Sermon

Integrity of Creation Sunday

I John 1:1-2:2, John 20: 19-31

I was thinking about these two scriptures from I John and from the Gospel of John and what connection, if any, is there between them and the fact that this is Integrity of Creation Sunday and later this week, Earth Day. Two verses, it seems to me, can be directly applied to the state we are in regarding the earth and the words of scripture just heard a few minutes ago.

On the one hand, scripture can be read as something that happened a long time ago. If we perchance read it that way then we safely ask, who is at fault or who needs to be forgiven in various situations? For example, in the events surrounding the death of Jesus, we could ask: Who is to be blamed for his crucifixion? Shall we blame the Romans, the crowd, Pilate, Herod, Caiaphas, or as many still do, the Jews? They all played their part and either conspired against Jesus or they simply followed orders and maintained the peace so that this kingdom of which Jesus spoke would not interfere with their own kingdoms.

I believe, however, that scripture still needs to be read as something happening now; to be read as God still speaking to me, and perhaps to you, about the part we play either in conspiring against Jesus by the way we live or by simply ignoring him to go along and get along with the ways of the world.

It is not comfortable to read the Bible with a contemporary eye. It is disquieting to read scripture and ask, “How does this apply to what is happening in the world today – either to each of us personally or to the whole social and eco system?”

So, I look at I John 1:8 and read: “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.” The writer of the letter is talking to the early church about the denial of sin and its self-deception. John is saying that when you deny sinfulness that is a contradiction to God’s declaration that no one is sinless. Of course, sinfulness, both individual and corporate, is a huge part of why we are having such ecological and environmental problems.

In the Gospel of John, Thomas simply will not believe that Jesus is risen unless he can see for himself and even touch the wounds of Jesus. It does not matter to him that friends with whom he has traveled and lived told him about seeing Jesus risen. He must see for himself.

How many people do you know, perhaps even including yourself, who do not really believe that the earth is in danger through global warming, through destruction of the ozone layer, through filling dump sites with materials that do not disintegrate, through burying nuclear waste that will remain lethal for generations far, far into the future?

Just think, if all of us were like Thomas, the Christian belief and witness would be dead. “Unless I see for myself, I will not believe.”

We are dependent upon the earth. Our natural resources are vital to our health and survival. There are very relevant and moral issues involved in the decisions we make about how we will use the resources of the earth. What do we do, as responsible Christians, to convince the world that we are slowly dying in our own waste?

I recently saw a short reading about the environment. It was a story about the angel Gabriel who was giving his year-end report to God. Gabriel tells God how much more land has been taken by highways; how much erosion occurred because of careless land use; about the huge cargo ships going out to sea daily to dump tons and tons of non-biodegradable trash; about more and more land becoming sites for dumping waste; about the earth slowly warming as even more carbons are released into the atmosphere, and on and on.

All this time, God’s head is shaking back and forth. Finally, it reaches the moment of decision about the future. Gabriel says, “Well, God, you’ve heard the report. Shall we close down the place and mark it off as a loss?”

God replies, “No, Gabriel, give them another year’s extension.”

Gabriel responds with passion, “Holy smoke, God, you say that every year and it just keeps getting worse.” And the reading ends with God saying, “Well, I keep hoping they’ll stop acting as though they own the place.”

It’s easy, isn’t it – to think and act as if we own the place?

The truth is, the balance of nature is very delicate. As Christians we believe God created that balance. But through our carelessness, or sin if you will, we are bringing about the destruction of that which God created and called good.

We once thought that the automobile and the scientific discovery of DDT were two great advancements to enhance our lives. One revolutionized transportation and the other revolutionized the control of insects. Now we see that too much of a good thing is bad – as the exhaust fumes of millions of cars are choking us and DDT is lethal to the environment.

In our earthly wisdom we have from time to time tried to control animal populations without thinking about implications. For example, when farmers tried to get rid of wolves they did not take into account the balance of nature that then allowed rabbits and deer to multiply as such a rate the crops were still destroyed.

“If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.” “Unless I see for myself, I will not believe.”

Well – let’s go see for ourselves. Find a river and go dip your hands in it and take a drink of water. Not many of us will risk that in this day.

What if we took I John seriously when he wrote: “If we confess our sins, God who is faithful and just will forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness?”

If we believe God dwells in each person, then think of all the people, made in the image of God, from whom we need to seek forgiveness. Do we have the insight, without seeing for ourselves, as Thomas saw Jesus, how much responsibility we have for the future health of the earth? We can never control what others do or do not do – but are we willing to control ourselves and make the kind of decisions that lead to life for the earth?

On Good Friday I was invited to preach at Living Waters Ministries in Randallstown on the first word from the cross: “Father, forgive them for they do not know what they are doing.” I had not yet started thinking about today, but as I was preparing this sermon, I realized that asking for forgiveness is something needed in our efforts to be responsible stewards of the creation God has entrusted to us.

For example: Father, forgive us … for we wage war to protect our oil supplies in order to drive gas guzzling cars.

Father, forgive us … for we consume so much of the world’s resources that all need to share that much of the world is destitute.

Father, forgive us … for we still think one race is better than another; one country more deserving of the good things of life; one nation, under God, more blessed than others.

I feel the need to cry out, Father, forgive me - when from the comfort of my easy chair I see children with bloated bellies and mothers too sick to feed their babies – as I watch the news and waste some food.

Do you realize that as far back as the presidency of Richard Nixon, the President was saying that the most urgent problem facing the world was the destruction of our natural resources? The Swedish ambassador had pointed out back then in a speech before the United Nations that what the United States put into the air had an effect on the people of Sweden. In some of our cities today people are breathing air which contains more toxic materials than if they smoked three dozen cigarettes daily. My sister says that when it snows in the Chicago area the people are always reminded not to eat snow or make snow ice cream because there are too many toxic materials in the snow.

Job says in the Old Testament that “In God’s hand is the life of every living thing and the breath of all of humankind.” But it seems that we are attempting to wrench the control of life from God’s hand.

Surely if the church has a moral responsibility for the future, it is to work at ways of reversing this fatal path we are on. Surely it is to take seriously God’s entrusting the earth to our stewardship.

I listened to a speaker who was discussing the testing of weapons underground. He was discussing the impact of strontium ninety, a chemical compound used in explosives such as bombs. Here is the scenario he traced:

The bomb explodes in the air or under the ground and the chemical compound rises and is wafted all around the world by the winds of fate. It descends to earth in rain or snow and lodges in the soil. It enters the grasses eaten by cows which are then eaten by humans. It enters the corn eaten by pigs and then eaten by humans. It enters the shrubs and berries and roots eaten by wildlife and by humans. It runs down streams, enters rivers, eaten by fish, eaten by humans. It enters the seas, eaten by crabs and clams, oysters and salmon, eaten by humans. It enters lakes, eaten by ducks and geese, eaten by humans.

In underdeveloped countries 10 million people die each year because of water pollution.

We cannot afford to be a doubting Thomas when we consider the earth’s slow death. We cannot afford to live in blissful ignorance because we do not acquaint ourselves with the facts. When we pollute the atmosphere and the water we are responsible for the possibility of many deaths. And we cannot plead ignorance. God had appointed us stewards of the earth – not slayers of the land and people.

The balance of nature, the problems of pollution or over-population or greedy consumerism are such abstract issues that they are difficult to get excited about. But if we are going to have a world for the future we need to find a way to get excited. It will not do much good to find ways to treat water and purify air unless we equally find ways to treat ourselves so that we quit ruining our resources.

In “The Silent Spring” Rachel Carson wrote that we are turning the world into a septic tank, a leafless tree, a waterless land, a song-less world, a silent spring.

I go back to the need to read and interpret scripture in our contemporary world. One morning in seminary class the professor of homiletics came in and placed a newspaper, a news magazine and a Bible on his desk. “Preachers,” he said as held up the newspaper, “most of the people sitting in church pews on Sunday have read a newspaper during the week or watched news on television.” Holding up the news magazine he commented, “Fewer of them will have read a news magazine.” Then holding up the Bible he said, “And hardly any of them will have read this during the week. Your preaching responsibility is to make the words in this Bible as relevant as the words in this newspaper and magazine.”

The Bible: I John – If we say we have no sin we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.

The daily news: Tracey Robinson-Harris, a Unitarian Universalist, reports - “The population of Chinstrap penguins is declining because many, many newborn pups are not surviving. The krill they eat thrives below the ice and the ice is not there. Neither is enough krill. Less food, more deaths.”

The Bible: Thomas, “Unless I see for myself, I will not believe.

Again, the Bible: If we say we have no sin we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.

Daily news: Again from Robinson-Harris - “The Polar bears are drowning as they try to find to food. There's talk that they are approaching endangered species status. The ice floes they rely on to help them get their food are fewer and farther between, so exhaustion sets in before ice or food can be found.”

The words of Thomas: Unless I see for myself, I will not believe.

And more: The great blue herons are usually back in residence long before now. This year there has been only one or two lone birds and no sign yet of nesting season having begun.

Tracey Robinson-Harris, tells this true story:

“Sheila Watt-Cloutier, a Canadian Inuit, traveled to Washington, D.C., hoping to get the attention of the United States government with a simple and clear message: climate change is killing her people. They rely on frozen ground and ice to get to the animals during hunting season. The ice has been unusually thin. More of her people have died this year than in recent memory - deaths the result of thin ice; thin ice the result of climate change.

She wants us to understand that global warming is creating a situation that violates the human rights of indigenous people living close to sea-level across the globe. But Joe Barton, a congressman from Texas, believes that, although hundreds of thousands of Asian Pacific Islanders might be forced to leave their homes, the rest of us should focus on the benefits of climate change! Think of benefits to countries in the northern hemisphere like Russia, where global warming would mean a longer growing season and more food. In the tropics, climate change will likely be a wash. And in the southern hemisphere it could go either way, but there could be significant benefits, he claims... just think of the benefits!”

It will not help if just sing songs about the beauty of the earth and the changing seasons, and fail to acknowledge these urgent times.

Robinson-Harris says: “I stake my life on our interdependence—the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part-and draw sustenance from earth-centered traditions that guided and still guide the lives of many peoples and cultures.  This time, this year, we need to reclaim that interdependence and the wisdom of those sources.  Our individualism—whether as persons or nations—has led us to act as if we can meet our personal needs, sustain our lifestyles, attend at a time of our choosing to those in need, conserve a little when it is convenient and use as much as we “need”  for our comfort.  Our government says that signing on to the Kyoto protocol is too costly in dollars and jobs.  Yet there is the will and the money to spend billions on a war over oil. 

This spring, in this season of rebirth and renewal, perhaps it is to our own souls we should attend. This planet, as never before, depends on us.  We are all on thin ice.”

If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, God, who is faithful and just will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (I John 1:8-9)

Then Jesus said to Thomas: Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Do not doubt but believe. Thomas answered, “My Lord and my God!” Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.”

Amen.

Jim Bell

4-19-09

(The quotes from Tracey Robinson-Harris are copyrighted and are from “Earth Day in Urgent Times.” Reprints of the quotes must acknowledge the name of the author.)