The Spiritual Dimension of Our Relationship with Nature

          For many who follow the Jewish calendar, this has been a momentous week, as Wednesday marked the beginning of a “Sabbatical year.”  A Sabbatical year occurs every seventh year on the Jewish calendar.  Established by God, one of the principal intents of the Sabbath year is to provide a time of rest, renewal, and recovery for wildlife in general and agricultural soil in particular. 

            One of the scriptural passages that establishes the Sabbatical year, and explains God’s rationale for requiring it, occurs in Leviticus 25.  Here’s a portion of the chapter that explains the sabbatical:  “…but in the seventh year there shall be a Sabbath of complete rest for the land, a Sabbath for the Lord:  you shall not sow your field or prune your vineyard.  You shall not reap the aftergrowth of your harvest or gather the grapes of your unpruned vine:  it shall be a year of complete rest for the land.” (25:4-5)

            This Sunday (Sept. 28th), my message will be grounded in Leviticus 25, as I continue my sermon series, “Building Stronger Relationships.”  In the first sermons in this series, we have explored building stronger relationships within our families, with our friends, with ourselves, and with the Divine.  This weekend, we will examine building a stronger relationship with Nature.

            I should note that Christian clergy rarely preach from the Biblical book of Leviticus.  There are some good reasons for this.  The major focus of Leviticus revolves around rules for the Jewish people.  Much of the book is devoted to instructions concerning the proper procedures for conducting rituals; maintaining proper ritual purity; correct administration of the Temple; and regulations regarding the appropriate sacrifices for atonement.  None of this seems especially relevant for twenty-first Christians living in the post-modern United States.  As a result, most of us Christian clergy rarely—if ever—preach on Leviticus, and it consequently gets marginalized within the scriptures.

            Despite these difficulties, I will suggest in my proclamation this Sunday that Leviticus actually has a lot to tell us twenty-first century Christians about our relationship with nature—if we approach the text appropriately.  The key to interpreting Leviticus is to recognize that it is all about holiness and, for Leviticus, holiness means “separateness.”   God is holy, which is to say that God is separate from humans in two different senses:  First, God is separate from the rest of Creation because God is immortal, omnipotent, omniscient, and completely other than humans and other creatures.  Secondly, God and humans are separated by a moral gulf because of human sinfulness.

            Leviticus is also about human holiness, and this has implications for its first audience:  the Hebrew people.  In the first place, the Hebrew people have been separated, or set apart, from others as God’s Chosen People.  In choosing Israel, God has created a royal priesthood who will be responsible for helping to heal and repair the world.  As God’s Chosen People, the Hebrews must live ethical lives that are defined by maintaining right relationships in all areas of life.  Thus, an important focus in Leviticus is spelling out proper moral and legal procedures for living.  These procedures define right relationships in terms of family, community, worship, commerce, and nature. 

Leviticus 25 spells out what God intends as the right relationship for humans to have with nature.  As we saw above, treating nature with respect and creating regular opportunities for nature to rest, renew, and recover are at the heart of a right relationship with nature.  But there is more.  Later in Leviticus 25, God clarifies even further the human relationship with nature:  “…for the land is mine; with me you are but aliens and tenants.  Throughout the land that you hold, you shall provide for the redemption of the land.” (verses 23-24)  God is very clear.  Humans are short-term tenants on this planet, which ultimately belongs to God—and not to us.  Yet, even as short-timers, we are still responsible for the care and redemption of nature.

Of course, there is an obvious concern about the feasibility of God’s plan for giving the land a sabbatical every seventh year.  The central question comes down to this:  “If no crops are planted every seventh year, how will there be enough food to feed all the people as well as all of the livestock in the subsequent eighth year?” 

Actually, God addresses this concern in Leviticus 25.  God’s basic response to this question is simply this:  “Trust me.”  God promises to provide enough surplus to carry faithful communities through the years without planted crops.  God says, “I will order my blessing for you in the sixth year, so that it will yield a crop for three years.”  (verse 21)  God promises not just enough surplus to get by, but rather God promises a bountiful harvest so that there is enough food to carry through into the eighth and ninth years, after crops are being planted and harvested again.  It turns out that maintaining a right relationship with nature, is the same as maintaining right relationships with family, community, worship, and in commerce.  Ultimately, all of these relationships flow out of a right relationship with God:  maintaining a right relationship with nature flows out of faithfully trusting in God’s love and providence.

This makes our relationship with nature a spiritual relationship.

Yet, on the contrary, we live in a society where environmental issues have become politicized.  On the one hand, there are individuals such as Tom Steyer, who vowed to donate $50 million in political contributions this year to support candidates committed to addressing global climate change.  On the other hand, there are the “change deniers” who see vast leftwing conspiracies among scientists and question their motivations, when they report scientific evidence confirming climate change.  Yes, the environment has definitely become politicized.

We Christians are called by God to be different.  We are called to holiness.  That is, we are set aside as God’s chosen people.  Our relationship with the divine should shape and mold our other relationships, including our relationship with nature.  Regardless of our politics, whether we are Republicans or Democrats or Independents, our relationship with nature should transcend our political perspectives. 

Our relationship with nature should be shaped and informed by the realization that each of us are just short-term caretakers of wondrous beauty that ultimately belongs to God.  We are entrusted with redeeming nature.  Ultimately, our relationship with nature is spiritual because this relationship grows out of our relationship with God.  That is what Leviticus 25 has to teach us.

Come, join us this Sunday, Sept. 28th, at Meriden United Methodist Church, as we explore the implications of what Leviticus 25 teaches us concerning our relationship with nature.  Our church is located at the corner of Main and Dawson Streets in Meriden, Kansas.  Our classic worship service starts at 10 am on Sunday mornings. 

Everyone is welcome and accepted because God loves us all.