April 16thPsalm 104 (Pt 2)
To Serve the Earth
Dear God,
Help us to be gentle with your creatures and handiwork so that we may abide in your eternal salvation and continue to be held in the hollow of your hand. [Amish Evening Prayer]
We begin today with the uncomfortable words of verse 35a.
35 Let sinners be consumed from the earth,
and let the wicked be no more.
We can skip over them as the Lectionary does, probably because they seem to mar an otherwise joyful paean of praise to nature and nature’s God. But the Psalmist must have thought those hard words fit into this Psalm. It may be that he was thinking of the way human sin and evil can ruin the beauty of God’s work on earth. Then this is a fierce environmentalist prayer. Get rid of those who corrupt and pollute the earth. A commentator remarks: ‘One can hear this prayed at a Sierra Club meeting.’
Weather has been much in the news lately with hurricanes, earthquakes, and wildfires among other. We know our environment and climate are changing. And no matter what you believe about global warming, there is no doubt that what we do has an influence for good or bad in our world. One climatologist prefers the term GLOBAL WIERDING....
As Christans we believe that the world was created by the creative generosity of a good God. And we believe that humans were given the task of serving and preserving creation.
We, sadly have missed that vision of goodness and the serving of creation. “The Christian ethicist James Gustafson calls our view of the earth "despotism"—one of the historical ways that people (including some people of faith) have interpreted their divine right to dominion over the earth. In this view, you do not have to ask a tree before you bulldoze it for a subdivision. You just knock it down, push it into a pile with the corpses of other trees, and set it on fire. Then you are free to scrape the clear-cut earth free of green moss, tiny wild iris, unsuspecting toads and a couple of thousand years' worth of topsoil before calling the pavers to come cover your artwork with steaming asphalt. Oh—and if the mountain laurel block your view of the river, just cut them down too. The next time the river floods, the banks will collapse without those living roots—the river will silt up eventually, until you can push a sharp stick three feet straight down in the sandy bottom without ever hitting what used to be the river bed—but what the heck, if the trout die, you can still buy some at the grocery store—already cleaned and boned, for just a few dollars a pound. You are Lord over this playground, after all— God said so. It is all for you.” (Barbara Brown Taylor).
Theologian Dorothee Sollee once pointed out the five ways a person can respond to a flower:
Ah ... the beauty of it.
Oh, beautiful – I want it but I will let it be.
Oh, beautiful – I want it, I will take it.
Oh, beautiful – I can sell it.
So? – the shrug of indifference.
By contrast, to such indifference, the poet Mary Oliver writes:
MESSENGER
My work is loving the world.
Here the sunflowers, there the hummingbird –
equal seekers of sweetness.
Here the quickening yeast; there the blue plums.
Here the clam deep in the speckled sand. . . .
Are my boots old? Is my coat torn?
Am I no longer young, and still not half-perfect? Let me
keep my mind on what matters,
which is my work,
which is mostly standing still and learning to be
astonished. [Mary Oliver]
‘Serving the earth’ is obviously a huge topic. Let me offer some practical suggestions for such service, as well as one resource for personal study and reflection.
PRACTICES
Consider your habits. What habits, spiritual or practical, sustain faithful earth keeping? What habits or practices threaten it?
Develop Fair Trade brand loyalty: Read about Fair Trade products and practices online. You probably already know about Fair Trade coffee, but did you know you can also get Fair Trade certified shoes, clothing, basketballs, lotions and more? Find an item you would like to buy fair trade and do the math. What would it cost you per year to make the welfare of the community that produces this item a priority? What adjustments would you need to make in your consumption habits?
Seek abundance: Find a way to fast this week from your usual level of consumption. This could include skipping a meal, giving up meat, making your Sabbath a carbon-free day, biking whenever possible or not entering a store. What simple pleasures did you discover instead? Pay attention to water: Give thanks for each cup of water you drink this week. Pray for those whose rivers are dried up, whose aquifers are depleted, who have no well.
Begin a gratitude journal: Each day, write about the things you are thankful for. You may find you have a lot to say, even on bad days.
Listen for the sound of creatures singing. Spend time outside noticing the songs of birds, frogs, insects, wind in trees or other sounds of creation. Offer your own prayers along with these sounds. Alternately, if there is a naturalist in your congregation and the season permits, have this person lead a listening hike. He or she can help you identify the voices of the birds, frogs and insects you may hear.
Buildings: Think about your home and your church building. What could I/we do to reflect care for the earth with the use of these spaces?
RESOURCE
Every Creature Singing: Canadian Edition
by Deb Froese at CommonWord
This is a fine resource best studied with others, full of biblical and practical insights for living sustainably.
Planets humming as they wander
Human voices praise our Maker, part of the created choir:
rumbling tones of space below us, neutron’s descant ever higher.
Hymns arise from all around us, thankful praise our whole life long,
to the One who made us, knows us, Author of the endless song!
Text: Heather Josselyn-Cranson (USA), alt., © 2010 Heather Josselyn-Cranson