Wednesday, April 18, 2012

A Christian Perspective on Earth Day

“The stewardship of creation is an act of submission to God through Christ who joined creation in the Incarnation.”

Well, that is where I am so far. This Sunday is Earth Day. The Christian Church in Kentucky has been a leader throughout North America with our Green Chalice initiative. Our congregation already meets the practical requirements to be designated a Green Chalice Congregation. We have implemented a paper recycling program; we no longer use Styrofoam and aggressively limit the use of disposable paper products; we have almost completed a transition of our lighting to high efficiency bulbs; we have a programmable thermostat system to minimize energy demands when our building is not in use; we purchase and use fair trade coffee and tea. Still, we continue to look for ways that we might reduce, reuse and recycle.

Throughout my ministry, I have had more than one church member criticize the church’s emphasis on environmental issues. A generalized argument about biblical interpretation or theology would preface a statement like, “and of course, all these environmentalists are worshiping the created, not the Creator.” As I listened, I wondered if it was less a conscientious objection and more an issue of convenience. Of course, it never helped when church sponsored resources would come across my desk with Buddhist Meditation practices and Prayers to Mother Earth. It’s not that I don’t respect Buddhists or adherents to Nature religions, but the Christian tradition is already perfectly suited and resourced for the teaching of biblical, Christ centered stewardship.


Frankly, as an orthodox Christian who has a high regard for Scripture and an appreciation for the life-giving traditions of the church, non-Christian arguments, practices and prayers seem idolatrous. That doesn’t mean I can’t stand side by side with a Buddhist as we clean a river bank or agree with a Druid that sustainable water is an essential for all of humanity. It does mean that as a Christian, I am aware of a unique perspective. Along with many other monotheists who trace their lineage from Abraham, I accept the responsibility to care for that which God has created. The Earth belongs to God. All that is in the Earth, including all of humanity, belongs to God. Because God has loved me I will, with a spirit of gratitude, care for all that is God’s.

As a Christian, my perspective is sharpened. Along with the rest of the family of Abraham, I believe God is transcendent. God is more than that which is, for God is eternal and the cause of all that is. God is beyond, above, uncontainable. However, as Christians, we believe in the Incarnation. The Incarnation, literally meaning “to take on flesh” is when God became human. The transcendent God became immanent, that is, present, here, in the midst of, in creation. God created and when God became a part of creation, I realized just how holy this planet is in the eyes of God.

Well, I’m not a professional theologian and my thoughts may not stand up to scholarly review. As a Christian, I want to know why it is important that I take care of creation. For me, it was because of Jesus Christ and the Incarnation. It is important that we submit, in every way, to the Lordship of Jesus Christ. For the Christian, that includes the stewardship of creation that God himself designed, created and joined.

Friday, April 06, 2012

Why is it called "Good" Friday?

So, why is it called "Good" Friday? Actually, the word "Good" is a hang over from Old and Middle English.  In those days, the possessive was indicated by a double vowel rather then an apostrophe "s".  So the word "Good" properly translated would be "God's" or "God's Friday."
For example, "Good Bye" is actually a blessing one would give to another when meeting or departing. "Good Bye" may be written "God's be ye" or in modern idiom, "You belong to God" and therefore a blessing of safety to the traveler.
Regardless, today is God's Friday...and, using our modern colloquial definition, it is also a good Friday as God in Christ conquers sin and death. With that, I offer an ancient blessing as one traveler to another...Good Bye.

Wednesday, April 04, 2012

A Post-Resurrection World

“Son,” my father would begin, “the ‘good ole days’ were not that good.  You don’t remember, but we had to go outside to use the bathroom.”  Just this week, I was telling my son, “Son, I remember when you had to actually get up and walk across the room to the television to change the channel.”  Of course, some of you remember the hardship of the Depression and the sacrifice of World War II.  Some remember the days when previous generations struggled to end segregation or marched for women’s suffrage.  For younger generations, it can be hard to understand how bad it was before.  Most of us can only imagine what others have experienced as we declare to those in authority how bad things are now.  What was it like to have to submit to a monarch’s every whim before the Magna Carta?  What might it have felt like to have taxes levied on you without any voice in appointing the person who levies the taxes?  Even stranger still, for many of us, is the thought of enduring discrimination and recrimination simply because of our race or gender.

In many ways, it is a monumental task to wrap our minds around the concept of existence before the resurrection of Jesus Christ.  You and I have always lived in a post-resurrection world.  If we read the Gospels, we get some insight into the life of the disciples before the resurrection. Confusion, uncertainty, fear, jockeying for key positions in the Kingdom they thought was coming, and despair were all common traits in each of the disciples.  How did they and the world change after the resurrection?  Realization, confidence, courage, sacrifice, and hope were the hallmarks of the disciples turned to apostles as revealed in the books of Acts. I can only imagine the response of Peter or Andrew if they heard the church in the present day complain about persecution or show fear in the face of crisis. I suspect we would get a healthy dose of pastoral advice if one of the apostles were to hear the church verbalize the despair of evangelization in our very secular culture. Perhaps the same advice he gave to the Church at Ephesus is applicable today when Paul writes, “for at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light” (Ephesians 5:8).

The season of Easter is a chance to “remember” through the Acts of the Apostles what a post resurrection people are called to be and to do.  Through Easter, the Old Testament lessons are replaced with readings from the book of Acts.  This Sunday we celebrate the victory of Christ over sin and death. The rest of the Sundays in Easter, we celebrate the victory of the Body of Christ, His Church, over the powers of darkness that seeks to swallow the world in despair and fear.

As Christians who have always lived in the ongoing light of the resurrection, we forget what “the ole days” were really like.  We live in the glory of the resurrection! Christ has been raised from the dead. Those in the church who keep that forefront in their proclamation will never know despair.