Thy Will Be Done: The Ten Commandments and the Christian Life by Gilbert Meilaender (review)

This volume is short but chock full of insights, suitable for college and seminary classrooms or a parish adult class. At its best, paranesis or moral instruction not only directs our behavior but also invites us to reflect on it, especially in light of where we disagree with others. Meilaender situates the Ten Commandments within the context of human redemption, offering less an analysis of their ancient context, and more a commentary on how they should bear on Christian life today in light of God's redemptive efforts. For Meilaender, the commandments are a "framework for understanding God's will" (1). In addition to reading Luther, he also positions his discussion in tandem with ecumenical voices, such as Calvin and the Catechism of the Catholic Church.

Meilaender starts with a paradox in Paul's epistles with which Lutherans especially have wrestled. On the one hand, Paul sees the law as applying to one historical period and faith to a subsequent one. On the other hand, Paul also sees the distinction between law and faith not only as historical periods, but also as existential matters, human reliance on either law or faith in Christ. Meilaender decides that the best way to harmonize this difference is to see Christ as the fulfillment of but not the termination of the law. Thereby, Christians are not "under law" but also not without law (7). The law does not save humans, but it does give "shape and instruction to life" (8). That said, Meilaender is helpful in noting that when we learn rules by rote, through intense practice, we exercise goodness with abandonment (16).

Forgoing a serial exegesis of each of the commandments one by one, Meilaender interprets them in terms of various "bonds": the "marriage bond" (Sixth Commandment), the "family bond" (Fourth Commandment), the "life bond" (Fifth Commandment), the "possessions bond" (Seventh, Ninth and Tenth Commandments), and the "speech bond" (Eighth Commandment). The first three commandments, our duties to God, are dealt with throughout the book, particularly the last chapter.

Meilaender gives us numerous insights organized around the concept of these various "bonds." The "marriage bond," for instance, deals not with protecting one's own marriage but one's neighbor's (19). It is a means whereby God heals our wayward desires. The "family bond" is a way through which God shapes character, both parents' and children's through each other. The "life bond" acknowledges that the face of Christ can be found in every human face (54). Particularly relevant for our day, all are called to care for the environment (55–6). People should seek not only to minimize suffering but also to maximize care (61).

With the "possessions bond" it is the sabbath that puts our possessions and work lives in perspective; life's center is situated in God and not ourselves. The sabbath recalls creation and hearkens to a new creation (93). With the "speech bond" we should seek to speak with integrity, particularly on behalf of those who are mistreated (107). Finally, life involves daily sacrifices of not only goods, but even ourselves, as we give of ourselves, in order that we might be faithful to God (121). Finally, in eternity we will hear God's commands no longer as directives but as promises (125).

Overall, this is a fine resource for any number of educational venues. American Lutheranism is most fortunate to have an ethicist of the stature of Gilbert Meilaender.