Caring For God's Creation

Be the Church 10

Aug 10, 2023

time lapse photo of falls on forest trees — Photo by Thomas Kelley on Unsplash

Intro

We are nearing the end of the ministry of members. We have talked a lot about the obligation that we have to our human siblings, but now we widen our perspective to our non-human siblings with which we share the earth, the earth itself, and beyond to all creation.

Possible Scriptures

Psalm 104:24-35

This is a great Psalm, reflecting on the wonder of God’s creation, and this section specifically focuses on the creatures themselves, which the earth is full of. Just stop and think a moment about the amazing biodiversity that we see on our planet, one that was even more diverse at the time when this psalm was written (whether they knew it or not).

First, the psalmist reflects on the biodiversity of the seas/oceans. For many ancient peoples, the ocean was a terrifying place, filled with all sorts of monstrous creatures. A great deal of ancient cultures’ creation myths featured a great and terrible sea monster that was (or needed to continually be) defeated by their storm god. This Leviathan was a sea serpent who posed serious danger to both the people of the land, and the storm god who eventually defeated it. However, the psalmist uses this terrifying creature as a sign of YHWH God’s great creative power. In this psalm, the Leviathan is not a terrifying creature (at least not to God), but a frolicking part of God’s good creation. Interestingly enough, when words for these monstrous sea creatures were translated into Greek for the Septuigent, they used dracon, the root of our modern dragon.

Next, the psalmist reflects on God’s hand in all of lifekind, providing food for the animals throughout the year. In the psalmist's mind, watching a deer graze, is like seeing God’s very being feeding it. The very breath (ruach, spirit, wind) of life is an ongoing gift from God, and if God were to take it away, the living creature would die and return to the dust from which they came. God’s Spirit (ruach, wind, breath) brings life in both animal and plant life.

This section continues in praising God, and reflecting on God’s might which can cause mountains to tremble and smoke, but who can also be prayed to and meditated upon. Praise YHWH.

Genesis 2:4b-17

This text is the familiar second creation narrative, and will be reflected on more deeply in the Narrative Lectionary on September 10th (so be mindful of where you want to go on that sermon, which does include the splitting of adam into male and female, not included here).

This creation myth* begins with a problem. In the first creation myth, God hovers over the chaotic waters** and tames them (day 1), draws land out of the waters below and then causes plants to grow upon it (day 3). This creation myth, however, begins in a ‘wild and waste’ desert, a waterless wilderness. The problem is that YHWH would like to have a beautiful garden, but needs a co-creator, someone to water and care for it. YHWH creates adam (human being, man) from the adamah (dirt, soil) and breaths that ruach (breath, spirit, wind) into it, making it live. So this myth breathes the caring and nurturing of creation into our very nature as human beings.

Now with a helper to water and care for it, YHWH is able to plant a garden. This garden has all of the things that the human could need, food, life, and the knowledge of good and evil (which will become a major plot point in the next episode).

The purpose of humanity presented in this narrative is for the nurture and flourishing of the created world that YHWH has created.

*myth here used in the academic sense, a story which is repeated and foundational for a culture.

** This too has major Tiamat/Leviathan overtones.

Romans 8:18-25

Paul, in his letter to the Roman believers connects the futility and frailty of creation with that of humanity itself. The purpose, he states, is the eventual revelation of incorruptibility. Creation itself has been connected to our brokenness, but this subjected futility is for the purpose of hope, the redemption of our bodies along with the rest of creation.

De-Creation

Noah, and the great De-creation (Genesis 6:5-22)

Moses warns Pharaoh of the coming De-Creation (Exodus 6:1-13)

Another theme in scripture is that of de-creation, the unfolding of God’s creative action against evil and empire. This is also a theme seen in apocalyptic literature. This could be (and by many biblical authors is) seen as God wielding these natural forces against God’s enemies. Perhaps a different take, is that the natural order itself is fighting against those who are so deeply out of balance, that creation itself is at risk. The Flood narrative is one where this might be seen most clearly, humanity has become so deeply corrupt, that a complete restart is the only given solution. This is exemplified in the strange story of the nephilim, the mighty men of old who seem to be sired by gods (or angels as the book of Enoch suggests, a writing from the second temple period).

One might imagine stories of a pod of orcas overturning yachts and beachfront property falling into the sea. But we also know that those with means often also have the privilege of avoiding the consequences of their actions. It is the indigenous, poor, and marginalized communities that usually pay the price for our mistakes.

Just down the bayou from me are the Point Aux Chene first peoples, who live daily with the ongoing effects of the climate crisis. While most of their homes and marina are inside the artificial ‘levy protection system,’ much of their ancestral lands are not. The once small canal, that one of their elders remembers pulling herself along by grabbing onto grass on either side, is now forty feet across, and growing. A sacred mound, which holds ancestral remains some 2,000 years old, is mere feet from being washed away. The water is now brackish, and the originally native plants and trees, which once formed a natural barrier to hurricanes, are now dying out. An estimated 75 square kilometers of Louisiana’s wetlands are disappearing every year. And Pointe Aux Chenne are some of the lucky ones, some of their tribal neighbors have lost their land completely.

Our call is to care for God’s creation, and we are not doing a very good job of it.

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Worship Resources

Call to Worship (Psalm 24:1)

ONE: The earth is the LORD’s and all that is in it,

MANY: the world, and those who live in it.

Prayer of the Day (The Cry of the Earth)

Lord, grant us the wisdom to care for the earth and till it. Help us to act now for the good of future generations and all your creatures. Help us to become instruments of a new creation, founded on the covenant of your love. Amen