January 9, 2011 Sunday Sermon Fr.

Ambrose Young
Entrance of the Theotokos Skete

Sermon on the Second Commandment

In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.

The second of the Ten Commandments is: "Thou shalt not make for thee
any graven image or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or
that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; thou
shalt not bow down to them, nor serve them."
Entrance of the Theotokos
This is a continuation of the First Commandment which tells us not to have to the Temple
any false gods. As I said in last Sunday’s sermon, this includes making gods of people,
things, money, pleasures, etc. The second Commandment expands upon this by telling us
to not create images of false gods, either. The idols of pagans are rather obvious, of course,
but many Christians also worship their talents, their skills, their jobs, etc., which then
become idols and graven images as surely as any statue of a pagan Hindu god.

Some Protestants claim that this commandment forbids the use of icons and other holy
images in churches and homes, and for this reason, most Protestant churches are (in our
eyes) drearily austere and barren. Some Catholic churches, in an effort to be more
ecumenically “protestant-friendly”,
friendly”, have also stripped their churches of most of the sacred
adornments Catholics were used to in the old days. (I remember visiting the new Roman
Catholic Cathedral in San Francisco some years ago an
and
d was both astonished and saddened
to see that other than a cross near the altar, the only other adornment in the entire huge
cathedral was an copy of the famous Polish icon of the Black Madonna (the original of which
was stolen from the Orthodox long cent
centuries ago, by the way). Other than that, there were
just soaring and completely barren concrete walls, not even any plaster or painting. It hurt
the heart.)

To put it bluntly and frankly to our non

non-Orthodox
Orthodox brothers, it is simply WRONG to say that
the second
cond commandment forbids the honoring of icons! Why, because we do not see icons
as deities, but rather as reminders of spiritual truths - of God as He appeared to the
Prophets, of the Incarnate Savior, of angels and miraculous biblical events. An icon is
theology in color or in paint, whereas Scripture is theology in words. They both describe and
reveal the same truths. We lovingly hold the Bible, and not only read from it daily but press
it to our hearts and kiss it, and we venerate the icons, but we d
doo not see either of these as
God or any other kind of deity; we do not worship them
them—we
we worship only the One that is
revealed through them. And by the way, the fact that we Orthodox kiss icons is not worship
or idolatry, any more than when we kiss a relativ
relative
e or a friend we are not worshiping them,
but rather showing great respect and affection.

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 January 9, 2011 Sunday Sermon Fr. Ambrose Young
Entrance of the Theotokos Skete

We urge the non-Orthodox

Orthodox to read their Bible more closely as see how the Holy Prophet and
God-seer
seer Moses, through whom God forbade the
worship of idols, was also ordered
red by God to place
gold cherubim on the cover of the Ark of the
Covenant. Was this idolatry? Of course not. Later,
in the Temple of Jerusalem there were sculptures
and embroidered likenesses of the cherubim (1
Kings 6:27-29
29 and 2 Chronicles 3:7-14)—and
3:7 God
gave His blessing to these sacred images during the
dedication of the temple.

So, we see that the Second Commandment actually

forbids the creation or use of any substitutes for God. In ancient times people defied all
kinds of things—the
the sun and the m
moon,
oon, various animals, even reptiles like crocodiles,
thunder and lightning, and also grotesque and demonic creatures
creatures—which
which we commonly see
in Hinduism, for example. But in our own era we have an even worse form of idolatry: we
deify our own egos, passions,, wishes, desires, as well as other people with whom we have
entered into very sick and co-dependent
dependent relationships. How can we know if we are doing
this? Very simply: when anything about us or around us in our lives becomes something to
which we dedicate more thought and time than to God
God--then
then we have become idolaters and
we are violating the first two commandments. This is why the Holy Fathers encourage us to
make use of the Jesus Prayer in all our activities, work, and in anything that doesn’t require
our complete focus and attention, so that we slowly begin to sanctify and bring the Lord into
our whole lives and personalities, displacing our obsessions with self, things, and other
people and events. I think about those who live for sports and games on TV, for politics,
science, or celebrity news…such sad folk have created many different idols in their lives and
they bow down and worship these false gods. Where have they left room for the Lord Jesus
Christ, God Almighty?

In addition to this, we must add

dd some other graven images: sex, drunkenness, drugs and
smoking, gambling, gluttony, vanity, etc. St. Paul, in his epistles, even goes so far as to say
of those who commit the sin of gluttony that “their god is in their belly” (Col. 3:5; Phil.
3:19)! And how can we know if we are gluttonous? Easy; just look in the mirror… So,
brothers and sisters, all of the seven deadly sins described in Scripture show us the various
kinds of idol worship that we see all around us and in our own lives today. To this, I’m
afraid we must also add these days those who are overly
overly-conscious
conscious of their weight and try
to be very thin and fashionable. This, also can become a false god, especially when it begins
to affect the overall health of this body, this Temple of the Holy Spirit. It is a form of self-
self

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 January 9, 2011 Sunday Sermon Fr. Ambrose Young
Entrance of the Theotokos Skete

abuse, just as much as an addiction or gluttony is, and thus it is a sin against the Holy
Spirit, who dwells in this fragile and frail temple of ours, our flesh.

Now, depending on the translation and the particular place that you look in the Old
Testament, the following is also added to the Second Commandment or, sometimes, is
attached to what I have just been commenting on: “Thou shall not take the name of the
Lord, thy God, in vain, for the Lord will not leave unpunished the one who takes His name in
vain.”

The violation of this command is, I fear the most common sin of all in society today. It is not
only a profanation but an abuse of the Most Holy Name, a name which, Scripture tells us, is
above all names and before which every knee, “both in heaven and on earth” bows.

I remember once, some years ago, being in a auto repair shop where one of the mechanics
was swearing mightily, taking the Lord’s name in vain. A black woman who also waiting for
her car stepped up to him quietly and gently said, “Excuse me sir, but I can’t allow you to
swear, taking my Lord’s name in vain like this.” And then she smiled and stepped away.
What an example! What a model!

But taking the Lord’s name in vain is not only done by cursing, swearing or
the like, but also when we say the name of the eternal holy One mindlessly,
without thinking about it--for example, when we exclaim, “Oh, God!” Yes, this
too is sinful. Yet we hear it commonly out in the world and we sometimes do it
ourselves. Perhaps we think this is just an empty expression? But the very
name, the actual sound of the All-Holy One’s name is energy, it is power, and
it is truth, and to use it lightly or in swearing is a grievous offense to Almighty
God. Remember that the New Testament says that we shall be answerable for
every idle word—how much more so, then, shall we be accountable for taking the Lord’s
name in vain?

We often say, “Thank God,” when something does or doesn’t happen, which might appear
harmless and even pious, but are we actually thankful to God or is it just an expression? I
remember how, during Soviet times, Christians in the West would whoop with delight when
some atheist dictator would say “Thank God” in response to something or other. Christians
interpreted this as a slip of the tongue, perhaps revealing some secret belief in the hearts of
these brutal anti-Christians. But not so. It had become just as much of a casual expression
for these atheists as it is for most of us. So we must beware that God doesn’t put us in the
same category as these God-haters and butchers. If we do say, “Thank God,” let us mean it
and seal it with the Sign of the Cross, the way pious old country Orthodox Christians still
do.

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 January 9, 2011 Sunday Sermon Fr. Ambrose Young
Entrance of the Theotokos Skete

Finally, let us underscore this particular phrase from the Second Commandment and take it
to heart: “for
for the Lord will not leave unpunished the one who takes His name in vain…”
vain In
other words, whether we like it or not, whether we think it is even “appropriate” or
necessary or “relevant” or not, we are accountable if we break this commandment.
Accountable in every way and at every level. We will not get off scot-free.
free. But actually it is
not so much that God will punish us; it is we who will punish ourselves, as the Lord says,
“What you sow, you also will
ill reap”. So everything we say, everything we feel, think, or do,
is what we ourselves are “sowing” in our present life and in the life to come, and God has
promised that He will show all of this
this—both the good and the bad--to
to us in the personal
judgment immediately after death. For God is a God of perfect love, and
perfect love also requires perfect justice and truth. Therefore nothing will be
hidden from us at the personal judgment when we die. But everything we
have cleansed ourselves of during this life through true and not frivolous
repentance, from good works, almsgiving, prayer, unmurmuring acceptance
of our trials, difficulties and sufferings
sufferings—all
all of these are indeed cast out and
forgiven, and will not revealed before the entire mankind at the Las
Last
Judgment—as
as Scripture also assures us: “He will tear up the handwriting of our sins.”

So we see, once again, how the Ten Commandments are not just “thou shalt not” rules, but
are profound and practical guide for healthy and good living as well as a safe guide back to
our Heavenly Father and eternal life with Him, which actually begins now, today, in this very
moment, and not just when we die. As Fr. Seraphim of Platina told us, his spiritual children,
“Brethren, it’s later than you think; therefore let u
us
s hasten to do the work of God!”

In the Name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.

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