We haven't had too much "discussion" the last few weeks. I am hoping yesterday's message gets it going a little bit...
Did I take the command too far? What are the implications of "spiritualizing" the 5th Commandment, Honor your father and mother?
Or did my message really "spiritualize" anything? The people deserving honor are still flesh and blood people in our lives...
Thoughts?
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I did feel that it was a tad bit spiritualized. Not that the sermon didn't have truth in it, nor that it wasn't it applicable, but it hollowed back to our Mother's Day service where we honored the women (or spiritual moms) in our lives and how they have helped shape our faith. In a way this acknowledgement ties into the theme of Deut. where the Israelites are constantly being reminded who they are, their history, and God's faithfulness. It is only by being reminded who they are, where they came from, and God's faithfulness that they can enter into the tradition which is their faith (everything is wrapped into one).
Part of me wants to say...the spiritualization is not how the Israelites would have read the text and we are jumping into application/NT theology before understanding the historical, but for the ancients both items were one in the same and not secularized as we have it today.
I guess I would have liked to see what it meant for Israelites who didn't have strict Torah parents...or for us who don't have Christian parents...
I got interrupted in the middle of my post, lost my train of thought, and have my mind everywhere but here...this week I am relying on you.
Our interpretation and practice of the Scriptures won't be identical to that of the people who first received it. You hit it right on the head when you said that "both items were one in the same." Still it is clear from the context, that the parental designation is not one of biology, but of godly parenting.
The case that would bring light to this would be the "God-fearer" or the Gentile convert to the Israelite faith. Who receives the parental honor from Ruth? Naomi, her mother in the faith, did. In fact, Ruth goes so far as to demonstrate Torah honor for Naomi as an Israelite would her mother.
Based on where the text lead, I felt like it wasn't appropriate to spend much time on non-Christian parents...that wasn't what this passage was about.
Remember that it would have been expected to be the norm for Israelites to have faithful, godly parents. The first generation of Israelites, post-Egypt, never say anything about their parents. They celebrate (honor) Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob the faithful fathers...
If our parents are not Christians, or have not passed the faith on to us, they continue to exist in the realm of "the world" for whom Christ died. In that way, we love them with the radical kind of love that Christ offers. We offer them the same respect we would offer to anyone, simply by nature of their being a human and creation of God. And, it would probably do us well to be thankful for them and all they've done for our well-being.
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