A Sermon for Earth Day 2012

Today is Earth Day. To celebrate and honour Earth Day, we are happy to share M's sermon, based on the following Scriptures; Genesis 3:8-19, Isaiah 11:1-9, Romans 8:18-27

This Sunday marks the 42nd year of people celebrating Earth Day. Earth Day was founded in 1970 as a day of education and awareness about environmental issues. Since it was first introduced, Earth Day has found its way into schools, families and churches. This is as it should be, for the focus of Earth Day on care of creation is something that each one of us, and especially us as Christians, must give thought, attention and time to. So, on this 2nd Sunday after Easter, we will consider why the events of Easter are significant, not just for us but for all of creation, and why that should matter to us today.

The most significant result of Easter is redemption and renewal; the idea that because of the resurrection of Christ we can be forgiven for our sin and will eventually be completely changed and transformed into the likeness of Christ. In the ministry, death and resurrection of Christ, God displayed  his kingdom on earth as it is in heaven. As we look around us we know that things are not as God intends them to be. We believe and hope, therefore, that God will do something about this.

In the story of creation, God in his love and grace gave to humanity all of the earth to care for and enjoy. God commanded humanity to rule over creation on his behalf, linking the fate of the world with the way in which we rule over it. The actions of humanity, will, and do affect the creation around us. The curse that God delivered in Genesis has 3 parts. The first affects the serpent who is cursed to crawl on his belly and becomes the enemy of humanity. The second affects Eve and her descendents promising that childbirth will now become an incredibly painful experience. The third part affects Adam. It is interesting how this curse begins, “Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat of it all the days of your life.” The curse laid down for Adam is that the earth and the land itself will now be cursed, it will no longer remain in its original and intended state. Even more, the earth is cursed because of the actions of Adam- not as a result of anything it had done. Prior to the emergence of sin, the earth easily and bountifully produced food, it was not prone to drought or thorns or death- indeed it could not have been, for death was not present in the world prior to the first sin. One of the fallouts from original sin was that humanity would now have to toil and sweat in order to feed itself. The creation as a whole was harmed by that first sin. So the world is subject to frustration and is in bondage to decay. Just as the original actions of Adam and Eve affected creation negatively (vs. the positive affect we were to have on it), so our actions since, often based in the sin of selfishness also continue to affect the earth in negative ways. In the Genesis 3 account of the entry of sin and its effects into the world we clearly see that because of the sins of humanity-men and women, and the whole creation, need to be redeemed and transformed by God. The freeing, redeeming and restoring events of Easter then; those very events that enable us as humans to gain new life and to look forward to a time when we will be fully restored, are equally important for the earth. We must broaden our view of sin and its effects in the world and ensure that we recognize how human sin- past, present and future- effects all of the created order.

Chemical Valley, Sarnia, Ontario

Romans 8:19-23 are significant verses that highlight again the suffering of humanity and  the earth because of sin.  These verses immediately follow a discussion on suffering for the sake of Christ in which Paul urges believers to invest a little, to risk a little in this life, in order to gain a lot. It is clear in 8:19-23 that what we stand to gain at the end of the sufferings we now endure because of our own or others sins,  is the redemption of the whole of God’s creation. Genesis 3 and Romans 8 together invite us to consider how we see the world groaning as a woman in labour? The earth was created and given to us for our enjoyment and sustenance, but when we abuse that creation, we are not sustaining it- we cannot simply do as we please with the earth. It’s not ours, and it’s not unbreakable. But, there is good news.

Hicks- Peaceable Kingdom

The good news Paul announces in Romans 8 is that because of Christ’s resurrection and his promised return, humanity will be made whole again. But not only that, because of the events of Easter and Christ’s promised return, the created order will also be set right by God at the end of this age. No longer will creation punish and work against human beings. No longer will species have enmity between them. Creation, itself the victim of something for which it was not responsible, will finally, with the transformation of reality, regain its original goodness. This will be the sign of God’s Kingdom finally fully on earth as it is in heaven. The prophetic words of God declared by Isaiah in chapter 11 give us a glimpse of what things will be like when God’s perfect reign is fully in place.  An end to fear and dissonance, a reign of perfect peace, of justice and righteousness. The most helpless and innocent will be at ease with those who were formerly the most violent. In an extended figure of speech, Isaiah makes a single overarching point, that in the reign of Christ the fears associated with insecurity, danger and evil will be removed, not only for humanity but for the world as well. Our hope and creations hope lies in the promise of the fulfillment of the Kingdom of God.

While this future hope is encouraging, we must also acknowledge that the work of God’s Kingdom and this work of healing, restoration and new life has already begun. Through the ministry, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, God has revealed to us his intentions to restore all things. But we also must acknowledge that not all of God’s plans for redemption were fully realized in Christ’s first coming. Nature still has not returned to its intended balance and harmony. While we confidently believe in the full restoration of all things, we also must consider what we are to do here and now, and how it is we are to act towards creation as we await its redemption.  

As Christians, our lives are filled with great purpose as we seek to live out the principles of God’s kingdom on earth NOW as we anticipate its final arrival in the FUTURE.  Too often within the Church we have undervalued, sidestepped or inadequately considered God’s intention to redeem and glorify all of creation. There are many Christians who view care for the earth and concerns for its wellbeing to be of no significance to the living out of a Christian life. Many accuse Christians who are ecologically minded of being “politically” driven, or radical. However, a careful reading of Scripture and the care for all of creation that is found from beginning to end, as well as the inclusion of the whole earth in God’s glorious plan for the future, indicate that serious Christians cannot be indifferent about how we treat the earth.

G.K. Chesterton, the well known preacher, once referred to creation as our sister, someone or something deserving of our care, respect and affection. It is a wonderful analogy, far more powerful than the popular societal analogy of the earth as our mother. It is God who has given life to both creation and to humanity as part of it. In this way we are more akin to siblings. Because we can see in Scripture that God cares about our sister creation, we cannot afford to neglect or ignore her. Because she is our sister, we ought to desire to see her redeemed and restored as much as we long to see ourselves fully redeemed and transformed. Until that final transformation is possible, we must ensure that we are good siblings, that we take care of our sister, creation; not because of a political view or ideology, but as the result of a theological belief that part of how we live out a full life, is to care for God’s creation. As Psalm 24 reminds us, “the earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it.” We must therefore consider our attitude and actions towards it. 

A number of years ago, St. Andrew’s adopted a series of Core Values- principles that emphasize what is important to us as a community. One of these core values stated a desire to do things in an environmentally sustainable way. Because  we believe that God invites us to care for creation,  because we love God and he loves the earth, we do our part as best we can as a congregation; striving to reduce our garbage, recycling as much as possible, composting, generating solar electricity, refusing to use styrofoam cups or to purchase plastic water bottles, installing low-flow toilets, using environmentally friendly cleaning products as far as public health allows. These are just some of the ways we care for creation in obedience to God. However, our faith is lived in out in many places outside of the walls of this building. The challenge for each of us, as those striving to live our lives in faithfulness to God and his intentions, is to determine what it is that we will do to care for creation. We must examine what our own attitude is towards environmental concern and care and judge whether or not it is in line with God’s divine plan to fully redeem his creation, because he loves it. For some of us, there will need to be changes in attitudes towards the created world. For others, there will need to be drastic changes in how we live. For each of us there will certainly need to be confession for the various ways we have intentionally and unintentionally abused the earth. The earth is cursed because of our sin. Let us do the best we can to limit the effects of that sin by being Christians who care for creation in real and practical ways, today.

As the Church of Jesus Christ, we look forward to the kingdom that God has promised. We wait for God’s new order that will free our world from sin, sickness and evil. We long for the time when God will again look upon his whole creation and declare, it is good. In the meantime, we work to preserve and care for that creation. We actively seek to limit the effects of our own sinfulness upon the earth. We stop exploiting and begin loving the earth as a sister. May we not be deaf to the groanings of creation. May we not be afraid to act to ease her pain. May we not lose sight of God’s future plan for all of the created world and may we live, each day, in eager anticipation of the day when all things will be made new, healed and restored. Amen.