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Let us pray- We give you thanks, most gracious God, for the beauty of earth and sky and sea; for the richness of mountains, plains, and rivers; for the songs of birds and the loveliness of flowers. We praise you for these good gifts, and pray that we may safeguard them for our posterity. Grant that we may continue to grow in our grateful enjoyment of your abundant creation, to the honor and glory of your Name, now and for ever. Amen.[1]
Let us pray- We give you thanks, most gracious God, for the beauty of earth and sky and sea; for the richness of mountains, plains, and rivers; for the songs of birds and the loveliness of flowers. We praise you for these good gifts, and pray that we may safeguard them for our posterity. Grant that we may continue to grow in our grateful enjoyment of your abundant creation, to the honor and glory of your Name, now and for ever. Amen.[1]
This
morning we are presented with wonderful readings that really plunge us into the
joys and mysteries of the Easter season. I realize that for some of you, diving
into these readings would be of great interest. In addition to being the Third
Sunday after Easter, today is also Earth Day, and that will be the focus of
today’s sermon. But for those of you who rightfully think that our gospel reading
from Luke is worthy of its own reflection- here are a few brief thoughts.
One
of the major themes we see in this reading is that we cannot understand the Resurrection.
How is it that Jesus is alive again and his own disciples don’t recognize him?
How is it that Jesus is able to get through locked doors and appear as a ghost
in one sentence, then sit down and eat fish in another? What we see in Jesus is
that Resurrection is real and physical, but it is somehow more than resuscitation.
It is not simply that Jesus woke up on the third day in the tomb and got up;
but, rather that Jesus was somehow transformed into living in a new sort of
reality. There is something earthy and real about the Resurrected Christ; he is
deeply incarnational, still bearing his wounds and having an appetite. The
Easter invitation is to live in that reality of the Resurrection here and now.
There
is also a very missional tone to Jesus’ message- repentance and forgiveness of
sins is to be proclaimed in his name to all nations. There is a realization
that Jesus’ Resurrection is not for the disciples alone, or even for Jews
alone, but is for all of Creation.
And
finally, Jesus concludes by saying, “you are witnesses of these things.” Last
Easter season, I preached an entire sermon on the idea of witness- but the gist
is that a witness is both someone who sees something, but also someone who
testifies to something. So we both must keep our eyes open to see signs of the
Resurrection all around us, and we also share the Good News with others.
So
in my view, that’s a quick synopsis of this Lucan passage. Some of these themes
lead me into the messages of Earth Day. In this Resurrection passage, we see
that Jesus’ physical manifestation is important. The sense of the body being
evil and the spirit being heavenly is dismantled in Jesus’ Resurrection- this
is not a purely spiritual resurrection, nor is only a physical one- it is
something new, but there is undeniably a physical element to it. And in the glorification of the physical, we are reminded that this world too is full of
God’s glory. This is what incarnational theology is all about. Heaven is not
the goal, but as Jesus says “the Kingdom of God is present among you.”[2]
It is an affirmation of Creation, of Earth, of life itself, of all the physical
stuff we see and experience- all the world is holy.
Now
I know that you all have heard the Earth Day message before. Reduce, reuse,
recycle, yeah yeah. Global warming, rising oceans, organic produce, fuel
efficient cars. Got it, now how about you get off the liberal agenda, Robert. I
want to make it clear, this is not a sermon about chastising us for our poor
stewardship of the earth, but if that shoe fits, then so be it. And this is not
a sermon about politics; this is a sermon about humanity, Creation, and being stewards
of God’s bounty.
What
is interesting about this passage from Luke is that the disciples don’t
recognize Jesus at first, and are prepared to ignore him or run from him. And I
wonder, how many times do we not recognize what is standing before us? For too
long, issues of the environment have been ignored. In fact, just this week, I
saw a news story that said only 69% of Americans believe in global warming. I’ve
talked with folks from Europe, and they’re amazing that instead of fighting about
what to do about climate change like the rest of the civilized world, we
instead fight about whether or not it even exists. And why do we refuse to see
it? Probably the same sort of reasons that the disciples refused to see the
Resurrected Lord in their midst. They saw what they expected to see, and didn’t
see what they did not expect to see. Jesus was dead, they had even heard
reports that Jesus had been Resurrected; and yet they could not see what was in
front of them.
So
many evils happen in our world because we refuse to see them, because it’s
easier to pretend that they don’t exist, because we’d rather hope the problems
solve themselves than have to make difficult lifestyle changes. But I think of
future generations, of children, grandchildren, great grandchildren, and I
sincerely hope that we can change the way we treat God’s Creation for their
sake. And don’t take my word for it on the important of stewardship of
Creation- consider these words: From Nehemiah- “You made the heavens, even the
highest heavens, and all their starry host, the earth and all that is on it.
You give life to everything, and the multitudes of the heavens worship you.”[3]
The Psalmist says “How many are your works, O Lord! In wisdom you made them
all.”[4]
Colossians says that “Christ is the image of the invisible God…all things were
created by him and for him.”[5]
Psalm 145 reads “The Lord is good to all; he has compassion on all he has made.”[6]
And of course, Genesis reminds us that “God saw everything he had made, and
indeed, it was very good.”[7]
God clearly cares for all of creation- lakes, streams, mountains, valleys,
stars and moon, plants, animals, and humanity.
But
we have committed a great evil. We have forgotten that God is the ruler and
owner of Creation. Despite the fact that we only live for 100 years at best, we
think we have the right to claim land as our own, we burn through resources
like they’re going out of style, we try to hoard up treasure that we can’t take
with us. As the prophet Isaiah says “the earth lies polluted under its
inhabitants; for they have transgressed laws, violated statues, broken the
everlasting covenant.”[8]
We have corrupted the natural order of things. Our reading from 1 John talks about
the fact that we are children of God, and it’s true. But we’ve been acting like
teenagers who have a party when their parents go out of town for the weekend,
trashing the house in the process
Everyone knows and often cites
Genesis 1:28, but few have understood it. The word “dominion” that is often
used to claim humanity’s authority over Creation has been misread. The word in
Hebrew, means to have dominion, but in the royal sense. We are to have dominion,
in the same what that king has dominion. And any good king cares for the lowly,
takes care of all people, and only exercises power to protect, not to enslave.
We’ve twisted our roles and have tried to rule creation with an iron fist
instead of an open hand.
We have fallen out of Communion
with Creation. In preparing for this sermon, I read about a study that found
that children can correctly identify over 1,000 corporate logos, but cannot name
even 10 local species of plants and animals that live in their backyard. There
is a story about a scientist that goes to chat with God one day and says “God,
we don’t need you anymore, we can clone people, and you’re just not needed
anymore.” God says “that’s fine if you feel that way. But let’s have a contest,
if you can create a human being the way that I did it in the beginning, then I’ll
leave you all alone.” So the scientist gladly agrees and begins to collect some
dirt from which to genetically manufacture a human being. And God interrupts him
“no, no, you have to use your own dirt.”
We have forgotten that God is the source of all- of the Big Bang, of
every atom, of every imagination.
There is another wonderful story
that illustrates this point. A priest walks into a church one day to find a
young man sitting next to the altar, with his feet propped up on it. The priest
screams at him to take his feet off the altar and says “don’t you know that is
a holy place? Show some respect.” Then young man replies, “where then should I
put my feet?” We have lost the sense that every clump of dirt, every wetland,
every arctic tundra that has a storehouse of oil beneath it, every shale
formation that has gas under it, every ocean, every valley, every animal used in laboratory
testing, every village without clean drinking water, each and every corner of
Creation is holy ground.
When I was in Israel, one of
images burned into my memory came at the Baptismal site of Jesus. It’s a small
strip of the Jordan river, right on the Israeli/Jordanian border. And all
around the area, there is a fence that blocks off certain areas. The fence has
large yellow signs on it that say “DANGER! MINES!” And while it’s a great
metaphor to use in a baptism sermon, it was a profound reminder of the ways
humanity has perverted the land and abused it. We have taken one of the holiest
sites in our faith, and riddled it with landmines.
So the question for this Earth
Day, for this Easter season in which we are called to proclaim the Resurrection
to all of Creation remains- What are we are going to do about these problems?
How do we get back into Communion with Creation? How do we return to our proper
role as steward and caretaker instead of master and dominator?
Now I know that we all aren’t
going to agree on what the exact problems are. And we aren’t going to agree on
how to address the problems. The line between caring for the earth and using
the fruits of Creation for our own survival is a thin one. There are a few
things that I’d suggest. First, we need to seriously take up the task of
reconciliation with the world. Our Presiding Bishop, Katharine Jefferts-Schori,
said this last week: “Reconciliation is God's mission. Reconciliation means
restoring God's intention for the world. It's needed in the relationships
between human beings and their creator, between and among human beings, and-in
ways of which we are becoming increasingly aware-between human beings and the
rest of creation.”
Our task is restoring
relationships and getting to God’s intention, not our own. We all know most of
the evils done to the environment are about money and ease. It’s easier to not
recycle, it’s easier to not take public transportation or walk, it’s cheaper to
not buy organic produce, it’s cheaper to buy furniture from China instead of
something made locally, it’s tasty to eat out of season fruits and vegetables
that have been shipped in from South America. And oil drilling and fracking are
certainly lucrative businesses. Our Psalm today asks “how long will you chase
dumb idols and run after false gods?” How long will we chase the idols of
dollars and power?[9]
Sometimes we forget how
industrious we as a people are. We forget our God given gifts of imagination
and ingenuity. The American people are strong, we are resolute, we are
industrious. I have no doubt that if we wanted to be a green nation, we could
be. We have people smart enough to design electric cars that reduce pollution.
We have people skilled enough to install solar panels on our homes and
businesses. We have farmers who are caring enough to raise crops and animals ethically.
But these things are not always in the best financial interest of big corporate
farms, or the oil industries, or the politicians whose pockets are padded with
donations from such tycoons.
For the sake of our world, for
the sake our children, for the sake of our God- it is time to do something about
the God given gift of Creation. It is time to make a change, it is time to make
sacrifices, it is time to get political and tell our representatives that as
Christians, we stand for the abused, the poor, and the oppressed- and right
now, our planet is being exploited and abused. The Bible makes it very clear
that Sabbath rest is needed for people, but it also says that the land needs
Sabbath. It’s time that we demand a respite for our home, for the glorious
Creation of our God.
I challenge us all to do
something about this. I challenge us all to be stewards of Creation. The way to
address this issue is to do something, because the path we are on is not
sustainable. It will not be easy, but make a change. Whether it’s buying more
groceries at the farmer’s market, changing your driving habits, or carrying
around that empty bottle until you find a recycling can instead of a trash can,
do it. Or better yet, don’t drink bottled water, but get a water purifier. If
you are blessed enough to have the financial resources to do so- look into
greening your home. Plant a garden or work in the St. Francis community garden.
Write or call your representative. Use reusable products instead of one-time
use products. Demand sustainable and non-toxic products. Support businesses
that treat the environment and animals the way you’d treat your own pets and
your own backyard. And I challenge this church to look at how we can be a
leader in our community in caring for the Earth. We have taken some steps in
this direction, but there is no reason why we can’t live as fully into the St.
Francis namesake as possible with greener products, better energy usage, maybe
even solar panels one day.
After all, it was our patron
saint who wrote “most high, all good Lord! All praise is yours. Be praised
through all your creatures. Be praised through Brother Sun and Sister Moon. Be
praised through Brothers Wind and Air. Be praised through Sister Water. Be
praised through Mother Earth, who feeds and rules us. Praise and bless the
Lord, and give thanks, and serve God with great humility.”[10]
Let us be witnesses. Let us see
and know the beauty of the Earth. Let us give thanks for all that God has so
freely given. Let us be in touch with the glory of God’s creation. Let us be
caretakers for the oppressed and the abused. Let us stand up and give testimony
with our words and deeds on behalf of those without a voice- the trees and
lakes, the animals and crops, our ancestors who communed with the land and our
descendents yet unborn. Let us honor their presence by caring for our communal
home. Let us remember that God is the source of all, and that we will all one
day give an account for how we lived in this world. And may God strengthen and inspire
us to serve boldly as stewards of God’s Creation. Amen.
