This
Sunday, April 28th, we will celebrate Earth Day at Meriden United Methodist
Church. The service will include special
music from the children in our Sunday-School and conclude with the planting of
new shrubbery at the front entrance of our building.
As part of our special Earth Day
service, my sermon is entitled, “God’s Earth versus the ‘Human Waiting Room,’”
which is a continuation of my current Easter sermon series, entitled “What
Happens to Me After I Die?” The
scriptural text for this proclamation will be Genesis 2: 4b-25.
At first
glance, an Earth Day sermon may seem to be an abrupt digression in a series of
sermons on Resurrection, Life Eternal, and the End Times. Afterall, the focus of this series is on what
happens when we die and at the end of time.
We might well ask how focusing on our present time and place is relevant
to reflection on our individual destiny at the end of times?
Although I recognize that this is
counter-intuitive, I believe that a complete exploration of resurrection, life
eternal, and the end times must include reflection on our relationship to—as well
as responsibilities for—God’s Creation in the present. It is a profound mistake to separate God’s
physical Creation and the environment from our understanding of life eternal
and the end of the world, as some well-meaning Christians have done
historically.
It has been
nearly 50 years since the historian Lynn White, Jr. published his controversial
article, “The Historical Roots of Our Ecologic Crisis.”[1] In order to address what were then emerging
environmental crises, White argued that we must first examine and critique our
religious beliefs about nature. He
said: “What people do about their
ecology depends on what they think about themselves in relation to things
around them. Human ecology is deeply
conditioned by beliefs about our nature and destiny – that is, by religion.”
In his analysis, White
noted that the human capacity to wreak damage and destruction upon the
environment grows out of Western technological and scientific advances. These advances have occurred in a social
context in which Western Christianity was the dominant religion. Turning to an analysis of religion, White argues
that Western Christianity makes it possible to exploit nature in a mood of
indifference because "nature has no reason [for] existence save to serve
[humans] man." In other words, for
Christians nature is simply the stage upon which the drama of human salvation
is played out—or, the waiting room before we enter Heaven. White asserts that Christian arrogance toward
nature "bears a huge burden of guilt" for the contemporary ecological
crisis.
Needless to say, White’s
essay touched off a firestorm of protest from Christian believers, who
primarily argued that White had misunderstood the Christian faith’s attitude
toward nature. They argued that
Christians have taken a positive view of nature and have understood that humans
have a special role to play as wise stewards, or caretakers, of the Earth. As
with most controversies, the truth lies somewhere in the middle. On the one hand, White’s critics are
absolutely correct in that the affirmation of Creation is an important theme in
the Bible and Christian thought. On the
other hand, White is correct to observe that historically Christians have
frequently exploited nature with indifference.
In our reflections about
what happens to us after we die, our understanding of God’s Creation in the
story of humans is an important question.
Is this Earth merely humans’ “waiting room,” before we die and go to
heaven? Or, is this Earth in
itself important to God?
I think that Genesis 2:
4b-25 provides a very poignant answer to these questions. Unlike the Creation story in Genesis 1, in
Genesis 2 the account of creation begins with the first man, Adam (v. 7). After Adam is created, God creates the rest
of nature as a gift for humans. Then God
places Adam in the Garden of Eden, as recorded in verse 15: “The Lord God took the man and put him in the
garden of Eden to till it and keep it.”
The Hebrew word in verse 15, which Biblical scholars translate into
English as “to till it and keep it” is ābad. This is a very interesting word choice. In Hebrew, this word, ābad,
means to “serve,” and it usually refers to a slave who serves a master. So, Adam is to serve the rest
of Creation.
To
summarize, in Genesis 2 the rest of nature is given to humans as a special gift
from God and at the same time God asks humans to care for – or, serve – God’s
good Creation. Clearly, from the
scriptures, God values our Earthly home much, much more than seeing it simply as
the human waiting room for Heaven. This
understanding of Creation also fits with our earlier discussion of Revelation 21,
where at the end time God will transform all of Creation into a New
Creation: “Then I saw a new heaven and a
new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away…”
(Revelation 21:1).[2]
Feel free
to post your comments on this blog. I
realize that there are other interpretations and answers to some of the
questions concerning what happens to us when we die. In exploring these issues, I am not trying to
convince everyone that they must accept my answers. In fact, I think it is important for each
person to develop their own answers.
And, Christians of good will can disagree.
However, even in disagreements,
there are opportunities for spiritual growth.
When we encounter persons who disagree with us, that very disagreement
can challenge us to think more deeply and come to a better understanding of our
own answers. This can lead to a deeper
faith and a stronger conviction and assurance.
At the same
time, even though Christians may disagree concerning how we answer these
questions of ultimate meaning, I think that we can all agree that God has given
us this beautiful planet as a precious gift for safe-keeping.
If you live in the Meriden-area and
do not have a regular church home, please consider attending Meriden United
Methodist Church this Sunday. Meriden
UMC is located at the corner of Dawson and Main. Our worship service starts on Sundays at 10
am. Everyone is welcome and accepted
because God loves us all.
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