As the Father loves me, so I also love you. Remain in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and your joy may be complete.
JOHN 15:9-11
INTRODUCTION
According to John 15:9-11,Christ’s joy in us will be complete if we obey the commandments? Wait a minute, how is that possible? Won’t that meaning following rules. That may cause me suffering. What is the cost involved here to have this joy of Christ? Jesus can not tell a lie so it must be true. Whether we follow the Commandments of God or not, we still follow rules, we suffer, and we pay the cost in our every day lives.
So what is this complete joy of Christ. It can’t be filet mignon every night, a Tesla car, and a summer home on the Mediteranean Sea. These things are not available to everyone and God does not discriminate among his children. This joy must be possible to all God’s children. Jesus’ joy was that He and the Father are one. Union with God must be the answer.
When I sin, I separate myself from God. And it is not just separating from God but I mess up my life here on earth with all the consequences of sin. We were created to share in the Divne Life of God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit for all eternity. Perfect union. Perfect Beatitude. How can we begin this eternity while here on earth. Well, God has given us a plan, the best self-help book ever written.
God knows who He has created and what will make us happy and safe on our journey home. Of curse there was a temporaty glich in Adam and Eve our first parents. They messed themselves and us up with Original Sin, darkness of intellect, weakened will, and death. We needed a Savior, a great one in Jesus Christ, Son of God, conceived of the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary.
As God and man, Jesus could atone for the infinite offense against God and as human He could offer sacrifice on the part of our human race. Just as our first parents smeared the image and likeness of God in human nature, Jesus redeemed human nature and made possible union with God once more. He who sees me sees the Father John 12:45
The biblical story of the origin of the Ten Commandments suggests that Moses received them directly from God on Mt. Sinai around 1280 B.C. The Bible offers different accounts of the full text of the Ten Commandments; one in the book of Exodus and the other in Deuteronomy. The Catholic Church ascribes to the version in Deuteronomy and follows the division and enumeration provided in the Septuagint, the Old Testament translated from Hebrew into Greek that the early Christians followed.
“I AM THE LORD THY GOD, THOU SHALT NOT HAVE ANY STRANGE GODS BEFORE ME.”
This commandment forbids idolatry, the worship of false gods and goddesses. It asserts there is only One God. False gods can be anything that man puts before this One True God including people, fame, fortune and material things.
“THOU SHALT NOT TAKE THE NAME OF THE LORD THY GOD IN VAIN.” The faithful are required to honor the name of God. It makes sense that if you’re to love God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength, then you’re naturally to respect the name of God with equal passion and vigor. You do not curse someone with the name of God, mock God, or dismiss God as irrelevant.
“REMEMBER TO KEEP HOLY THE SABBATH DAY.”
The Jewish celebration of Sabbath (Shabbat) begins at sundown on Friday evening and lasts until sundown on Saturday. Catholic, Protestant, and Orthodox Christians go to church on Sunday, treating it as the Lord’s Day instead of Saturday to honor the day Christ rose from the dead. We take at least one day of the week to give thanks to God who cares for us 24/7. It is not about us it is about paying respect to the God of all. God has given us the means of worship. The Eucharist is the source and summit of Christian life.
One does not exuse themselves lightly from Sunday Mass.
The Sacraments of the Catholic Church, including attendance at Holy Mass as a Sunday Obligation, must be done in person. Watching Holy Mass on television does not fulfill one’s Sunday Obligation. Section # 2180 of the Catechism of the Catholic Church states that the Sunday Obligation is satisfied by “attendance” at Mass.
“HONOR THY FATHER AND MOTHER.”
This commandment obliges the faithful to show respect for their parents. Children must obey their parents, and adults must respect and see to the care of their parents, when they become old and infirm. You do not abandon your parents nor support euthanasia.
“THOU SHALT NOT KILL.”
Killing an innocent person is considered murder. Killing an unjust aggressor to preserve your own life isn’t considered murder or immoral. Abortion is the killing of an innocent child. That child is growing in the womb of the mother but is not the property of the mother any more than the live born child.
“THOU SHALT NOT COMMIT ADULTERY.”
This commandment asks us to honor human sexuality according to natural law and Divine Law. Not only adultery of a married person having relations with someone other than their spouse but includes prohibition of other misuse of our gift of sexuality, fornication which is sex between unmarried people, prostitution, pornography, masturbation, homosexual activity, rape, incest, and pedophilia.
“THOU SHALT NOT STEAL.”
This commandment focuses on respecting and honoring the possessions of others. This commandment forbids the act of taking someone else’s property. The Catholic Church believes this commandment includes cheating people of their money, depriving people of fair wages, tax evasion and damage to other people’s property including random vandalism.
“THOU SHALT NOT BEAR FALSE WITNESS AGAINST THY NEIGHBOR.
The Eighth Commandment condemns lying. Because God is regarded as the author of all truth, the Church believes that humans are obligated to honor the truth. To lie about your neighbor may not be killing his/her body but you are killing their reputation and dignity owe to everyone made in image and likeness of God. As the old saying goes, a like goes around the world before the truth catches it. Before lying, think consequences it may make you bite your tongue.
“THOU SHALT NOT COVET THY NEIGHBOR’S WIFE.”
This Commandment forbids the intentional desire and longing for immoral sexuality. To sin in the heart, Jesus says, is to lust after a woman or a man in your heart with the desire and will to have immoral sex with them. Lusting in the heart is a heartbeat from lustfull immoral actions.
“THOU SHALT NOT COVET THY NEIGHBOR’S GOODS.”
The Tenth Commandment forbids the wanting to or taking someone else’s property. This commandment condemns theft along with feelings of envy, greed, and jealousy in reaction to what other people have.
One can easily assume the consequences of sinning against God’s Commandments, the disastrous results when these commandments are not followed….Abusive relationships, dysfunctional families, the weak and vulnerable oppressed and bullied, no moral compass outside themselves, abandoned, ignored and diminished people who we deem not worthy of our respect and care.
CONCLUSION
The prevalent despair, obsessive behavior, and anxiety in our culture arise not from being moral, but from the abandonment of the moral law. Of course, happiness is mixed with sorrow and the inevitable tragedies of life. There are no perfect families, perfect marriages, perfect parishes—nothing human is perfect. Part of our moral quest and journey home to God and all the saints includes carrying our cross. God’s Laws are a delight!
CATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH
1704 The human person participates in the light and power of the divine Spirit. By his reason, he is capable of understanding the order of things established by the Creator. By free will, he is capable of directing himself toward his true good. He finds his perfection “in seeking and loving what is true and good.”
I AM THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD