See what great love God has lavished on us, so we are called children of God! That is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known; but we know that when Christ appears again, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. All who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure.
Everyone who sins breaks the law; in fact, sin is lawlessness; but you know that he appeared so that he might take away our sins, in him is no sin. No one who lives in Jesus keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has seen him or known him.
Dear children, do not let anyone lead you astray. The one who does what is right is righteous, just as he is righteous.
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I want to tell you two experiences which stand out in my memory. One is from my early childhood in southern Saskatchewan. I was about four years old, living in a tiny town called Canora, in the southern part of the province. In the summer, the wheat seemed to grow to about eight feet tall - or so it seemed to a child. The skies were clear deep blue, and the wheat was golden, and when one was able to stand on a small hillock and look over - it looked like the ocean and waves. Those were the days when Monsanto didn’t claim it owned patents on seeds, and didn’t sue farmers when stray seeds popped up fifty miles away in their ditches. The grain was planted and grown as part of creation - not as part of a company’s attempt to patent crops and control farming.
My second outstanding memory is just a few years ago, outside Tampere in Finland, sitting by the shore of Lake Nasijaarvi. In the summer in Finland, the sun doesn’t set. As I watched, the sun gradually descended to the horizon, and there were all the deep red and gold colours of a sunset on the left. As it dipped partway below the horizon, it began to rise, and there were the pale pinks and golds of a sunrise.
Steve Whitney is a professional environmentalist. He tells a story of writing his first sermon on Earth Day - sitting in a pub with a Bible and a couple of books, and asked the waitress if she thought it was improper to write a sermon while sitting in a tavern. She replied by asking where he went to church. When he responded "St. Stephen's Episcopal" she chuckled and said "Oh, don't worry about it, they've all been here." Well, said Steve, that’s OK - because the Anglican tradition openly celebrates God's creation in all of its manifestations. The forests that blanket the landscape, the clear water that flows from the mountains, the bald eagles and killer whales, the flowering shrubs that paint our neighborhoods with flashes of pink and yellow, the diversity of human life, and yes, even the hops for our beer in a pub on an afternoon, writing a sermon. For all that we have, and all that we are, we owe thanks to God.
Christians centuries ago knew this well. They set aside a few days a year during planting time, called Rogation Days, to offer their prayers for blessings. Not only Christians, though, and we err if we think it is only us. The early Israelite peoples celebrated the “Feast of Weeks” - the time from the giving of the Torah, to the time of the first harvest, and the giving of thanks. Native peoples in North America celebrated the “first fruits” in the spring, by picking and sharing strawberries, and giving thanks to the Creator. The Book of Revelation talks about the Tree of Life, and the River of the Water of Life; and this is echoed in the Druid beliefs, the great tree Yggdrasil, whose branches went straight up to heaven, whose roots went down into the earth - and the trunk of the tree connected heaven and earth. Incidentally, I’ve put that on my business card - Yggdrasil, the Tree of Life.
Creation isn’t just about rocks and trees, and lakes and harvests, though. In the story of Noah, God set a rainbow in the skies to demonstrate a covenant with all creation, which included people. "I set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and the Earth."
What does God think of our modern attitudes toward the diversity of life, where value is measured not in terms of the secrets the creatures may hold, but in dollars and cents. We treat the earth like an ark in reverse. Rather than march the animals two by two up the ramp of survival, we march them faster and faster down the gang-plank of extinction. "They are taking our property rights" we say, "just to save the spotted owl or the wild salmon." But I think we need to start asking ourselves the question, whose property is it, really? On whose authority do we use private land to the detriment of God's creation?"
When our ancestors first left Europe, they discovered lands on this side of the ocean when people had no concept of land ownership. The land belonged to the Creator, and we were allowed to use it. An Ojibway friend told me that in traditional North American aboriginal cultures, it is common to give thanks to the animals for giving up their lives to be food on our tables. Everything needs to be respected.
Are people of faith doing enough to ensure Creation is a blessing for everyone? It’s easy for us to give thanks, to say that we feel close to God when we are out at the lake, or sitting in awe watching icebergs, or walking in the woods in Bowaters Park. What about the children of Somalia, whose creation consists of nothing more than sand; little or no shelter, no food, subject to violence, rape and disease. What would they think, hearing us talking about the beauty of the world?
God made a covenant with “the Earth”, and all that is in it. That means there are certain things which are not negotiable. Every child, every person living, has a right to food, to shelter, to water, to education, to health care. Those are basic human rights which must not be denied. They also have the right not to live in fear, not to suffer from war or violence. To try to patent seeds and claim ownership, to modify foods without knowing the outcome, to perpetrate violence on others for whatever reasons we may use to rationalise being right - the truth is we do not respect God’s creation, nor all the creatures in it. Did you know that the population of North America eats 80% of the world’s food? And that Canadians produce more garbage per capita than any other nation?
Today I want us to pray that as children of God, we may be faithful stewards of your good gifts..." Faithful stewards. . . What does it mean to be a faithful steward of God's creation? Good question. Fortunately the bible provides guidance -- in Genesis 2 God placed the human creature in the garden "to till it and keep it." So we have the responsibility, to till the Earth in order to make its productive powers flourish. This does not mean we are to plant and harvest all of it. We are also called to sustain it, conserve it, perpetuate it -- to "keep" the Earth by protecting its God- created life systems and life forms.
Christians have a calling, and that calling is to a life in Creation. We cannot preach any kind of message if we do not strive, in whatever way possible, to live that message. May we see with new eyes and hear with new ears, as we walk through this world - and may we find ways to be good co-Creators with God’s ongoing creation - the Tree of Life.
Let us pray.
God, we thank you for the opportunity to reflect on your creation, your covenant with all living things, and our calling to be good stewards of the gifts you have provided. Help us to understand that each of us has an important role in Caring for Creation, by the choices we make and by the actions we take. Give us the strength to stand up when we see wrong being done in the name of so-called advancement; to speak when we see others being ill-treated; to make our voices heard in as many ways as we can. Give us the wisdom to choose thoughtfully, and to act with care, in accordance with your will, and your love of this good Earth, our island home.
Sources:
1. Steven Whitney, preached at St. Stephen's Episcopal Church, Earth Day Sunday, April 21, 1996.
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