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Text Box: say it is well within the authority granted by God under the Power of the Keys. We are concerned with application of the Commandment in a manner which fosters preparation to meet Christ. The worship of God should be, as fully as possible, in accordance with what God has instructed. Under the Old Covenant worship of God was detailed in the Law of Moses with explicit ceremonial instructions and explicit instructions for different circumstances. Atonement for sins of the priests required one procedure, and atonement for the sins of the people required another. Ransom of the first born child required specific sacrifice and ceremonies. Under the New Covenant the focus is on the Holy Sacrifice of the Cross in the Divine Liturgy and the reception of the Sacred Body and Blood of Christ as food and drink for the soul, spirit, and body. One must prepare for this and pray during the Divine Liturgy, and carry the effects of full participation with them for as long a period of time as possible. Anything which interferes with this is to be avoided as a matter of simple common sense - which obviously is sorely lacking in today’s society. The Sabbath is also kept holy by both abstaining from the toils by which we live and by resting from those toils. A carpenter should put his hammer down and allow his muscles to rest. A scribe should close ink well and lay down his pen, or turn off his word processor, and allow his mind to be refreshed - preferably with contemplation of God and the wonders which He has made. No one should force another to work. The rest concept of this Commandment presents more difficulties than all of the other aspect of all of the other Commandments combined. There are certain occupations which are so necessary for the well-being of individuals and society, that they must be in service even on the Sabbath. Medical practitioners, police and

Text Box: firemen, and others of similar professions must be available. But most occupations are not of that level of necessity. If you go to the grocery store to purchase milk for your children, you are forcing the store clerk to work, but if you do not purchase the milk your children will be in need. You should have purchased the milk the day before - but what if you did and the milk you purchased was bad? You go to a restaurant for lunch, causing the cook and waitresses to work. But if you did not, and others also did not, perhaps the cook and the waitresses would suffer such a loss of income as to make them unable to sustain life? It is simple to realize that if your donkey or your child falls into a ravine on Sunday, you will not say, “Good luck until Monday,” but rather will pull them out of the ravine. A farmer can abstain from many of his chores on Sunday and spend an enjoyable day at Church and with his family - but if he has milk cows them must be milked in the morning and in the evening otherwise they will suffer, and may stop giving milk. But the optional or non-necessitous activities can present difficult problems. In such situations arises the opportunity to be more courteous than on other occasions, to leave a better tip where appropriate, and in general to assist in making a little better, the life of the one who is performing a work for you or the life of the one form whom you are performing a service. In such situations arise the opportunities to be a Christian. Honor thy father and thy mother. Obviously minor children must follow the rule and instructions of their parents. That is a fiat. “Honor” is not just a simple matter of being nice to your parents nor of respecting them whether or not they have earned that respect. Your parents worked with God to create you - even if

Text Box: your conception was based in physical passion, which is something we do not like to think about when it is applied to our parents. They therefore are entitled to an image of the respect we must acknowledge to God as Creator of everything. But “honor” is more than that we treat them better than we treat anyone else, especially for adult children. If we are obligated to assist those in need, we are obligated to a greater measure to assist our parents whether or not they are in need. We must be patient with them when they are being difficult, and we must never manipulate or ignore them. We must take care of them ourselves to the extent we have the physical, mental, emotional, and financial ability so to do, and must not abandon our obligations to them by hiring others to perform such tasks as are necessary unless we ourselves are not capable of performing those tasks at the level and in the manner necessary. Where they desire our company and companionship, we should provide that company and companionship, and this is one of the great matters which is most often neglected by adult children. But we must also guard against being manipulated and controlled by them just as we must guard against our controlling and manipulating them. Thou shalt not kill. This in many ways, with its sister not to steal, form two paths to the Two Great Commandments, the First, to Love God, the Second, to Love thy neighbor. This is more than just an admonition against killing, though at its foundation it forbids killing. It is an admonition against hatred, and even against dislike. At its most gentle, one is permitted to dislike someone because of what that person does, and if what that person does which is disagreeable is very severe and also an integral part of that person’s character, then the dislike may extend beyond what the person does to the person himself. By way of example,

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