The Gallup organization regularly conducts polls to
determine the religious beliefs and practices of modern
Americans. Despite new attitudes about morality, fluctuations in
church membership, higher levels of education, and so on, there
have been remarkably few changes in responses in recent years.
The polls generally show that about 95% of us believe in a God of
some sort. People may call God by different names, if indeed
they believe that God is callable at all, but they do believe
that a God exists. In reference to our lesson, over 80% of
America believes that the Ten Commandments are still valid for
today. Terrific. But of that 80+%, less than half can name even
five of them. The Ten Commandments are in trouble.
We should have known it. If we had been listening, Ted
Turner would have told us. Sometime back Turner declared that
the Ten Commandments were obsolete. The creator of Cable News
Network told members of the National Newspaper Association in
Atlanta that the biblical Ten Commandments do not relate to
current global problems, such as overpopulation and the arms
race. "We're living with outmoded rules," Turner said. "The
rules we're living under [are] the Ten Commandments, and I bet
nobody here even pays much attention to 'em, because they are too
old. When Moses went up on the mountain, there were no nuclear
weapons, there was no poverty. Today, the commandments wouldn't
go over. Nobody around likes to be commanded. Commandments are
out."(1) So says Ted Turner.
Are they? No, they are not. And the reason they are not is
that the Ten Commandments are the bedrock of justice. God did
not pass these on to Moses as a way to keep us in line; rather,
these words were a gracious gift to help us get along together in
healthy society.
John Killinger tells a story about a village that, through
one tragedy after another, had land mines planted everywhere.
One night, one of the elders had a dream that showed where they
were all located. He drew a map that showed the villagers where
not to go. They cherished it and memorized it. That map is like
the 10 Commandments...they tell us what to avoid...those actions,
attitudes that would blow us and our world apart.(2)
So saying, a good deal of misunderstanding has burdened the
interpretation of the Decalogue. It starts with Ted Turner's
objection stating that nobody "likes to be commanded." True
enough. But if we go back to the very beginning of the text, we
find God saying, ""I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of
Egypt, out of the land of slavery." God does not start by giving
the Israelites rules. "I AM" starts by loving them, by freeing
them from slavery and getting them out of Egypt. Then and only
then can the Israelites know that this God deserves to be
listened to. This God is on their side and is helping them find
the good life.(3) These are not LAWS - they have no penalties
attached for breaking them. In the Hebrew Bible, they are known
simply as the TEN WORDS - God's words for the establishment of
the kind of society in which we would all like to live.
That misunderstanding continues when folks try to divide the
ten into two tables: the first group (1-4) for dealing with God;
the second (5-10) for dealing with one another. The truth is
that ALL of them are about creating a just society.
Take them one at a time. The first commandment: "You shall
have no other gods before me." On it's face, that sounds like
the plaintive cry of a god who is afraid of being ignored or
supplanted, like a teenage boy who is terrified that his girl
friend might dump him - a pretty wimpy god. But this is not
about God; this is about US and a just society.
Look at the "other gods" people choose in our day. There is
the great god MONEY that has caused so much dissatisfaction in
life because of the mad dash to acquire more and more, to keep up
with the Joneses and never quite making it. Or look at what the
god BUSINESS has done...family, friends, church, loving
relationships all lost because too much time and effort has to be
expended to keep up with the competition. Or good old Bacchus -
the ancient god of PLEASURE...300 people per week - 17,000 per
year - dead on America's highways because of drunk drivers;
thousands of young Americans hooked on drugs; a world-wide AIDS
epidemic. "You shall have no other gods before me...not for my
sake, but for yours; those gods can ruin you and your just
society."
The second command: no idols. What has that to do with
justice? Simply that people can be misled into thinking the
representation of god is the REAL god. Now, please understand
that the people of the ancient world were not stupid - as they
would sit down to carve the wood or stone, they knew that what
they were creating was a REPRESENTATION of deity, one that helped
them get in touch with something beyond "touch." If the crops
would begin to dry up for lack of rain, the people could come to
the idol and make their prayer. If an enemy were laying siege to
the town, they could come to the idol and call for deliverance.
Of course, those early theologians knew that the statue could not
answer prayers, but it was comforting to have something visible
and touchable there, to represent what they were convinced was
the larger reality.
But as with so many things that we human beings do that
start out in perfect innocence, it does not take long for that
kind of reverence to degenerate. Think of the idol-maker's
little children. When times were rough and the crops needed help
or the enemy was about to storm the gates, the youngsters saw
Daddy go in and talk to that statue. Hmm! To the immature young
mind, there would be no distinction between the idol and the god
it was supposed to represent - the image would BECOME God. "NO
idols." People become confused and are misled into trusting
things that are not worthy of trust. Ultimately, that is unjust.
Commandment #3: ""You shall not misuse the name of the Lord
your God." Or in the language of the King James Version, "You
shall not take the name of the Lord your God IN VAIN." More
misunderstanding here. No, despite what your grandmother told
you, this is not a rule about not using God's name as an
expletive. And no, that billboard we see occasionally that
purports to have God saying, "If you keep taking my name in vain,
I'll make rush hour longer," is not right either. Once more,
this is a justice issue. In the old days, people would, in the
conduct of normal business, swear by the name of God that they
would do this or not do that. Such swearing was the equivalent
of a guarantee that this verbal contract would be carried out.
Unfortunately, people being people...and egregious sinners at
that...folks would be tempted to engage in such promises knowing
full well that they had no intention of following through.
Fraud. God says NO. The command could have just as easily read
DO NOT DEFRAUD as DO NOT MISUSE MY NAME.
Number 4: "Remember the sabbath day by keeping it holy."
No, this has nothing to do with being in synagogue on Saturday or
church on Sunday. It does not mean no ball games, no picnics, no
fun, as some of us were taught. This is not an insecure deity's
way of insisting that we set aside some "God" time. Again, the
issue is social justice, and the point is a just society does not
oppress it's work force. "Six days you shall labor and do all
your work." Then TAKE A BREAK! And not only you, but everyone
who works for you - your children, your slaves, your day
laborers, even your livestock.
I am sure you noticed in that list of all those who are not
supposed to work on the sabbath, there is no mention of mother.
For the one who has had to get the breakfast, the kids, the
dinner, and herself ready to try to make it to church almost on
time, this is hardly a day of no work. But then, the scripture
never said it would be...not for Mom. The Bible never expects
the impossible.
Commandment #5: "Honor your father and your mother." Does
that mean be nice to them? Don't talk back? Keep your room
clean? Never let them have reason to complain, "You never write;
you never call?" Again, God's concern is justice. As you have
heard before, the ancient world understood children to be the
basic providers of social security. When parents got too old to
manage, the children (who were all living there anyway - several
generations would be under the same tent) would provide the care.
If that system broke down, a crucial underpinning of a just
society would be removed and ALL generations would be at risk.
Number 6: "You shall not murder." This one is difficult to
misunderstand. No just society can tolerate the willy-nilly
taking of life.
Strange as it may seem, Number 7 covers a social justice
issue too: "You shall not commit adultery." Illicit sex is not
the concern here; rather, who owns the property. Please
understand that the biblical definition of adultery is very
narrow - it does not paint with the broad brush of meaning any
sex outside of wedlock. The biblical concept of adultery refers
to a man having sex with another man's wife. The problem comes
from subsequent children this woman might have: whose kid is it?
That becomes a major concern when passing on property from one
generation to the next: it is harder to keep the property in the
family when there are conflicting claims about who fathered the
heir. The commandment is DO NOT ADULTERATE THIS FAMILY UNIT by
introducing some "foreign" element into it, and creating a mess
in determining who is family and who is not. Justice.
Number 8: "You shall not steal." Another no-brainer. Under
the category of the things I learned in kindergarten. Social
justice demands that people respect one another's property.
Nine: "You shall not give false testimony against your
neighbor." No, this has nothing to do with simply telling lies
about someone or gossiping across the back fence. This one is
about the court system. If you go into court, God says tell the
truth. A just society is dependant upon a trustworthy legal
system to resolve disputes.
And finally, Number 10: "You shall not covet." Huh? How
can we not? Isn't this asking the impossible? Not really. At
least not if we read the whole commandment. It mentions some
specifics...house, wife, slaves, ox, donkey, property in general
(and, yes, back in those days, wives were considered property).
The prohibition is not all-inclusive. It does not say that we
are not to want things - food for our babies, a decent home for
ourselves, the money to pay for school for our kids. It is FINE
and even NOBLE to want all that, but it is NOT fine, and
certainly not noble, to set our hearts on what rightfully belongs
to someone else. That leads to problems, and none that a just
society can tolerate.
It intrigues me that our Lectionary on this third Sunday in
Lent joins this lesson with its concern for justice to the gospel
account of Jesus running amok in the temple. If there were ever
any question what that scene meant, joining the passages together
should clear it up. The issue that day in Jerusalem at the
beginning of Passover was justice. Jesus saw serious INjustice
being perpetrated on innocent worshipers.
People were needing animals and birds for sacrifice,
"without spot or blemish," and the only place they could get them
so they would pass inspection would be within the temple
precincts. No problem...except for price. For example, a pair
of doves (heavily involved in the sacrificial system), outside
the Temple, might cost the equivalent of about a day's average
wage. INSIDE the Temple, the doves could cost twelve-and-a-half
times as much...two weeks wages instead of one day's. Airport
prices writ large. Unjust? Obviously!
As to the moneychangers, their function was to change the
coin of the realm into the shekels used by the Temple. For
ordinary purposes, the coins of Greece, Rome, Syria, Egypt or
other countries might be used. But for the annual Passover tax,
only the shekels of the sanctuary were valid. The moneychangers
made the conversion...for a fee. And the fee could amount to
another half-day's wage, an exorbitant amount under any
circumstance for just making change, but even more so when we
remember that the worshipers were, for the most part, poor
people. And they were being grossly ripped off in the very place
they should have been the most safe...God's house. Unjust!
The message in all this is that our God cares about justice,
and if the example of Jesus is to be emulated, righteous
indignation in the face of INjustice is our duty as disciples.
Can we be angry?
Can we be angry that a nation which prides itself on
providing "equal justice under law" provides it depending on the
color of a person's skin or how much money he or she can afford
to pay a legal "dream team?" Remember, God cares about justice.
Can we be angry about the perpetuation of a system that
offers medical treatment, not on the basis of need, but on the
basis of how much money someone has? The people who have no
money and the people who have a lot of money get care - those in
the middle may not. Should we be angry about that? Remember,
God cares about justice.
Can we be angry about a society which allows a ready supply
of deadly weapons to almost anyone with the result that, of all
the technically advanced nations of the world, we have an
exponentially higher murder rate than any other? Remember, God
cares about justice.
Can we be angry when women, though working every bit as hard
as any man, still face discrimination, abuse, harassment, and
unfair pay? Remember, God cares about justice.
Can we be angry when white collar criminals in corporate
board rooms pay themselves fat salaries and bonuses, looting
companies into bankruptcy, and leaving workers and retirees to
fend for themselves? Remember, God cares about justice.
Can we be angry at national priorities that allocate 450-billion dollars to defense this year (and that is not counting
even one penny for conducting the current war) - the same amount
as allocated in total by all the other nations on the face of the
earth, almost 200 of them - when there are people right here in
our own backyard who go without food, clothing, medicine because
they need our help to get them? Remember, God cares about
justice.
One final caveat: in the midst of our righteous anger, we do
well to remember that, of all the places where Jesus could have
pointed out injustice, he did it among those involved in
"religious" endeavors - people like you and me. God cares about
justice.
Can we be angry? Angry enough to take up a whip, if needed,
to try to bring some cleansing? We should be angry enough to do
something about it. Jesus did. Remember, God cares about
justice.
Amen!
1. Bible Illustrator for Windows, diskette, (Hiawatha, IO: Parsons Technology, 1994)
2. John Killinger, To My People with Love, (Nashville: Abingdon, 1988)
3. John Alexander, "God's Love" in the journal The Other Side quoted by Jane Flaherty, via
Ecunet, "Sermonshop 1997 03 02," #149, 2/28/97
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