"Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind." That’s the summary of the first 3 commandments as given in Deuteronomy 6(:5) and Matthew 22(:37). The first 3 (the first table or tablet) are all about our relationship to God. We are to have no other gods. We are to honor God’s name in all we say and do. We are to set aside time to worship God and hear His Word. Now with the 4^th Commandment we begin the 2^nd Table, the commandments that speak about out relationship with other people – those Jesus calls "your neighbor."

From the back of the bulletin, let’s read together the 4^th Commandment and Luther’s explanation. Honor your father and your mother. What does this mean? We should fear and love God so that we do not despise or anger our parents and other authorities, but honor them, serve and obey them, love and cherish them. (Or "so that we do not despise our parents and masters, but give them honor, serve and obey them, and hold them in love and esteem.)

The 4^th Commandment is about those "neighbors" closest to us – our family, our parents. This Commandment serves as a bridge between the 1^st 3 Commandments and the rest, because it reminds us that God has given us earthly representatives of His authority. It is through our parents – and other authorities – that God seeks to guide and guard our life.

Luther writes in his Large Catechism: "(God) distinguishes father and mother above all other persons on earth, and places them next to himself. For it is a much higher thing to honor than to love. Honor includes not only love, but also deference, humility, and modesty directed (so to speak) toward a majesty concealed within them. When Luther says "majesty hidden within them" he is speaking of them as God’s earthly representatives.

This Commandment is also unique because it is called by St. Paul (Eph.6:2-3) "the first commandment with promise." Honor your father and your mother so that you may live long in the land the LORD your God is giving you. This promise for the Children of Israel was a reminder that God was leading them to a new land – the Promised Land. It was a priceless gift, but they could lose it if they turned away from the LORD. That included turning away from His earthly representatives – their parents and other authorities, like Moses, God’s prophets, and good kings. In Ephesians, since Paul is writing to mainly Gentile Christians – like us – the promise is changed to long life on the earth. Luther says: in the Scriptures, to have a long life means not merely to grow old, but to have everything that belongs to long life—for example, health, spouse and child, sustenance, peace, good government, etc.—without which this life cannot be enjoyed nor will it long endure. As we "fear and love of God" we remember that the LORD gives varying amounts of these earthly blessings to each individual, as God knows what is best for us. And the ultimate "long life" of the promise will come in the eternal Promised Land with the Lord.

The use of this Commandment as a CURB or boundary to protect us from danger and chaos is obvious. Children who are rightly brought up to honor, obey and love their parents will more than likely live with this same respect to other authorities and with respect towards all their worldly neighbors. Children whose parents allowed them to grow up without such respect, or children whose parents wrongly provoked them to anger, will more than likely live without respect and with anger towards other authorities and other neighbors in life. We need this Commandment so that our whole world may be more at peace.

This Commandment serves as a clear MIRROR of our sin. All of us were children at one time. It’s not difficult to recall that each of us broke this Commandment on many occasions. An angry word. A stubborn refusal. An insolent smirk. Dragging our feet in completing a job. Conveniently forgetting what we were told to do or not to do. The times we either said or thought "I wish I had different parents." Or simply an ungrateful heart. All of these are examples of breaking the 4^th Commandment. These can also be ways of breaking the commandment toward other authorities.

For us Christians, the Commandment that shows us our sin should drive us to our knees in repentance, seeking God’s forgiveness because of Christ’s sacrifice on the Cross. Then, in the new life that forgiveness brings, we want to show our thanks to God. Once again, this Commandment becomes a GUIDE to help us thank God for His love. Luther says: "If I am to do good and holy works, I know of none better than to give honor and obedience to my parents, for God himself has commanded it.

Let’s think about Luther’s words: "parents and other authorities." We believe that all the people of authority in the world are extension of the role of parents in the family. This includes teachers in schools, supervisors in the workplace, government in society at large – both local and national, and pastors and other spiritual authorities in the church. All these are supposed to do for larger groups what God expects parents to do within the family – that is, to protect and provide, teach and train people for mature, responsible life together.

The opposite of despising our parents and other authorities is to honor them. Luther says: It must therefore be impressed on young people that they revere their parents as God’s representatives, and to remember that, however lowly, poor, feeble, and eccentric they may be, they are still their mother and father, given by God. They are not to be deprived of their honor because of their ways or failings. Therefore, we are not to think of their persons, whatever they may be, but of the will of God, who has created and ordained it so. … Besides this, it is our duty before the world to show gratitude for the kindness and for all the good things we have received from our parents. But here again the devil rules in the world; children forget their parents, as we all forget God. No one thinks about how God feeds, guards, and protects us and how many blessings of body and soul he gives us. Especially when an evil hour comes, we rage and grumble impatiently and forget all the blessings that we have received throughout our life. We do the very same thing with our parents, and there is no child who recognizes and considers this, unless led to it by the Holy Spirit.

This same idea comes through in a story told by Pastor Arthur Graf. A wayward son once told his mother: "Why don’t you make me a list of what I owe you. I’ll pay you every penny and then you can shut up." A day later he found this note on his bed: "For the nine months I carried you in my bosom – no charge. For the hours of labor before birth – no charge. For the nights I used to get up to feed you – no charge. For the sleepless nights I spent holding you when you were sick – no charge. For all the trips to school, ball games, youth meetings, vacation Bible School – no charge. For the pain in my back acquired washing clothes so you could go to college – no charge. For the prayers I’ve spoken and the tears I’ve shed over your neglect of God – no charge. I ask for only one thing … come back to God and His love. To have raised a child who loves God will be payment enough. Signed: your Mother." {No Other Name}

"Serve and Obey them" are the next words of the explanation. To serve and obey means to gladly provide what they need or require. St. Paul gives God’s instructions to the church in 1 Timothy 5:4 If a widow has children or grandchildren, these should learn first of all to put their religion into practice by caring for their own family and so repaying their parents and grandparents, for this is pleasing to God. In extending this service owed to other authorities, Paul wrote in Romans 13:7 Give to everyone what you owe him: If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor. We need to remember his words in Colossians 3:20 Children, obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord. The only time we should not obey our parents or any other authority is when they have commanded us to do something God forbids. Then we should join with Peter to say: We must obey God rather than men. (Acts 5:29)

The last words of the explanation are "Love and Cherish them," or "Hold them in Love and Esteem. We are to recognize our parents and other authorities as precious gifts of God, and love them for it, showing our love in words and deeds. Proverbs 23:22 says: Listen to your father, who gave you life, and do not despise your mother when she is old. We see our Lord Jesus as the best example, loving His mother even while He hung upon the cross and making sure someone would take care of her when He was no longer visibly present.

Finally, Luther’s words about the Responsibility of Parents. … it would also be well to preach to parents on the nature of their responsibility, how they should treat those whom they have been appointed to rule. Although their responsibility is not explicitly presented in the Ten Commandments, it is certainly treated in detail in many other passages of Scripture. God even intends it to be included precisely in this commandment in which he speaks of father and mother.

We probably recall "Spare the rod, spoil the child." Actually that is not a direct quote from the Bible. Proverbs 13:24 says, He who spares the rod hates his son, but he who loves him is careful to discipline him. This is not talking about physical abuse that injures a child. It is talking about careful discipline, physical or otherwise, that corrects a child. It seems to me that negligence of discipline is just as abusive as a beating that damages a child’s body, because the character of the child will remain bent in rebellion for a lifetime, and maybe beyond! Another verse to remember is Ephesians 6:4 Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.

Back to Dr. Luther: (God) does not want scoundrels or tyrants in this office or authority; nor does he assign them this honor (that is, power and right to govern) so that they may receive homage. Instead, they should keep in mind that they owe obedience to God, and that, above all, they should earnestly and faithfully discharge the duties of their office, not only to provide for the material support of their children, servants, subjects, etc., but especially to bring them up to the praise and honor of God. Therefore do not imagine that the parental office is a matter of your pleasure and whim. It is a strict commandment and injunction of God, who holds you accountable for it.

We read together again the Commandment and Explanation. Honor your father and your mother. What does this mean? We should fear and love God so that we do not despise or anger our parents and other authorities, but honor them, serve and obey them, love and cherish them.

May God forgive our failings to honor, serve and obey, love and cherish our parents and other authorities, and our failings to be responsible parents and authorities. May His grace in Christ Jesus enable us to begin anew to keep this Commandment, living as loving parents and children – loving leaders and followers, all because of His boundless love for us. Amen.