The Ten Commandments

You may have heard that the Roman Catholic Church has rewritten the Ten Commandments. Well, it’s written another ten for the road:

  1. You shall not kill.
  2. The road shall be for you a means of communion between people and not of mortal harm.
  3. Courtesy, uprightness and prudence will help you deal with unforeseen events.
  4. Be charitable and help your neighbour in need, especially victims of accidents.
  5. Cars shall not be for you an expression of power and domination, and an occasion of sin.
  6. Charitably convince the young and not so young not to drive when they are not in a fitting condition to do so.
  7. Support the families of accident victims.
  8. Bring guilty motorists and their victims together, at the appropriate time, so that they can undergo the liberating experience of forgiveness.
  9. On the road, protect the more vulnerable party.
  10. Feel responsible towards others.

This has been put together by a group presided over by Cardinal Renato Martino, and I spared you the original text, which was in Latin. The document goes into rather plodding detail of the spirituality and morality of driving. I gather it is not in principle a sin to enjoy driving, although we must guard against an instinct to dominate, and avoid any sense of vanity and personal glorification. (Hang on, these guys are in Italy; have they ever seen Italian driving?)

My first reaction was to wonder why the RC Church should devote the time of so many learned people to this. But then, why not? Many of us spend an hour or more every day in cars, isolated from the world outside. A time of frustration at the world in general, and other road users in particular? Time wasted when we could be doing something useful if we weren’t stuck in the car? Time spent thinking of as little as possible? My colleague tells me she spends time in the car revising German grammar (well, someone has to).

The Cardinal’s Guidelines remind us that the Bible is full of journeys. The Patriarchs of the first five books led a wandering existence, and there are stories of travel throughout the Old and New Testaments. In Acts, the Apostles spend much of their time travelling, at the command of Jesus: “Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation” (Mark 16:15; Matthew 28:19; and Luke 24:47). There is much symbolism of travel: The Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37), “Make straight in the desert a highway for our God” (Isaiah 40:3), and especially: “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6). It is a somewhat trite and care-worn metaphor to refer to life as a journey, but it is a spiritual journey for a Christian. The journey to an understanding of God, the journey to Faith, the journey to an understanding of how to live our lives… Plenty to contemplate in the car.

And as the Cardinal says: “Ductore sic te praevio, vitemus omne noxium” (If you guide us, we avoid all things harmful).

Simon Garrett

 

From Gill Lee

We are all becoming increasingly security conscious these days. In our previous manse in London it was a military operation to venture beyond the front gate, requiring the locking of front door, back door, windows, patio door bolts, padlocks on garden gate and two sheds – the Yeomen of the Tower of London could be kept fully employed as keepers of my keys. Life is certainly more relaxed in Suffolk than in London on the security front, although a burglary this week a few hundred yards from my house served as a reminder that it may be a trifle naïve to throw wide my doors to all who would enter in!

Sometimes I do wonder though, if it would just be easier to leave windows and doors invitingly open, and a sign saying “Nothing of any material value in this house - help yourself!” Perhaps the bluff would work and any prospective burglar would be deterred by the thought of booby traps of boiling oil should he/she dare to cross the threshold. Perhaps not. Although I may not have anything of great material value in my home, there are many personal and family treasures that I would be sad to lose; things that are of infinite worth because of the memories they hold. Perhaps more importantly, this is our personal space. My home has been ransacked by burglars in the past and I know well the sense of personal violation it brings. So, for the time being at least, the ceremony of the keys will continue. I will guard my home.

I guard the things that are important to me – or do I?

There’s an interesting verse in Proverbs which says “Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life” (Prov.4:23), and the prophet Malachi says “guard yourself in your spirit” (Mal.2:15).

Summer time is peak time for burglars, as we fling open our homes to welcome in the brief moments of sunshine. Similarly, holiday times can be peak times for the enemy of our souls, as the busyness of church life makes way for the slower pace of summer and we let down our spiritual guard. But what an opportunity we have when the pace of life slows, even a little, to “be still, and know that I am God”!

Just two ways in which Scripture suggests that we can guard our hearts:

“Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable – if anything is excellent or praiseworthy – think about such things… And the God of peace will be with you” (Phil.4:8-9).

“Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful” (Col.4:2)

Have a wonderful summer; take time just to ‘be’ with God, and may the peace and presence of the Saviour guard your hearts – and your homes!

Gill Lee