Sermon:  God is Green:  We are God's Gardener's

Texts: Genesis 1 and Psalm 8

Date: July 27, 2008

Rev. Emily Tanis-Likkel, Eagle Harbor Congregational Church

                            Go Green, Live Rich: 50 Simple ways to Save the Earth (and Get Rich Trying), Squeaky Green.  Gorgeously Green:  8 Simple Steps to an Earth-Friendly Life.  Be Green:  Don't Be Blue, Be Green.  Easy Green Living:  The Ultimate Guide to Simple, Eco-Friendly choices for You and Your Home.  The Complete Idiot's Guide to Green Living.  Have you noticed how many titles on bookstore displays include the word "green?"  A growing awareness of the distress our planet is suffering at the hands of humanity has encouraged many to intentionally decrease their ecological footprints through so-called green living.  maybe some of you have always been ver earth-aware, and so the latest buzz has not affected you, or annoys you, but others may be inspired to do more as our society as a whole is catching on to the inconvenient truth.  How we focus our efforts varies from person-to person, from some who consider basic recycling as sufficient, whereas others practice radical simplicity, and many of us are somewhere in-between.

                                     My Dad (pastor in Artesia, California) and I have collaborated on themes and texts for the summer, and when he told me several months ago about his idea for a God is Green series, I first responded by saying that it wouldn't be appropriate for Eagle Harbor Church, because I would just be preaching to the choir.  We know that global warming is not a myth, in fact that it has led to the deaths of countless polar bears and has changed weather patterns across the globe.  We know that those who are most affected by toxic pollution are those who live in poverty-stricken areas.  We know that the United States is chugging down way more than our share of the world's resources.  Many of us have been re-using aluminum foil long before "How to Live Green" books hit the book tables at Costco.  We love the natural world, and we want it to be around for future generations.  many of us have put earth-care efforts in motion, or plan to, and we're concerned for the earth.  Then I realized that although many of us consider ourselves to be "green," we may not know what the Bible has to say about being "green."  Are there some verses we could draw from to find out what it says about human stewardship of the earth - or even look at what God thinks about it?  In fact, as Presbyterian minister Dr. Carol Johnston wrote, "what we find is far more than a smattering of relevant texts.  From the first chapter of Genesis to the last chapter of Revelation, the biblical witness consistently and frequently affirms God's care for creation and each creature, especially the most vulnerable - both human and non-human." 1   Today's sermon begins a series on eco-justice, which is a working toward the well-being of all life on earth, flowing from an understanding of God as Creator and humans as co-creators.  We will discover in the next four weeks, that we are to be green, as God is green.

                                     The Bible begins, "In the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth, the earth was a formless void and darkness covered the face of the deep, while a wind from God swept over the face of the waters.  Then God said, 'Let there be light'; and there was light.  And God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness.  God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night.  And there was evening and there was morning, the first day.  (God continued, creating living creatures from the smallest insect to the great blue whale).  Then God said, 'Let us make humankind in our image, according to our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the wild animals of the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth.' "

                                     Dominion is a loaded word, easily misconstrued.  In the history of Christianity, some have interpreted Genesis to justify exploiting the earth.  But dominion means serving.  Dominion: higher on the root of a plant.  Humans are dependent on that which is under us.  We are to serve that which sustains us.  Medical Dr. J. Matthew Sleeth in his book Serve God, Save the Planet, wrote, "Cut the root out from under a plant and the fruit above it will perish, despite its superior position."2    We are created as part of the natural world.  We are to pay attention to it.  In the movie Wall-E, we are shown how progress and technology wounds our connection to the rest of the environment.  Our society and culture makes it all the more difficult to serve the earth.  The lure of shopping malls and pervasiveness of advertising leads to over-consumption of resources.  Many are insulated from the beauty of the earth by their office cubicle.  Dr. Sleeth writes that "If this is our Father's world, perhaps we are focused on the wrong things."3   He described showing a group of students a photo of a maple leaf and a hummer.  Out of three dozen youth, all but two could immediately name the hummer.  Only two students out of three dozen could identify the maple leaf.  Something is amiss!  God is the master gardener, and we are put in charge of the gardens.  John 3:16 says that "God so loved the world, that he gave his one and only son."  Not just humanity, but the entire cosmos.  We are apprentice gardeners for God's beloved garden.

                                    If it is a nice day, it is very likely that my next door neighbor Judi is in her garden.  That is where she wants to be, pruning, watering, planting, and caring for hours at a time.  She pays attention to her garden, she cares for it.  She happily pulls weeds for other folks too.  In several days she will be moving to Russia for two years, and someone else will be assuming the responsibility of keeping those flowers blooming.  When we live intentionally caring for the earth, we are representing God, doing our part to keep God's garden blooming.  Our church gardens bloom with great beauty thanks to so much care by Ann Lovejoy and others.  Gardening allows us to care for the earth in such a tangible way, nurturing the land and being nurtured by it.  Frances Roberts was gardening into her eighties. Her son-in-law remarked to me that even though others would coax her to relax for a bit, she would go out to her garden with a cane in one hand and a shovel in the other.  She never wanted to go on vacation, never wanted to leave her gardens.  She trimmed church hedge for 40 years, serving God, others and the church quietly, not seeknin any recognition for her efforts.  Dominion over creation, over that which is being created, is like quietly trimming the church hedge for 40 years.  It is a posture of caring, consistent attention, a love of beauty.

                                    An attentive gardener spends a lot of time in the garden, because it continues to grow, change, and need nurturing.  The words nature and creation are not used in the Old Testament.  Hebrew does not have a word for nature.  Instead the word that is used means "that which is being created."  The earth, nature, the environment, ecology, many words for what surrounds us and includes us, the Bible refers to it as "that which is being created."  Creation is not finished.  It is continuous, dynamic loving caring, calling into being.  The word nature, in fact, comes from the Latin, meaning, "that which is being born."  We go for a walk outdoors and discover that which is being created, that which is being born.

                                   Genesis 2 reads, "Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all their multitude.  And on the seventh day God finished the work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all the work that he had done.  So God blessed the seventh day and hallowed it, because on it God rested from all the work that he had done in creation."  Part of our serving of creation is to give the land rest.  Throughout the Old Testament, God's people are reminded of difficulties that will ensue when they do not give the creation Sabbath.  We read in Leviticus 25, "When you enter the land that I am giving you, the land shall observe a sabbath for the LORD.  Six years you shall sow your field, and six years you shall prune your vineyard, and gather in their yield; 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." What might that mean for us? I don't have a field, but I can still learn a lot from this teaching. For me it makes me think of taking a Sabbath from shopping. I just threw out a large toy the other day, that I couldn't give away because it was broken, and I couldn't recycle because it wasn't recyclable, so all I could do was toss it. But I was reminded by the saying; There is no such thing as to throw away. There is no away.   It doesn't disappear.   I wished I hadn't acquired it in the first place. I hadn't gotten it new, but it still made me feel sick to my stomach. I want to better learn to pause before acquiring a new thing. I want to give the land a rest.

                                   Have you ever borrowed something precious?  Have you cared for someone else's children, and sensed the great responsibility of it?  Have you worn a friend's prized piece of jewelry, and found yourself constantly checking to make sure it was still in place, or borrowed a car that you were sure to leave in pristine condition?  We are borrowing the earth.  Psalm 24:1 reads: The earth is the Lord's and all that is in it, the world, and those who live in it.  We are co-creators with God, servants of the earth.  Our efforts to conserve resources is not only a hopeful current trend, it is also a Christian practice.  To conserve means to serve with.  When we nurture creation, we are nurtured by it.

                                    Prayer written by my Dad:

                                        God is great, God is "green,"

                                        Thank-you, God, for all I've seen:

                                        Trees and flowers, earth and sky,

                                        Honey bees and birds that fly,

                                        Rivers, lakes and oceans blue,

                                        Dogs and cows and me and you!  Amen.

                                   Seven Times we read that God saw that creation was good.  An old Hebrew tale: "Having completed everything in five days, the Creator asked one of the attending angels whether anything was missing.  The angel answered that everything was, of course, perfect, as one might expect of God's handiwork.  'yet perhaps,' the angel ventured, 'perhaps one thing could make this already perfect work yet more perfect: speech, to praise its perfection.'  God thereupon approved the angel's words and created the human creature."4  We are God's apprentices, caring for creation (that which is being created), which results in us praising the creator.  The creation is amazing, isn't it?  Maybe it causes you to sing the hymn: This is my Father's world and to my listening ears all nature sings, and round me rings the music of the spheres.  Maybe it causes you to give your dryer a break and hang your clothes out on the line.  Getting soil under our fingernails, re-using items, and giving our car a rest can be an act of worship.  May the current societal trend towards green living be now merely a fad, but a starting point for great change.  Striving for eco-justice is an integral part of the Christian life.  We are to be green as God is green.  We are God's gardeners.

1        And the Leaves of the Tree are for the Healing of the nation: Biblical and theological foundation for Eco-Justice.

2        And the Leaves of the Tree are for the Healing of the nation: Biblical and theological foundation for Eco-Justice, p. 21.

3        And the Leaves of the Tree are for the Healing of the nation: Biblical and theological foundation for Eco-Justice, p. 47.

4        Like a Garden, by Sara Covin Juengst, p. 45.