Below is a sermon I preached at Capitol Hill United Methodist Church on October 9, 2022, and this is the eNewsletter article I wrote to set up the sermon:
The Jewish law is known as the Torah. When you think about the Jewish law, what comes to mind? What all do you understand as being the Jewish law or Torah?
Growing up, I would say that I equated the Torah as “bad.” Why? Because of that false dichotomy created by Protestant Christianity from an incomplete understanding of Paul, the apostle, comparing the “works of the law” to “grace” and “faith.” So, “Law bad. Grace and faith good,” was my ill-conceived mantra.
But beyond that, I also thought the Torah was simply a list of, “Do this. . . . Don’t do that. . . .” and, “Here’s what happens when you do what is commanded. . . . Here’s what happens when you break a rule. . . . ” At first, I thought the list of dos and don’ts was only ten. Later, I learned it was a list of 613, including the Ten Commandments and some of Jesus’ greatest hits like, “Love your neighbor as yourself,” and “Love God with all your heart, soul, and strength.”
But as I studied more, I’ve learned that “law” isn’t really the best translation of Torah. Rather, “instruction” is the better translation. Take a moment to consider the different impressions you get from “instruction” as opposed to “law.”
For me, “instruction” connotes a process of learning. It also gives me some inclination of not simply “what” to do but also “how” to do it. Whereas “law” seems intimidating, “instruction” seems helpful. How do you react to these different words?
On top of all of that, though, it finally hit me one day that the Torah is the first five books of the Bible: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. Genesis is basically all narrative. A great deal of Exodus and Numbers is narrative with some commandments thrown in. Leviticus and Deuteronomy are mostly commands.
So, I began to ask myself. How is narrative “law” or “instruction?” With that, the stories of especially Genesis and Exodus began to take on a whole new meaning. Maybe the stories were giving me examples of how to live (and not to live). Maybe they were less about just being a story to remember and more about instruction or guidance on how to approach (and not approach) different situations.
With that backdrop, in this sermon we’ll focus on the stories found in Exodus 1:8-2:10 and consider what instruction and guidance it may give us about responding to the world around us.
