The Ten Commandments Forming Our Conscience, homily for Third Sunday of Lent Year B

Homily for the Third Sunday of Lent Year B

by Fr. Tommy Lane

Do you have a dog at home? If you do I’m sure your dog knows the following rules must be obeyed. The refuse-collector is not stealing our belongings. I must not stand straight up when I am lying under the coffee table. My head does not belong in the fridge. What do you think of the following rules for eating chocolate? We should eat more fruit; chocolate-coated raisins, cherries, and orange slices all count as fruit, so eat as many as you want. We are supposed to eat a balanced diet so eating equal amounts of white and dark chocolate is a balanced diet.

The dog learned rules from the family with whom he lived. On the other hand, the rules for chocolate were twisting reason in order to allow one’s desires/feelings to be satisfied. What about our journey through life? How do we know how to live? Do we follow any twisted rules allowing us merely to indulge our desires/feelings? If we grew up in a desert island where the faith had never arrived we would still know some basic rights from wrongs. We call this Natural law. Natural Law would help us to make decisions about right and wrong, even if we had no faith, e.g. not to take the life of another. Even if we grew up in a desert island where the faith had not arrived, we would have a conscience though not fully developed, and natural law would help us make decisions about living.

We did not grow up in a desert island where there is no faith, we were privileged to grow up as sons and daughters of God. Being a son or daughter of God is so great a grace, we cannot find words to express thanks to God for his generosity is making us part of his family. Being a son or daughter of God, in relationship with God, means we live in a certain way, a way that shows that we are sons and daughters of God. Being a son or daughter of God, as we all here are, affects every moment of every day. It is not just something for one hour in the week. It is a privilege we enjoy every hour of every day. We show we are such a privileged people in God’s eyes by the way we live.

How does a son or daughter of God live? What does a son or daughter of God do so that others will know they are sons and daughters of God? The natural law of a desert island and partly formed conscience are not enough. It is possible for our conscience to be mistaken. Our conscience can be influenced by society around us, by what we read and see on TV. Our conscience can become polluted. With a mistaken conscience we might make up rules for living that are twisted, like those rules for eating chocolate that enable one to follow their desires/feelings. To help our conscience know how a son or daughter of God lives, God has given us the Commandments.

A son or daughter of God is one who worships God alone and does not worship other things such as pop idols, sports stars, money, possessions, sex, flashy cars as no 1 in their lives.
A son or daughter of God does not take the name of God in vain because a son or daughter of God loves God so much that he or she would not want to hurt God and disrespect God by disrespecting God’s name.
A son or daughter of God would keep Sunday as God’s day, by attending the celebration of the Eucharist and refraining from working unnecessarily and not using Sunday as a day for catching up on work not done during the week.
A son or daughter of God would honor his/her parents and those in authority over him/her such as teachers and the police force; and those in authority show respect to and treat those under their authority kindly. In his 1994 Letter to Families Pope John Paul II stated that the fourth commandment indirectly asks parents to honor their children. Parents should act in such a way that they deserve to be honored.
A son or daughter of God would respect all life as from God and would not harm or kill life anywhere in or outside the womb.
A son or daughter of God would not commit adultery but show respect for the vows that the married couple made to one another and to God on the sanctuary.
A son or daughter of God would not steal, or cheat or defraud.
A son or daughter of God would not tell lies, because Satan is the father of lies (John 8:44; Acts 5:3). A son or daughter of God lives in the truth because God is truth (John 3:33).
A son or daughter of God would not be jealous of the success or good fortune or possessions of others because he or she would realize that he/she has also been lavishly blessed by God and has much to be grateful for. A son or daughter of God would thank God for the success and blessings of others.
A son of daughter of God would not covet his neighbor’s wife or her husband because what God has joined we must not separate. A son or daughter of God, a mother-in-law or father-in-law, would not interfere negatively in their son’s or daughter’s marriage but would do everything possible to help the married couple.

We are truly blessed. God has welcomed us as his sons and daughters on the day we were baptized. To help us live as his sons and daughters, God has blessed us with many ways of enlightening our conscience so that we do not suffer from a mistaken conscience and follow twisted rules for living like those rules about chocolate. God gave us the Ten Commandments to teach our conscience how to live as his sons and daughters. Jesus came to give our conscience further enlightenment on how blessed we are as sons and daughters of God and how a son or daughter of God lives. Not only that, but God has blessed us even more by calling us to be members of his Church so that we can grow together as a family, his sons and daughters. To help us grow together as a family, his sons and daughters, God further helps our conscience to grow by speaking to us through the teaching of the Church so that we are never short of enlightenment as to how a son or daughter of God lives. The Ten Commandments, the teaching of Jesus, and the teaching of the Church, all help us form our conscience so that we can truly live as sons and daughters of God. As we journey through Lent let us allow the Lord to form our conscience so that we truly live as sons and daughters of God. “You, Lord have the message of eternal life” (Response to today’s Psalm.)

This homily was delivered when I was engaged in parish ministry in Ireland before joining the faculty of Mount St. Mary’s Seminary, Emmitsburg, Maryland.

More related material for the Third Sunday of Lent Year B

stories about the Commandments

on Jesus’ justified anger, excerpt of Enjoying the Bible