, but there you go.)

Blessings,
Steve