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A Sermon by Donel
McClellan
A Sermon by Donel
McClellan
Hot Topics:
July 8, 2001
Scripture Lesson: Psalm
104
Let me get a couple of
things out of the way right off the bat.
First I would like to see
a show of hands of everyone who drove to church in a Sports Utility Vehicle
this morning. Now, would those who have an SUV at home but didn’t use it this
morning put up their hands?
Alright, I have a message
for all of you who own SUVs. We are not talking about you specifically, but
about a culture in which you and all the rest of us are participants. It is a
culture that celebrates newness, speed, comfort and modernity. It is a culture
that is all too eager to value you on the basis of where you live, what you
wear and what you drive. SUVs happen to be the symbol-of-the-moment for this
consumer culture. They are not the problem in themselves. They are one
reflection of the problem.
Second, I need to exhaust
the humor around this sermon title so we can get on to more significant
things.
Most people assume
WWJD stands for ‘What would Jesus do?” But the initials really stand for “What
would Jesus drive?” One theory is that Jesus would tool around in an old
Plymouth because “the Bible says God drove Adam and Eve out of the Garden of
Eden in a Fury.” But in a passage from Psalm 83 it appears that the
Almighty owns a Pontiac and a Geo. The psalmist urges the Lord to “pursue your
enemies with your Tempest and terrify them with your Storm.”
On the other hand . . .
Perhaps God favors
Dodge pickup trucks, because Moses’ followers are warned not to go up a
mountain “until they make a long blast with the Ram’s horn.” Some
scholars insist that Jesus drove a Honda but didn’t like to talk about it.
As proof, they cite a verse in St. John’s gospel where Christ tells a
crowd, “For I did not speak of my own Accord...” Meanwhile, Moses rode
an old British motorcycle, as evidenced by a Bible passage declaring that “the
roar of Moses’ Triumph is heard in the hills.” Joshua drove a Triumph
sports car with a hole in its muffler: “Joshua’s Triumph was heard
throughout the land.” And, following the Master’s lead, the Apostles car
pooled in a Honda for, “The Apostles were in one Accord.”
[1]
The whole idea of asking
the rather ridiculous question “Would Jesus Drive an SUV” comes from a
demonstration reported in a Christian Science Monitor article last month.[2]
A small group of demonstrators, led by Bill McKibben of the Harvard Divinity
School, carried signs past automobile dealerships in an attempt to make an
ecological point. McKibben explained,
We are asking our
neighbors not to buy sport-utility vehicles when they purchase their next
cars. We want to let the dealers know that customers need cleaner choices.
The title for the article,
“What would Jesus Drive?” came from a sign created by UCC minister Dan Smith,
who noted that his church parking lot is full of SUVs on Sunday mornings. He
said,
I happen to love the
people who drive them, [but] I feel we could all be better informed about the
consequences of our decisions as consumers and as Christians.
So, what is the big deal,
and why is this particular sermon a Hot Topic? I would suggest that it is
because American Christians are ill informed and relatively uninterested in
the effect of our personal and national choices upon the environment.
There is a general
consensus among those who monitor our world environment that a threat is
growing exponentially. Kirkpatrick Sale found an analogy that puts the dilemma
in perspective.
It’s as if humankind
were living in a huge unbreakable bottle, into which is placed a small drop of
exponential water that doubles in size once a day. One day we discover that
the water has filled up half the bottle, and we say, well, it’s taken an awful
long time for it to get up to here; we probably have no reason to worry just
yet. Surely with technology we’ll be able to adjust to it as we have so far.
The next day we drown.
The crises of the
present, in other words, have now grown so large, so interlocked, so
exponential, that they pose a threat unlike that ever known.[3]
What is the threat? It is
multiple, but the current concern which encompasses many environmental threats
is the issue of global warming. The fact that the earth is getting warmer is
indisputable. The reasons for the warming remain somewhat controversial. What
action we will take is currently under debate in congress and around the
world.
Since the late 19th
century our earth’s temperature has increased from ½-1E
Fahrenheit. The 10 warmest years of the last century occurred after 1985. 1998
was the warmest year on record. The ice cap in the Arctic decreased and the
global sea level rose between 4 and 8 inches in the past century.[4]
Projecting into the future, it is estimated that in the next 100 years there
will be a rise in temperature of 2.5-10.4E
with a resulting rise in sea level of between 3.4-34.4 inches.[5]
The cause of this warming
is an increase in greenhouse gases. These atmospheric components are called
greenhouse gases because they trap heat. They are essential to our survival on
earth. Without them the temperature on the earth’s surface would be 0E Fahrenheit rather than the present 57E.
They are a kind of blanket that keeps the heat of the earth from dissipating
into space.
Many greenhouse gasses are
naturally produced. Carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide and ozone have
always been present. Human activity has increased these and added more. The
burning of fossil fuels and wood products adds to the carbon dioxide. Methane
is produced by the production and transportation of coal, natural gas and oil
and by raising livestock. Industrial and agricultural activities increase
nitrous oxide. And powerful gases which are not naturally occurring are the
result of industrial processes. These include hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs),
perfluorocarbons (PFCs), and sulfur hexafluoride (SF6). These gases differ in
their ability to trap heat and the latter are among the most efficient.
When the greenhouse gasses
increase, more heat is retained and our weather becomes warmer. This has many
effects on the earth and its population. A warmer climate increases the
frequency of drought around the world. It causes higher winds and more severe
storms. It may result in less snowfall and resultant water and energy
shortages. And warmer weather increases the area in which insect borne disease
can spread. The impact is great on the industrialized nations and can be
cataclysmic to the nations of the Global South.
As that great
intergalactic ambassador, Dr. Spock, once observed:
This troubled planet
is a place of the most violent contrasts. Those that receive the rewards are
totally separated from those who shoulder the burdens. It is not a wise
leadership.[6]
Not everyone agrees on the
degree of danger posed by global warming. As far as I can determine, one’s
position depends, in part, upon one’s relationship to industries that find the
production of fuels and raw materials to be immensely profitable.
Here is point at which we
may forge a link to the world of Jesus. We won’t get very far with the image
of the SUV itself. Jesus said very little about transportation. Traditionally
we understand that he rode in utero to Bethlehem on a donkey with his
mother Mary. Later in his ministry he once borrowed a donkey for a small
parade into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday. Other than that Jesus, like the vast
majority of people in his day, traveled by walking.
Transportation and the
deteriorating environment weren’t issues in Jesus’ day. But he does talk a
great deal about the driving force beneath our interest in larger cars and
higher return on investment. Jesus is very concerned about the power of money
and possessions.
Like the prophets who came
before him, Jesus was suspicious of the powerful and the wealthy. In a series
of directives to his followers, Jesus is an unrelenting advocate of the poor
and their needs. What about beggars? Give to everyone who begs from you;
and if anyone takes away your goods, do not ask for them again.[7]
What about saving for a rainy day? Sell your possessions, and give alms.
Make purses for yourselves that do not wear out, an unfailing treasure in
heaven, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. For where your
treasure is, there your heart will be also.[8]
Little in the way of
material reward was promised to those who followed Jesus. And
Jesus said to him, "Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the
Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head."
[9]
And those who were sent out in Jesus name were to, Take nothing for your
journey, no staff, nor bag, nor bread, nor money—not even an extra tunic.
Whatever house you enter, stay there, and leave from there.
[10]
The dangers of possessions
were clear in Jesus’ advice to a wealthy young man who was advised to give all
he possessed to the poor and follow Jesus. And to the rest of his followers
Jesus warned, No slave can serve two masters; for a slave will either
hate the one and love the other, or be devoted to the one and despise the
other. You cannot serve God and wealth.[11]
On the other hand, Jesus
was infinitely trusting in the God of creation.
Look at the birds above
your head
Look at the flowers
beneath your feet
So why worry about your life
So, would Jesus drive an
SUV?
I doubt it.
He was among the poorest
of the poor in Israel and I don’t see how he could afford any car were he to
walk into our midst this morning. But I suspect that he would push us to
examine the ways in which our wealth and our spending burden others. He might
ask what we would be willing to give up in order to join a movement to turn
our nation away from environmental disaster. He might suggest that we consider
whether we love what we possess more than we love our neighbors, more than we
love ourselves, more than we love our God. Jesus might invite us to take a
stand against the moneyed forces which would sacrifice land, natural beauty,
and environmental wisdom for a larger profit.
Wherever we find ourselves
at this moment, we can adjust our course to be more harmonious with God’s
dream of a peaceful and just community on earth. The problem is to know where
to begin. Joel E. Cohen ends his book How Many People Can the Earth
Support?[13]
with three choices we have for the future. He calls our alternatives “Bigger
Pie; Fewer Forks; Better Manners”:
Bigger Pie:
As the world becomes one market and the wealth of the developed nations is
slowly exchanged for goods and services from the less developed nations, there
will be a growth in the world economy. Technology may provide a better life
for others if it is used appropriately. If we can learn to distribute wealth
appropriately, the economic pie can provide a better life for all of earth’s
citizens.
Fewer Forks:
Efforts to limit birth rates and provide for more efficient diets can reduce
the demand on the resources of the planet. Americans could lead the way by
simplifying their lifestyle, moving their dietary consumption down the food
chain—less meat, more vegetables—, and sharing their wealth with those most in
need. That is an objective within the reach of all of us.
Better Manners:
Our manners as individuals, as nations, and as multinational corporations need
to be improved. Compassion and consideration for others might be a beginning.
International agreements about the environment and global warming need to be
pursued and the means of governing corporations which have more power than
many nations must be addressed.
If you own an SUV I hope
you enjoy it. And, when it is time to trade it in on something else, perhaps
you will consider my modest suggestion and ask Jesus what kind of car he would
like your family to have.
Amen.
[1].
Email from the internet forwarded by Jennifer Russell. Some of the
translations are somewhat adjusted for humor. The sources of the email are
an article in the San Francisco Chronicle by Scott Ostler $50 Million for
Not Being Awful, Wednesday, March 15, 2000, and Roy Rivenberg’s weekly
column, Off Kilter, September 6, 2000
http://www.offkilter.org/jesusdmv.html
[2].
“Anti-SUV query: ‘What would Jesus drive?’”, The Christian Science
Monitor, Monday, June 4, 2001 p. 3
[3].
Kirkpatrick Sale, Human Scale (New York: Coward, McCann & Geoghegan, 1980),
26.
[4].
US Environmental Protection Agency
http://www.epa.gov/globalwarming/climate/index.html
[5].
Almanac of Policy Issues,
http://www.policyalmanac.org/environment/global_warming.shtml
[6].
Dr. Spock, The Cloud Minders, episode 74 of Star Trek.
[7].
Luke 6:30
[8].
Luke 12.33
[9].
Luke 9.58
[10].
Luke 9.3-4
[11].
Luke 16.13
[12].
Matthew 6:25-33 translated by John Dominic Crossan, The Essential Jesus:
Original Sayings and Earliest Images, 1994, Harper San Francisco, p. 81
[13].
New York: Norton, 1996 |