Evening Reflection Monday June 2, 2014 https://youtube/watch?v=WlhV80QPUuI Psalm 24:1 “The earth, and all that is in it, the world, and those who live in it, belong to God..” Yesterday was Environment Sunday, and the beginning of a series of sermons and services at Leaside United, throughout the month of the June, focusing on Earth, Fire, Air, and Water. June 29th will be Rainbow of Creation Sunday. There’s a part of me which finds it a bit discomfiting, and discomforting, that the care of the earth and all of the people in it has to be raised so intentionally. Unfortunately, our Christianity established a dualism of humanity and nature, and insisted that humans were entitled to exploit nature for our own needs. James Watt, Secretary of the Interior during the time of former President Ronald Reagan, suggested that more national parkland should be made available for development and extraction of natural resources, and commented “After all, the earth is ours. Here in Canada, our Prime Minister and the government also govern out of such a belief - that God gave us the right to do whatever we wish with the earth, and hang the consequences. There’s a part of me which loves John Rutter’s “All Things Bright and Beautiful” – it’s a gorgeous piece of music and sentiment – but there’s another part of me which says life isn’t so bright a beautiful for many people, and in some ways it’s a reflection of our western living – ignoring those not-so-beautiful and somewhat rancid people we see on the street, or meet in outreach facilities, never mind those who are further away. What about all those things in life which are not bright and beautiful? Today I splurged on plants – bougainvillea and hibiscus, strawberries and geraniums – and spent a couple of hours in the yard, putting them into larger pots and arranging a small garden under the birch tree. Japanese red maple, shagbark hickory, white pine, purple smoke bush, blue spruce and regular spruce, bamboo, pear, cypress – all share space with the clump birch. What luxury!!! To stand barefoot in the grass, connected to the ground, hands deep in black earth – to be able to grow such beauty. I cannot help but think of that other side of the picture – those who struggle to get a few plants into poor soil, to grow enough to eat, and then pray for a few drops of rain; those who can’t even do that. Crops grown for our consumption while those who grow them make almost nothing, and cannot eat what they grow. Those who struggle for water every day, for medicine, for health care, for shelter – who struggle to have a voice at all. We are privileged, you and I – the fact that we can be here, having these discussions, is a measure of our privilege. Doesn’t matter what our colour or racial background may be – we are privileged. The intent of this is not to make anyone feel guilt, nor to suggest we all rush off overseas, or even to downtown missions, although they do need our attention and help. I do expect us to look with clear eyes at who we are, what we have and what we can do – and recognize that all of it belongs to God, and that God has shared it with us, for a reason.
Posted on: Mon, 02 Jun 2014 23:36:09 +0000
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