Recently, I’ve been trying to catch up on the new United Church magazine, Broadview, and this week I read a June article called, “New Dad find Finds Reason for Hope Amidst Climate Change” by Mark Mann. He and his wife had been trying for a long time to conceive a child, so when they found out they were pregnant it was cause for a lot of excitement and joy.
Amidst the excitement though is a huge concern about what is happening to our earth. Did you know that many young people are deciding not to have children because they are either afraid for any child being born into this age of impending climate disaster or they don’t want to add more burden to the planet with another human? The decision not to have a child has more of a carbon footprint impact than deciding to go without a car.
This article brought up a lot of my own fears and sorrows around what humankind has done and is doing to our earth. I went to a conference at St. Andrew’s College a few years back when I was living in Saskatchewan. I don’t remember who the speaker was and on what she was speaking. I only know that she was an environmentalist and that I cried almost the whole way home, a four hour drive. She didn’t leave us with a lot of hope for the future of our earth.
My own love for this planet runs deeply. As some of you already know, a lot of my decisions are affected by my environmental beliefs. My car currently has two non-plastic drinking containers, one for cold drinks and the other for hot drinks, for when I go out for a drink where only disposable containers are used. I have a metal straw and metal spork in my purse. Bicycling is partly for my health, but I also know it’s better for the earth than driving my car. In fact, I’m currently warring with myself whether to replace this car, when the need arises, and whether I can do what I need to do by bike or by bus. I avoid flying as much as possible. I feel guilty putting out bags of garbage that will end up in a landfill. I’m considering becoming a vegetarian, not because I think eating meat is bad, but because I know that more vegetarians are better for our earth.
Mark Mann, living with this anxiety and fear, decided to talk with Dave Courchene, an Anishinabe elder and knowledge-keeper to whom he often goes for wisdom. Courchene said, “We will never change out of fear.” Instead he said we need to start from a different position. That means going back to the beginning and teaching our children to align with the Earth. It will provide what we need to survive, he said. “The earth will never betray those that have reciprocal love and respect for her.”
This first chapter of our bible tells us that all life is good. We hear this mantra over and over, as each day finishes, when God says, “It is good,” and on the last day, when God looks at everything that had been created and says, “It is very good.” Not only was it good then, but we continue to share this awe and wonder today when we view the sky during a sunrise or sunset or feel the sun on our bodies, when we see a full moon, when thunder is so loud it shakes the earth, when flowers begin blooming in the spring, when we turn a corner and see a beautiful landscape that takes our breath away. We all have different nature stories that affect us in different ways, and not always in good ways. Sometimes we don’t appreciate appreciate some of the creepy crawlies or scavengers that we encounter, but, we remember that God professed all as good, even the parts we may not like so much.
Gary Kowalski, in his book called, “The Bible According to Noah: Theology as if Animals Mattered,"a writes that one of our
"Perhaps the only way to save our world is by recognizing that this is not our world at all. Other living beings are not our property. The precept that we possess no title deed to the soil or air or water is prevalent among modern environmentalists but this is also a rule articulated repeatedly in our bible: Psalm 24:1 - The earth is the Lord’s and all that is in it. Isaiah 66:1 - All these things my hand has made, and so all these things are mine, says the Lord. Exodus 19:5 - Indeed, the whole earth is mine…Scripture teaches clearly that the earth belongs to God. It is a goodly world, not ours to desecrate or despoil or grind up for profit, but a gift held in trust. Will we ever learn to behold the beauty of all creation and treat other beings with the respect they deserve?" (pg 28)
In his book, Kowalski imagines how different stories in the bible might be written differently, and he shares with us a re-imagined story of Genesis.
In the beginning, when God created the heavens and the earth, the earth was without form and void and darkness covered the face of the deep, and a mighty wind swept over the face of the waters. Then God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. And called called the light Day and the darkness Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day.
And God said, “Let there be a dome in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters.” So God made the dome and separated the waters that were under the dome from the waters that were above the dome. And it was so.
Days passed into years. And God said, “Let the waters under the sky be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear.” God called the dry land Earth, and the waters that were gathered together God called Seas.
Millennia came and went. And God said, “Let the waters bring forth swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the dome of the sky.” So God created the great whales and every living creature that moves. And God blessed them saying, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the waters in the seas, and let the birds and animals multiply on the earth.”
And where the waters poured down from the dome of the sky, like a waterfall from heaven, the chimpanzees danced. And as the morning broke over the forest, filling the canopy with soft green light, the gibbons sang with joy. For all creatures looked upon the work of God, and saw that it was good.
Then God said, “Let us make humankind, who shall be a mirror of my creation.” And so God made human beings, female and male, and within their souls placed the light and the darkness, and within their veins God placed the seas, fashioning their bodies from the tissue of every living thing.
God blessed them, and said to them, “Love the earth and preserve it, for you are related to every living creature: the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and those that creep upon the ground and the wild animals of every kind.” And it was so. Then God saw everything that had been made, and indeed, it was very good.
Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all their multitude. And on that day, God celebrated, saying to humankind, “Honor creation and keep it holy.” And God rested, placing the world in our hands.
Maybe instead of dominion over the earth, God has placed this holy creation in our hands, in our care. I don’t think we’ve done so well but I haven’t lost hope. Many people have become aware of how our past and current actions have affected this planet and many are fighting for its life and our lives. Will you join them?
May we mirror our creator God, caring for creation and keeping it holy. May we always see this created world as good and be thankful for its abundance, beauty, diversity, and mystery. May we remember that God became one of us, entering into this creation, giving us the wonder of knowing that our bodies are holy and sacred, as well as the earth and all that lives upon it. May we see the Spirit in all of it, moving, playing, dancing with joy at the awesomeness of this created world. May it be so. Amen.
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