● November 2025 "The Mountain Top Messenger" Newsletter
(please click on above link to open current newsletter)
November, the calendar continues ever onward, the year is almost spent. It seems a bit hard to
believe we are sliding into winter already. Summer flew past; fall is in the rearview mirror already.
I want to thank everyone who participated in, attended, and helped out at our Fall Harvest Dinner
and Music review. It was a wonderful event and the food was amazing. A big thank you to John
Pruss for the amazing roast beef and all the hours he put in preparing it, as well as all of those
who brought dishes for the potluck portion, I feel confident in saying no one went home hungry. A
big thank you to Tiffany for arranging all the musicians, for being and accompanist, and leading
the choir. I am already looking forward to next year's edition. I don't know if you realize it or not,
but Advent begins on November 30th this year, so we are less than 30 days to the start of the
Christmas season and the beginning of the new church year. Just a reminder we are putting together
the Christmas care packages for our students who are away from home and this year for
any military members as well, so if you know anyone from our church family out there please let
us know so we can include them, we are trying to get all the names together by the 15th of November.
Please let Lynn or me know if you have a name and address.
Well here we are, at the end of our review of the 10 commandments through the eyes of Luther's
Large Catechism. I think is has been an interesting journey and I know I have learned a few
things and been refreshed on some others, I hope it has been interesting for you as well. I'm not
sure what my target message will be for next year, and I am certainly open to suggestions for topics.
If there is something that you would like me to dig into please let me know.
For now then, let's dig into the Commandments nine and ten. They are quite similar the direcives
in the commandments are the same only the subject of the command is different. One being
your neighbor's living things, the other being his material goods. I found it interesting that in the
Large Catechism Luther tells us that these two commands, while indeed are to be followed by us
were exclusively directed to the jews. He goes on to talk about how jews felt they were keeping
the commandments precisely when they followed the seventh commandment (Thou Shalt not
Steal), and didn't think that coveting a neighbor's spouse or property, or desiring them in anyway
was sinful and forbidden. As long as they didn't outright steal them they were ok. And that is
where 9 and 10 come in. People understood the do not steal part, these commandments take it a
couple of steps further, here in 9 and 10 it is forbidden to entice anything away from your neighbor,
even though in the eyes of the world you could do it honorably, without accusation or blame
for fraudulent gain, in the eyes of the world it is considered legitimate to make gain for yourself in
at the expense of others.
Luther puts it this way: "We hunt for and think up clever tricks and shrewd tactics – better and
better ones are being devised daily – under the guise of justice. We brazenly dare to boast of it
and defiantly insist that it should not be called rascality but shrewdness and foresight. In this
way we are abetted by jurists and lawyers who twist and stretch the law to suit their purpose,
straining words and using them for pretexts, without regard for equity or for our neighbor's plight.
In short, whoever is sharpest and shrewdest in such matters gets most advantage out of the
law, for as the saying has it, 'The law favors the vigilant."
It sounds to me like things have only gotten worse since the 1500's when Dr. Luther wrote this. I
feel comfortable in saying that we see these things happening in our world today on a far too
regular basis. Luther then points out who this commandment is aimed at when he states; "This
last commandment, therefore, is not addressed to those whom the world considers wicked
rogues, but precisely to the most upright - to people who wish to be commended as hones and
virtuous because they have not offended against the preceding commandments." Luther talks
briefly how this commandment applies more often to those who are more "well to do" than the
poor, as the poor when in need usually fall under the seventh commandment because they do
not have the resources or the opportunity to acquire what then need through deceit and cunning.
It boils not to this, God doesn't want us to deprive our neighbors of anything that is theirs, He
doesn't want them to suffer loss while we satisfy our greed, even if in the eyes of world what we
have done appears to be okay in their eyes, and we are only trying to "take care of ourselves."
Luther concludes it this way: "This, then, is the common meaning of this commandment. First,
we are commanded not to desire to harm our neighbors, nor to assist in doing harm nor to give
occasion for it. Instead, we are gladly to let them have what is theirs and to promote and protect
whatever may be profitable and serviceable to them, just as we wish others would do for us."
This concludes my series on the 10 commandments, I hope you have enjoyed it and found it
worth your time. And again, if you have a topic you would like me to tackle next. please let me
know. Thank you and God Bless and I will write to you all again next month.
The Lord Bless you and keep you, the Lord make His face shine upon you and be gracious unto
you, the Lord look upon you with favor and give you peace.
Pastor Rick
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