Bethlehem Lutheran Church

Grace to you and peace from God our Creator and our Lord and Savior
Jesus Christ. Amen.

You may have noticed that our worship service is a bit different this
morning: different music (thanks to Barbary Coast), a different kind
of lesson reading, and even our bulletins look a little different this
morning. Since we are sitting inside, we wanted you to have something
with which you could reflect on the wonder of creation while hearing
the story from Genesis. Today is the first Sunday in our sermon series
entitled Creation Matters.  And today we will look at how God first
called us to be stewards of all that God made.

Unfortunately, environmental stewardship or what we sometimes call
“Creation care” can be difficult to discuss because of some of the
political associations that come to mind, but that cannot be a reason
for us to avoid the topic altogether. As human beings and as followers
of Jesus, we must be leaders in this discussion, in raising awareness
and in taking action.

I mean, how difficult can it be? In the late 80’s, the State of Texas
found a way to have this discussion and raise awareness among all of
the outspoken, rugged individuals that populated the state. They came
up with an anti-litter campaign that is still effective today called:
“Don’t Mess with Texas”. The double meaning of “don’t pollute” and
don’t mess with me” caught on and went viral. And over the course of
four years, this campaign reduced littering by 72%. It continues the
conversation and awareness today.

So if all of the strong personalities in the State of Texas can have
this discussion and change their littering practices simply by using
an appealing slogan, I think Christians with much deeper Biblical
resources and with the belief that we are all connected in the Body of
Christ should be able to have an even more profound impact on the
world as we raise awareness and as we care for what God has made.
First, let’s look at God’s original job description for humanity: that
of tending to the natural world God placed in our care. In the
well-known scripture reading we just heard, God says to humankind:
“have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air
and over every living thing that moves upon the earth…I have given you
every plant yielding seed that is upon the face of all the earth, and
every tree with seed in its fruit; you shall have them for food.”

God has given us or placed in our hands this magnificent place we call
earth and given us dominion over all living creatures. Dominion over
“all the earth,” was given to humankind at the beginning of creation.
But does “dominion” mean that we actually own it or that we can do
with it whatever we want? Or does it mean something else?
Environmental stewardship author Matthew Sleeth, responds to this
question saying:
“Contrary to some popular opinions, God gives only partial
responsibility to humanity when he gives us dominion over the earth …
Dominion does not mean ownership or even unrestricted use.… [For
example], [w]hen we drop off children at kindergarten, we cede
dominion over them to the teacher. Without this partial transfer of
responsibility, chaos would reign in a classroom, and no child would
learn to read or write. At the end of the day, when we pick up our
children from school, we expect to find them in the same or better
condition as when they arrived. We would not tolerate finding them
battered or less intelligent at the end of the day. Similarly,
dominion over nature does not translate to neglect or destruction.
(from the resource section on the website: http://www.juststart.org/).

So while God places creation in our hands, God still owns the earth.
Everything belongs to God, but in God’s goodness and because God
delights in creation, we as humans are entrusted with it to care for
it and to protect it.

But there is another job title that has defined us more and more over
the last few decades. Instead of those who have dominion and care for
the earth, we have been shaped by the role of consumer.  And the
consumer’s main goal is consumption. In her book, The Soul of Money,
Lynne Twist says a “consumer is one who takes or destroys, depletes or
diminishes. That’s how we relate to each other. That’s how we are
sized up and studied now. Consumption used to be a horrible disease
that killed millions of people, now it is our job. “
In its worst sense, being a consumer means buying and taking in what
we need for our own benefit and then tossing it when we no longer have
a need for it. Similarly, consumption has the tendency to focus more
on my individual needs right now than on the needs that others may
have, both now and in generations to come. So the question is “What
affect will our consumption today have on our children and our
children’s children?”
Our societal role as consumers involved in consumption can cause us to
lose track of God’s original call to be good stewards of the earth and
its resources. It puts our short term desires above God’s desire for
us to tend, care and have dominion. And the truth is that there have
been many popular Christian movements in the last few decades that
have fueled the blind consumer mentality. As we saw with the most
recent “end of the world” prediction in May, there were and still are
some groups who believe that it doesn’t matter what we do to the earth
because we will all be lifted away and taken from this world anyway.

This, however, does not fit with the message we hear over and over
again in the Bible. When you look at the story of God’s creative
activity throughout history, you can see that God loves the world and
is still at work tending and inviting us into the garden. God did not
create in the beginning and keep hands off. God continues to reach
into the depths of our earth, getting hands dirty, bringing forth new
life, new hope and new creation over and over again. With the sending
of the Holy Spirit, God invites us to get our hands dirty in the
garden right here and right now as well.

In addition to God’s invitation into this creative activity, we also
receive the Great Commandment from Jesus to Love God and Love our
Neighbor.  If we love our neighbor, we will care about polluted water.
Over 80 percent of infant mortality in Africa and Asia is actually
caused by lack of clean drinking water. (Diarhhoea: Why children are
still dying and what can be done. UNICEF, WHO 2009)

If we love our neighbor, we will also care about how food is grown and
distributed. How air quality is affected by the way we choose to live.
How our garbage is disposed of and where it is taken.. It all has an
impact on our neighbor and on future generations. Each one of us makes
daily choices that help or hinder the care for our neighbor and God’s
good creation…and each one of those choices for the care of creation
matters.

So think about the plot of creation where you live, that small part of
the world over which you’ve been given dominion and care: how is it
looking these days? What is the ripple effect of your lifestyle in
terms of caring for creation? Which call do you hear more loudly: the
call of consumption or the call of creation care? The role of blind
consumer or the role of garden tender?

One way you can explore these questions is to be a part of a
discussion group that will meet here at church for the next six weeks.
It will be a time to meet new people, watch a short DVD entitled
Earthbound and have a discussion outside in the courtyard of the
church. (You might even see the mother duck and her ducklings waddling
around.) It will also be a time for you to think more intentionally
about a next step you can take and how caring for creation is an
intentional way you will live out your identity as a Christian. (Come
for one or all of the sessions.)

One of the ways that God reveals gods self to the world is through the
majesty and beauty of creation. God invites you into the garden to
steward the earth and to have dominion in such a way that God’s
abundance is as visible as possible. God wants us to see the awesome
majesty of creation as a gift. God wants us to see each other as the
amazing creation that we are for each other. And God wants us to tend,
care and steward the water, air, land and other resources of this
earth so that they can continue to be a blessing for generations to
come—for all of the children who are here every Sunday…..and for their
children’s children.

So as you walk out of this church building today and you see all of
the magnificent green, give thanks and remember….God’s Creation
matters.  Amen.

For Ways to Start Caring for Creation in Your Daily Life, go to the
following website and print off a good steward worksheet:

http://www.blessedearth.org/resources/good-steward-worksheet/

(I also used the 5th chapter in the workbook Becoming a Good Samaritan
on “Tending God’s Creation” and the online resources available at
www.Juststart.org for parts of this sermon.)

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