Reading: Exodus 20: 14, John 14:15-21, Easter 5B – May 21, 2000
By the Rev. Karen F. Siegfriedt
St. Jude the Apostle Episcopal Church, Cupertino CA
Jesus said: "They who have my commandments and keep them are those who love me; and those who love me will be loved by my Father." (John 14)
It is not enough to say that Jesus Christ is Lord and Savior. It never has been. If Jesus is our Lord and Savior it means that we follow his commandments: Love God, love your neighbor. If you read through the gospels, most of Jesus' commentary on the great commandment is to treat one's neighbor with justice, kindness, love, inclusivity, and peace, and to use our resources for the well being of all people. Jesus' understanding of what it means to love God and love one's neighbor is clearly grounded in the Ten Commandments. Today I would like to continue my sermon series on the Ten Commandments and focus on the seventh commandment: "Thou Shalt Not Commit Adultery," particularly as it effects our planet Earth.
Whenever you read about some commandment or warning in the Bible, you can be sure that a lot of that behavior was occurring at the time. Adultery was extremely common among the peoples surrounding the Israelites. It was an issue that needed to be addressed for the well being of the Jewish community. Remember that the Ten Commandments were not separate moral commands to be kept by individuals, but rather they formed the foundation for how the people of Israel were to live in community.
It is said, "adults enjoy adultery much more than infants enjoy infancy." While this may seem like a funny statement, being betrayed by an adulterous spouse is anything but funny. The understanding of adultery both in the Torah and in the New Testament era was quite different from our current understanding. For those of us in modern western civilization, sexual activity outside the marriage on the part of either spouse is understood as adultery. This was not so in ancient Israel. According to the Old Testament, any sexual activity on the part of an engaged or married woman constituted adultery. The husband could commit adultery only by having intercourse with the wife or fiancée of another man. If he had sexual relations with a slave, a prostitute, a concubine, or a divorced or widowed woman, this did not constitute adultery.
This double standard was acceptable in ancient Palestine because women were viewed simply as property. The continuity of the family was entirely dependent on its acquiring legitimate heirs. No man wanted an "illegitimate" offspring to inherit such property and so it was imperative that all offspring were solely his. That is why adultery was viewed as a crime against property rather than a moral offense.
Things have changed a little since that time. Although the State of California looks upon a marriage as a legal property exchange between two people (and if you don't believe that, just look at divorce proceedings), most people now get married to enhance their own psychological needs. Even our Prayer book claims that the "union of husband and wife is intended by God for their mutual joy; for the help and comfort given one another in prosperity and adversity; and when it is God's will, for the procreation of children." The bond of marriage is sacred for both husband and wife. So sexual purity within that bond of marriage requires a monogamous relationship.
Now whether the wrong in committing adultery has to do with the betrayal of trust and commitments between spouses, or whether it focuses on the violation of another's property, we know that adultery can destroy relationships. According to Webster's dictionary, to adulterate is "to corrupt, debase, or make impure by the addition of a foreign or baser substance." If this is so, there has been no greater occurrence of adultery throughout history, than humanity's current adulteration of the planet Earth.
This year we are celebrating the Year of the Jubilee. Care and respect of the planet Earth is one of the goals of the Jubilee campaign. Some people say that Christianity is to blame for the poor condition of the planet. In Genesis 1, God said: "Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves upon the earth." It does not say however, that our responsibility as stewards of the Earth means that we should rape and pillage the rest of creation. So the questions we need to ask ourselves are: Why do we make choices to operate in the world in such a way as to rapidly deplete our resources so that the quality of life for other creatures and future generations are diminished? What can we do to reverse the destruction of our planet Earth?
Having been professionally involved as an environmental chemist for over 15 years, I would like to point to four major environmental concerns that if taken seriously, could regenerate and sustain the natural world.
1. Population Control: We need to produce fewer children. The world cannot sustain the current population growth without a diminished quality of life and much suffering. While most people in North American point to the developing nations as being the culprits, each of our children use 4 times the natural resources as a child in the developing nations. Thus, when we have 2 children, it affects the earth the same as they having eight children. Unless we cut our children's consumption by 75% or begin having less than 2 children, then we as a nation are contributing to the decline in quality of life on our planet.
2. Excessive Consumption: The Earth is a finite planet. There is a limit on how large the economy can grow before it uses up all of our resources. We have too much stuff and too much garbage. If you really want to buy something, then buy a service or a non-material product. Software, massage therapy, hiring someone to clean your windows are examples of supporting the economy without using material resources.
3. Personal automobiles and light trucks are some of the worst overall environmental offenders. Combustion products pollute our air and increase global warming. We need to drive as little as possible and buy a car that gets very good mileage.
4. Meat and poultry: This industry causes 20% of common water pollution and uses 860 million acres for livestock grazing and animal feed. We need to eat less meat and lobby for a change in the way the meat industry operates.
Both adulteration and adultery are a betrayal of trust in relationships whether that relationship refers to a spouse or to the creation that has been given into our care. If we are committed to sustain and care for our mother earth, then we must consider the following:
1. When making a purchase, instead of asking, "What can I afford?” ask instead, "What can the planet afford? "
2. As one of God's stewards, ask yourself, "What is my responsibility to other creatures?"
3. Make a commitment to a simple life-style, keeping in mind that the planet lacks the resources to sustain the great increases of a Gross Global product.
Since every generation benefits from the graces and suffers from the sins of its ancestors, let us make sure that our relationship with the earth is one of purity so that future generations will benefit from our acts of grace.