THE CARE OF THE EARTH

November 26, 1989
8:30 and 11:00 a.m. Worship Services
John M. Buchanan
Fourth Presbyterian Church, Chicago
Scripture
Genesis 1:26-2:3

Matthew 5:1-5

"Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.”
-Matthew 5:5 (RSV)

“Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth," said Jesus.
"Good," said. Madeline L'Engle, “they're the only ones we can trust with the
place.“ [The Irrational Season, p. 70-73]

Our celebration of Thanksgiving last Thursday remembered the Pilgrims
who came to New England in the early part of the 17th century, endured a
treacherous. ocean crossing, a hostile wilderness, a brutally cruel winter
and after one-half of them died, got a foothold: and when the meager first
harvest. was in, set aside a day for feasting and celebrating and giving
thanks. They could do that because they trusted God to give them strength
and courage,.and they trusted nature to be generous and to provide for them.
They were not theologically naive. They did not expect Thanksgiving
baskets to be delivered daily. They buried their young and their old-al]
during the winter. They measured out the grain they had brought along,”
cupful at-a time, to get through the winter. They expected no intrusion of
divine providence to alter the realities of their adventure. But they
trusted nature. They knew that, by God's goodness, the warld — given half
a chance — would sustain them.

So, part of what we observe on the fourth Thursday of November is
their faith and courage and grace, and part of what we observe is something
the human race has been watching carefully since we first opened our eyes
to the world around us and reached up for a piece of fruit dangling from a
tree limb, namely the productivity of nature: An American Thanksgiving is
partly a celebration of the pilgrims' courage and faith, and it is partly
a Harvest Festival... a celebration of the basic kindness of nature, the
willingness of nature to provide for us, to respond even to our urging by
producing food to eat and clothing to wear and shelter to keep us warm... It
is elemental. And it is that part of the equation which is radically
different. today. Put as simply as I know how, the willingness of nature
to provide for human life is no longer a sure thing. Putting it a bit
testily, we are, all the evidence tells us, winning the war we have. been
waging against nature. We are neutralizing, negating, defeating nature's
basic inclination to provide for us. Why we are doing this in the face of

“the” overwhelming evidence, the mountains of. data, why we are. unwilling even

~ tay listen. to the data, is- a great mystery. “It: ‘has to do. with: greed and .
“arrogance and pride and that has to do with what Christians call.sin, and
ite the radical attack of. the human race: ‘in-the late Twentieth: Century on

te own, environment ae constitutes what "everybody ‘agrees. is the: single. most

“urgent issue confronting. us:

a “love the zoo. One of the great advantages of ‘the city is “not only
major. league sports. and world. class music,-it vis that in-a few minutes you
can see .a tiger, a gorilla family, an elephant:. . not’ a picture, ‘but. the

real” ‘thing. Among my oldest fantasies are being able — whenever:.I want’ to
--to.see:major league baseball, or a tiger. -So-I-go frequently. Almost.

“any-excuse will do. I take out-of-town guests: who: don't particularly want
“to. go. 1. take new. born grandchildren and sometimes I go alone. And I~ look.

vat those magnificent lowland gorilias and =the tiger. stalking his. tiny”

prison. cell waiting ‘for the posh new quarters, and the elephant,. “and: the.
wolves... and I always think... We... we who are alive now, in ‘all.
likelihood, are the last: people in history who will share the: earth. with

cothese: creatures.

we are the peaple who will finally succeed, after several.
centuries of all out effort, we will succeed in making their. life. in
‘nature. utterly - impossible. They will survive, “ina manner. of speaking.» We

know: how to-do that now so that our great-grandchildren will be sable to see

them-in zoos. ~ But whether: a: tiger. whose parents. and grandparents: never ran

~down™ an ‘antelope and- who -has. never seen ‘the’ outside of a cage is: still ae
tiger, is an interesting question: -‘Tt is already too late for many of. them:

although there are good and admirable efforts’ underway. to.protect: and even
to. put: ‘animals back in’ places where they have faced extinction. Maybe even
wolves ‘in: Yellowstone™ again... but there are. only a few hundred - mountain —
gorillas left, none in captivity, and. they™ probably aren't ‘going to°make
it.The: elephants who even made the cover of Time this fall are down
from, 120,000: in Kenya’ and ‘Tanzania in 1970:to~ less: than 20,000 in°1988..

given. the out-of-control population explosion. ‘and* human unwillingness’.

to: deal: with it, there will: ‘be ‘no habitat large. enough to sustain: them.

ultimately... “11% of all-the ‘species of ‘birds: in ‘the’ world face. oS

“extinction... and a ‘total. of one-half million ‘species: of animals. and: plants
‘will-be gone forever by the. end of. the century. ‘So we'll stock ‘our -zoos
ang hope for the best. ;

: “Does it matter? David Stockman, Director. of the: Budget a few years:
~ ago 0, was speaking to the National Association’ of Manufacturers ‘one time’ and
said: "I -keep reading that there are 170 Jakes’ dead in New York that will:
“no: longer carry fish. And it occurred to me ‘to ask the question: - How much

are -the- fish worth? And: ‘does it-make sense- to. “spend. billions of: dollars

controlling emissions from sources in Ohio - if you're talking about a very
marginal number in dollar value, either in “recreational terms or ‘in’
commercial ‘terms.' ‘Mew York -Times Magazine,” 10/31/82]

=. ; Now, you may not agree with Stockman's aesthetics or priorities, but
- what about his question?.--It-is the important one... Does it ‘matter? So
what..if a few lakes die and the last gorillas and tigers? -Can we make:
-it-without them? Can we-live in a world envisioned by Lewis Thomas where
_thesonly animals. besides ourselves are our dogs and: cats... whose food. and

11/26/89

and. a tee we. farm for: food and: clothing?”

: —that® “we a ‘are: cat ‘the end: “of. nature:

paraphernalia. already occupy” ten: percent of : the: ‘eupermarket ‘shelf: space.
A Native: American: Tri al

The End of: Nature by: Bill: McKibben.

= By this. Tido ena fase the” ‘end 0
‘world. When T say 'nature' T° “mean a certain set. of human: ideas about
world and our’ Place ‘in. it" fle. oo

oo One. of. those ‘ideas, generally assumed by. all, 1
nature occurs. very. slowly, ‘over.-hundreds of- millions: “of. years = so.
really: ‘dont t: have to worry. about them. That: ‘is! ‘no longer: true; ““poin
Mr. “McKibben. In fact in: three: decades ‘we have caused» very. ‘signi
; _nature.. The: carbon dioxide | content of the. Cc moephere

in our. ee “The world. T ‘tell myself. “is ite place: .

-absorb: an ‘awfil- ‘Tot. “Wrong, says Mr. McKibben. “Life exists: in. a five and.

_. oneshalf- mile. layer. of atmosphere... “that's the. ‘distance - from: sea. ‘le
; the top” Mt. Everest. where’ ‘the: air. dis too. thin to breathe.” :

he verage ‘American ‘automobile, -driven. the average ‘American:
0,000 - miles, Lin. ‘an “average American: year, “releases - its. own:
carbon | into the: atmosphere.’ “That! s “not. Pollution. That!
when we burn carbon. fuel. Op IES

produce ‘oxygen - are. themselves’ being.
square niles in one ‘Brazilian’ ‘state: alone. ;

hat Nobody ‘knows: “but: ‘there. are: pleaty:¢ °
states which cone that | we care. going to live: in. a Significantly
atmospher = :

neh fiftesn ‘days. above. 90 degrees. will have forty- alan
the: computer. didn't turn: its attention to ‘Chicago.

f
4

Mr. McKibben's point is that we are now part of nature. We have
intruded. Nature is no longer independent. And that brings us to the
philosophic or theological or spiritual dimension of the issue.

The Bible begins with a magnificent affirmation of God's creativity
and humanity's role in God's economy. God, in the Genesis story, creates
the world out of nothing, puts plants and animals on it, and finally human
beings. God gives the human heings responsibility for the world. They
name the animals: they are to have dominion and stewardship for the
creation... Nature is there for them, They are part of nature and they
are, in a very real way, God's managing partners.

Over and over again the ancient hymns of God's people break into
doxologies of praise and adoration.
"For the Lord is a great God
In his hand are the depths of the earth:
the heights of the mountains are his alsa.
The sea is his for he made it
for his hands formed the dry land." [Psalm 95]

“The Lerd reigns: let the earth rejoice
let the many coastlands be glad." [Psalm 97]

Sone of Jesus' most memorable images were drawn from the natural
world which he deeply reverenced and loved. “Consider the lilies," he said
One time, and, of course, "blessed are the meek, they shall inherit the
earth."

And St. Paul - there is a wonderfully cosmic, universalistic dimension
to Paul's thought. Jesus Christ, Paul proclaims, is not just the savior of
humankind. Christ will put all things right, universally. The whole
creation groans, waits, longs for its healing and redemption. At his
biggest Paul sees all of history, including nature, moving toward
fulfillment, reconciliation, redemption, and peace. In Paul's thought our
reconciliation in Jesus Christ includes the healing of our relationship
with the world.

Over the years this Biblical emphasis on the world as our home, the
earth as the Lord's, the lovely, beloved creation as an expression of God's
mercy and kindness, gave way to another set of ideas. The ancient Greeks
differed fundamentally from this Hebraic view of the world. The Greeks
thought the material world, the earth, the human body, the tangible world
of nature, was inferior to the world of the spirit. It's called dualism
and sometimes it sounds as if nature is a kind of punishment, human life a
burden to be borne until we get our reward in the afterlife; and our
bodies... ohviously God made a big mistake when he made us sexual, so the
truly righteous and holy will deny this basic part of our humanity,
suggesting that sex is impure, maybe even dirty, to be engaged in only as a
necessary evil. That is, I continue to discover, not far ~- theologically -
from where a jot of people live.

11/26/89

Princeton Professor, Elaine Pavels, has written a wonderful book, Adam,
Eve and the Serpent, in which she argues that early Christianity, largely
under the influence of St. Augustine, took a disastrously wrong turn when
it concluded that the world was evil and that religion was essentially
otherworldly. Pagels argues that we are still neurotic about sex,
suspicious of women and basically unconcerned about the earth because of
this wrong turn.

For sure, the conservationists have been accusing Christians of not
caring enough about this world, suggesting that we have interpreted God's
commission to Adam and Eve to have dominion over the world as license to
pillage, burn, pollute and exhaust. That always makes me defensive, but in
my reading this week 1 bumped into a very distressing study done at Yale on
basic attitudes about wildlife in American society that revealed that
church people are less concerned about conserving habitats of threatened
wildlife than non-church people. The more religious they are the less
people care about the environment, the study showed. [See Knowledge,
Affection & Basic Attitudes Toward Animals in American Society, Kellert &
Berry, Yale University, 1980, U. S. Fish & Wildlife Service]

And so, instead of trying to wring out of government, industry and
the consumer's economy some concession that we are in a lot of trouble,
maybe the best thing we Christians can do is shed some theological light on
the topic. Maybe instead of simply wringing our hands about our automobile
emissions, we ought to look again at our oldest religious tradition
and allow it to speak to our hearts... allow our theology to reconvert us.

Maybe we ought to look for the oldest tradition, layered over by the
dualism of the Greeks, but still there in Scripture and in theology and in
the church. We should get reacquainted with St. Francis of Assissi, for
instance, whose writings show a “creation-centered" spirituality.

"Be praised then, my Lord God
In and through ali your creatures,
Especially among them,

Through noble Brother Sun

By whom you light our day:

In his radiant splendid beauty
He reminds us, Lord, of you.

Be praised, my Lord, through Sister Moon
and ali the stars:
You have made the sky shine in their lovely light.

In brother Wind be praised, my Lord

And in the air,

In clouds, in cali,

In all the weather moods that cherish life.

Be praised, my Lord, through Sister Water...
And Brother Fire.

a

11/94/20

- Through our dear Mother Earth be praised,
omy. Lard, Ls ;
“She feeds us, guides us, gives ‘us plants, —-
=: bright flowers, 9000 : ee
ceind all her feuttel oy

acer It comes as. somewhat. of a surprise. ‘to. modern, ‘wester
~~ Christians ‘that. you: don't. have -to step. out. of. the. Judeo- -Chri
2 te discover a creation-centered Spirituality. “But Ag you-are
you: Ww ql: discover that: basic ‘reverence for creation. dis ‘shared y.
traditions. and it is. precisely at that. shared | | point: ‘that. there:
for. different future. a

ae The wise Naive: Anek ican’ Ghio® who: wtoid’ 6 een

on behalf of. his tribal: lands ‘said, “Every. ‘part: of: the: earth
=oamMy: people. : Every shining pine needle, every. sandy" sho oH
~ dark -woads, “every ‘Clearing and humming insect. ds. holy” ‘in -the memory. and
experience of my People." fop. cit]. : ;

det. ‘the. ‘earth: rejoice” cried the Psalmist.
~- "let: the sea roar and all that fills it.
Jet: the earth exult, _ ce
Then shall the trees of. ‘the wood sing for. Joye
[Psalm 261.

oe Jesus said, "Blessed 4 ‘are _the: meek for. ‘they shall inherit”

; Genesis is revolutionary. So says Old. Testament ‘scholar ;

os Beugeéwann. It portrays. acreator God. who. governs: from. within
who turns over the management. of. the creation: -to one. ‘of the
“portrays human beings who are responsible, who share with God’ the: ‘ongoing
process’ of creating the world. :

. = ‘And that sounds like McKibben in The End. of. Nature.
turns: philosophical about. the. ecological mess. "We. as a race
vibe stronger. than we expected,. much stronger.-In a sense we tur OW
God's equal or, at least, his rival - able to destroy creation...

the:down side. The up side is that God has. created us for. fee
responsibility... we are part of nature as. God planned for.us: to ee We
“care.in- charge of the Garden as we always have been... we are capable. Of
destroying it and we are capable of living responsibly. ‘in it, nu turing: it,
loving. it, even seeing God's’ love and mercy and_ grace in. Ate. - we

md “our Lord Jesus lived close to the world. He assumed: its. Boo ss.
He: used its beauty and its power as illustration. :

‘Blessed are the meek, he said; they shall inherit the earth The.
oS meek end up really owning it. pipe. ;

“And who are they... the meek? The meek are ‘the ones, who. ar

- capahle of reverence and awe and wonder and in that they do inherit , own. :

and live in the earth thoroughly. The meek are the ones who. know that life. “S
isa gift given new every: morning. PPR ESTs

11/26/89

poetry helps us find words for a gratitude so | Simple, SO meek, it is
difficult: “to express. : os

“© cummings:

“Ly ‘thank You God for: most. this amazing day: ”
© for: the leaping greenly.spirits of trees”
cand: a blue true. dream of: sky:

vand:. for. everything : ;

a which is natural which is infinite
~ cated: ‘is. yes."

oo: “The. meek: are capable of ‘wonder that Brother. Sun appeared again “this”
“morning, that. the balance: between oxygen, nitrogen. and carbon dioxide. makes.
- the: air breathable again today.. The meek are capable of delight in: the.
“sensuous: ‘earthiness of creation, the tastes, smells, touches, sounds —
sensations: which ‘contain the * goodness: of God.

thus” Gerard _ Manley ‘Hopkins:

“glory, be to. God. for dappled. things -
oes For= skies of -couple- -colour'as a. brinded cow:
“For -rose-moles all” “in? stipple upon
“trout. that- swim: re
With ‘Swift, slow: sweet, ‘sour, adazzle,. dim,
~ He? fathers — forth | whose beauty is past change:
Praise Him." :

; To. be- neck is ‘to be ‘capable of- pratitude for oneself: . for this 7 ws

utterly astonishing complexity of flesh and bones and nerves and organs: ~~
which somehow enjoys Bach, builds computers, climbs. a mountain, makes love on
“and. -sings: hymns to -God. -

The. cones who ‘inherit the earth -—.the ones responsible for saving it,
the ones wise-and tough and passianate enough to preserve it - are the meek
~ the ones. who are grateful. ;

Jesus Christ. came into the world: At the very least that suggests
that the. world into which he came is a good and lovely place... and. that:
given half =a chance, our dear Mother Earth will. continue to feed our ‘souls:

: with her: beauty and to provide for our children after us and their children
tee. ae ao

We do. not inherit the earth from the past, someone said.
“We borrow it from our children.
Blessed are the ineek.

“Amen.

Oe ee