The Unauthorized Homily

By Bill Dunn

A commentary on the Scripture readings from the Sunday Lectionary

(Scripture readings for Sunday, August 30th: Deuteronomy 4:1-2, 6-8; James 1:17-18, 21-22, 27; Mark 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23)

COMMANDMENTS REPEATED FOR A REASON

Have you ever noticed the Ten Commandments have a couple of repeats? First, there’s a commandment that says, “You shall not steal.” Then later, it says, “You shall not covet your neighbor’s goods.”

Another commandment says, “You shall not commit adultery.” Then later we read, “You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife.”

What’s the deal here? Why does God repeat Himself? Isn’t the prohibition against doing certain behaviors good enough? Why does God then go and prohibit merely thinking about certain behaviors?

It seems that God is telling us that we are violating His law if we simply think about something, even though we don’t even lift a finger to do it. That’s weird, isn’t it? I mean, it’s almost like God is telling us that if we crave something—say, a new boat—or if we are envious of something our neighbor has—say, his new riding mower—then we have already committed a sin. That makes no sense, does it? Envy is good, isn’t it? Envy is the heart of modern advertising, and as we all know, advertising is the engine that makes the economy run, and we all want a strong economy, don’t we? If we didn’t envy a new boat or a new riding mower, then we might not take out a second mortgage or dip into the kids’ college fund so we can buy the item we crave. Which means the economy would suffer.

And what about the “covet your neighbor’s wife” thing? If I didn’t know better, I’d think God is saying that lust is bad. Huh? What’s God talking about? Lust is the second most important facet of modern advertising, right behind envy. Why do you think they use hot babes in bikinis to sell everything from power tools to pizza? Simple, because it works. Those scantily-clad models don’t know the first thing about circular saws, but who cares? They prompt guys to spend money, and as far as the economy is concerned, that’s all that matters. How can being stimulated by lustful thoughts be a bad thing? As a former co-worker once told me, regarding his frequent enjoyment of strip clubs, “It’s OK to look as long as I don’t touch. My wife doesn’t mind.” You know what they say, no harm, no foul, right?

With so much actual stealing and adultery and other bad behavior taking place nowadays in our society, you would think God would be satisfied as long as we refrain from doing it. It’s the action that is sinful, right? Surely God—just like my former co-worker’s wife—doesn’t mind what goes on in the recesses of our dirty little minds and hearts, as long as we don’t actually do it. As long as we don’t steal something, as long as we don’t commit adultery, there’s nothing wrong with some covetous thoughts now and then, is there?

Well, Jesus seems to think so. In this week’s gospel reading He offered an important warning. “From within people, from their hearts, come evil thoughts, unchastity, theft, murder, adultery, greed,” He explained. “All these evils come from within and they defile.”

It’s a funny thing with God. What He wants most of all is to be in a loving relationship with us. That is the one and only reason He created mankind in the first place—to share His love with us. When it comes to relationships, behavior is important, of course, but the mind and the heart are even more important. God does not want us to be obedient but resentful servants; He wants us to be lovers.

I bet we can all think of people whose outward behavior is flawless. They are doing their duty as spouses, or as parents, or as employees, exactly as expected. But inside, they are bitter and resentful. They do what they are required to do by the sheer force of their will. Usually, they cannot hide this fact. The scowls, the glances, the mutterings as they perform their duties give away the true feelings in their hearts. And it’s not a pleasant situation. There is no love and joy, and everyone knows it. And everyone feels quite uncomfortable because of it.

Because God is all about loving relationships, and not just correct behaviors, He knows the heart and the mind are crucial. He knows we must be pure inside, or else we will either do our duty resentfully if we have strong wills, or if we are weaker willed, we will eventually give in and overtly commit the sin. God knows that evil behavior is simply the final result of a long process that began with evil thoughts and desires. Which is why Jesus clearly taught that if a man even looks lustfully at a woman he has already committed adultery with her in his heart. Jesus didn’t teach this because He’s a kill-joy. He taught it because He knows our hearts. He knows that our covetous thoughts and desires—whether for material objects or carnal pleasures—end up ruining our ability to be in loving and honest and pure relationships.

Oh, by the way, do you think, as mentioned earlier, the fact that there is “so much actual stealing and adultery and other bad behavior taking place nowadays,” might be because we now consider covetous thoughts—envy, lust, etc.—as being socially acceptable, to the point of being key facets in a strong economy?

Do you think that people will only crave stuff, but never take it to the next level and actually steal anything? I think the spectacular cases, like Bernie Madoff, along with the unknown cases, like the guy who dips into his kids’ college fund to buy a boat, argue against this idea.

Do you think people can merely “covet their neighbor’s wife,” in the form of strip clubs and Internet porn, but never take it to the next level and actually commit adultery? I think the statistics regarding divorce, STDs, prostitution, rape, etc., argue against this idea, too.

God is no dummy, even if it seems He doesn’t quite understand modern advertising nor the concept of “just having a little harmless fun.” God knows us better than we know ourselves. He wants what is best for us: to be in loving relationships, first with Him and then with our fellow human beings. As long as we think coveting is not big deal, as long as we entertain envious and lustful thoughts and desires, we are in big trouble. Which is exactly why God repeated Himself in the Ten Commandments. And which is why we must pay attention and take those commandments to heart.

©2009