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“The earth reminded us of a Christmas tree ornament hanging in the blackness of space. As we got farther and farther away it diminished in size. Finally it shrank to the size of a marble, the most beautiful marble you can imagine. That beautiful, warm, living object looked so fragile, so delicate, that if you touched it with a finger it would crumble and fall apart. Seeing this has to change a person, has to make them appreciate the creation of God and the love of God.” Those are the words of James Irwin a US astronaut, speaking about how he and his colleagues viewed this world from outer space. A world of beauty and fragility. It was a life changing perspective.
Yet how easy it is back on earth to take life, and the life of this world, for granted! To assume that it all exists solely for our human benefit, and that we can do whatever we like with this planet earth. Such is the way of utter folly, and the warning signs are becoming ever clearer. Climate change is certainly making the media headlines, and featuring on the big screen. For example, this evening there’s a film The Day after Tomorrow on Channel 4. And in Malvern Threatres An Inconvenient Truth is being shown next Wednesday evening. This film documentary featuring Al Gore concerns the issue of global warming. You may also recall that, at a recent international gathering of scientists in Paris, it was agreed that climate change is the most urgent problem facing this world today. And that it is 90% certain that the key factor is human activity.
When faced with the scenario of irreversible climate change happening over the next few decades, how do we respond? Perhaps we feel overwhelmed by the scale of the problem, and wonder what on earth we can do to make any difference. It is hard to see how switching off a light, walking instead of driving, or turning the thermostat down - anything to reduce our carbon footprint - can help to save the planet from meltdown. No wonder it is tempting to despair, or else to deny what is going on. No wonder many seek refuge in distraction, while others look to a form of spirituality which offers an undemanding and cosy security in an insecure and fearful world.
Yet is that really all we can do? Not if we take to heart, and act upon, the Judaeo-Christian understanding of God, ourselves, and this world. An understanding which both of this evening’s Bible readings invite us to reflect upon. The first reading from Genesis reminds us of the truth of our own creatureliness, and of our vital interconnection with the rest of creation: “When the Lord God made the earth and the heavens … the Lord God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.” To be human is to be in a dynamic and threefold relationship. The Genesis creation account reminds us that we are made for God. We are also made for one another. And we are made for the creation, to care for it and to be at work within it.
That is why Christians cannot – must not – duck the environmental issues facing us today. As David and Betty Payne – our new Mission partner links working with A Rocha – point out in their latest newsletter, “the Bible teaches that God made the world; it belongs to Him and He loves it. He has given humans freedom of choice. For many years we (the human population) have made bad environmental decisions associated with thoughtlessness, greed and selfishness, and nature is paying the price. Now we need to use the same freedom to make good decisions over climate change.”
Those decisions need to happen at all levels – international, national, regional, local, personal. And they must involve change – change in our attitudes, and change in our lifestyles. You may have heard that the Bishop of London has recently made a ‘golden pledge’ not to fly for a year. God is Green, a programme being shown on Channel 4 tomorrow, will show how, when the Bishop was challenged to practice what he preaches, he responded with the golden pledge. It is but a small example of the vital need for all to build a bridge between climate change and lifestyle issues. And not least because the poor are affected disproportionately by the impact of climate change. As David and Betty Payne put it: “Those who suffer most from the effects of climate change are those in the poorer countries, who are experiencing more extreme weather patterns – resulting in severe droughts, floods, starvation and disease.”
You and I have hints of it from time to time – e.g. the mildest January for many years, followed by the heaviest snow for a generation. We are aware how much the weather affects us, and how vulnerable we can feel in the face of the awesome power of the natural elements. Those first followers of Jesus must also have felt this vulnerability. In this evening’s Gospel account, Luke tells us that the disciples were in the midst of a storm, in real danger of being swamped. Yet Jesus was asleep. When they woke Him, “He got up and rebuked the wind and the raging waters; the storm subsided, and all was calm.” And He asked His fearful and amazed disciples, “Where is your faith?”
Where, indeed. But would you and I have been – are we in fact - any different? We profess to believe that Jesus is with us, but how far do we really trust Him when the going gets tough? When faced by life’s storms, and the threats facing our world, do we turn to Christ as a first or as a last resort?
The Gospel account emphasises that Jesus Christ is Lord – the Lord of creation, who fully embodies the power of the Creator God over His creation. With Jesus Christ at our side, in the same boat with us, there is no storm or threat that we cannot face. He is Lord, and one day this world will find its true peace in Him.
That is the assurance we are given in Christ. And there is also the challenge to faith: if we trust the Lord as we profess to do, then how do we show it, as we face the demands of living in today’s world? Here at the Priory, one of our three main aims this coming year is to “witness to God’s care for all creation through our actions and our social and environmental concern.” The Love Life Live Lent booklet you and I are invited to use together during this Lent is one way we can make a real practical difference to our world. One way of witnessing to God’s love and care for all creation.
In the light of Jesus Christ, we are called – and given the grace - to fulfil our God-given human destiny, to be caring stewards of the earth, whose legacy will be a blessing not a curse to future generations. May we recognise our true vocation, and so realise what it truly means to be made for God, to be made for each other, and to be made for the creation. Amen.
John Barr
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