Tag Archives: Care of the Earth

As Ye Sow

FloodingLiving in the Spirit
June 7, 2016

Scripture Reading: 1 Kings 21:1-21a

Then the word of the Lord came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying: Go down to meet King Ahab of Israel, who rules in Samaria; he is now in the vineyard of Naboth, where he has gone to take possession. You shall say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord: Have you killed, and also taken possession?’ You shall say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord: In the place where dogs licked up the blood of Naboth, dogs will also lick up your blood.’

Ahab said to Elijah, ‘Have you found me, O my enemy?’ He answered, ‘I have found you. Because you have sold yourself to do what is evil in the sight of the Lord, I will bring disaster on you; I will consume you, and will cut off from Ahab every male, bond or free, in Israel; –1 Kings 21:17-21

In Hinduism and Buddhism, it is called Karma. Others would use the phrase “as ye sow so shall ye reap”, which is probably based on Galatians 6:7, Do not be deceived; God is not mocked, for you reap whatever you sow. Jesus took a more circumspect attitude when he is quoted as saying in Matthew 5:45 so that you may be children of your Father in heaven; for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous. Jesus had no doubt seen/experienced justice unrequited. Now the Hindus and Buddhist believe that Karma may have been the result of actions in a previous life or that it will find completeness in a future life and the people of faith who follow a what-you sow-you-reap philosophy may have final judgement in mind. Jesus was concerned about justice being achieved through acts of love by his follower in real time. He calls us to do justice every day.

It is interesting that Jesus illustrates justice using weather. As I write this, vast acres of Texas are underwater, several people have drowned; a tropical storm is heading toward Florida; and there was a 3.5 level earthquake recorded in the Oklahoma City metro this morning. These have historically been classified as acts of God and recovery from them required our loving response. Consideration now must be given to human responsibility at least to some degree in the nature and frequency of these “natural phenomena”. Even if humans are not responsible, science seems to indicate that our preventive efforts could lessen their impact.

Doing part of justice may be as simple as loving ourselves and our neighbors enough to recycle, drive energy efficient vehicles, and heat and cool our homes efficiently and effectively.

Prayer: Lord guide us in fulfilling our charge to have dominion over the earth as we seek to be loving caretakers of it. Amen.

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized 
Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council 
of Churches of Christ in the United States of American. Used by permission. All rights 
reserved.

Greed Is Not Good

EarthquakesEastertide
May 10, 2016

Scripture Reading: Acts 2:1-22

“In the last days it will be, God declares,
that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh,
   and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
and your young men shall see visions,
   and your old men shall dream dreams.
Even upon my slaves, both men and women,
   in those days I will pour out my Spirit;
     and they shall prophesy.
And I will show portents in the heaven above
   and signs on the earth below,
     blood, and fire, and smoky mist.
The sun shall be turned to darkness
   and the moon to blood,
     before the coming of the Lord’s great and glorious day.
Then everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”—Acts 2:17-21

Located in the midst of tornado alley, Oklahoma is no stranger to natural disasters. The epidemic of earthquakes that have struck the state in the past few years has been breathtaking. Before 2007 there were two or three earthquakes reported each year. In many years there were none. In 2015 there were 890. These are somewhat different from the natural occurring earthquakes. They are apparently closer to the top of the earth and usually under 4 on the Richter scale. They are different because, in most cases, they result from human activities primarily returning wastewater from oil and gas well drilling into the earth.

Drawing on Hebrew prophets, Peter describes in our scriptures today the catastrophes that result from our failures to follow God’s ways. I think we tend to read these as God’s using natural occurring events as punishment. I wonder if it is not more likely the prophets and Peter are telling us we are our own worst enemies? We create havoc without concern for its resulting destruction in our greedy quests. Please understand me, I am not picking on the oil and gas industry. I think this epidemic of greed transcends all and, if it is not squelched, will lead to further chaos. We in Oklahoma have tangible evidence of the results of our behavior. Most people may not, until it is too late. It took us a while but we are now searching for solutions.

Our political spectrum seems to be playing the song “Greed is Good”. It is not nor does it ever lead to good.

Prayer: Lord, forgive us of our addiction to greed. Save us from ourselves. Amen.

 All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, 
Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of American. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

 

Bounds

Earth DayEastertide
April 20, 2016

Scripture Reading: Psalm 148

Let them praise the name of the Lord,
   for he commanded and they were created.
He established them for ever and ever;
   he fixed their bounds, which cannot be passed. –Psalm 148:5-6

What are the bounds, which cannot be passed? The Psalmist is speaking here of the whole of creation, describing an order that was hardwired into the earth’s existence. I can see this on two levels. The first is the one that warns us about messing with mother nature, misusing the precious resources for which God provides our very source of living. I think of the American Indian practice upon killing an animal for use as food, clothing, and shelter of first blessing the dead animal for giving its life for us and then being very careful not to waste any part of the gift. We have not done a good job in following God’s instructions to have dominion over the earth. True dominion is not a license for waste and misuse driven by greed. True dominion carries the weight of the world in responsibility.

The second level relates to the role of the parent. I attended a seminar once on nurturing children. The speaker described a young child sent to play in the front yard at a home located on the crossroads of two very busy intersections. The young child is told to stay out of the street and given a ball with which the play and left alone. He or she will most likely either be so afraid he or she barely moves or, if the ball roles into the street, the child will most likely follow it. What if that same preschooler were allowed to play in a well fenced yard with a well-cared for lawn surrounded by beautiful, safe flowers and a watchful parent at attention. The bounds of love have encased this child in a place of wonder and exploration where the child can learn and grow even noticing and learning about the cars rushing by on the street.

Our care of the earth is like caring for a child working toward helping both become all that they were created to be.

Prayer: Lord, as we celebrate the earth this week and rekindle our responsibility to care for it, forgive us when we have failed and guide us toward creating a more stable environment for all your creatures. Amen.

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized 
Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council 
of Churches of Christ in the United States of American. Used by permission. All rights 
reserved.