here.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\nSTART THE CLOCK!
TUMC Sermon \u2013 Ecological justice theme. \u2013 Randy Haluza-DeLay (haluzadelay@gmail.com)
READING THE BIBLE WITH ECOLOGICAL EYES.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The theme today is \u201cEcological justice.\u201d I have titled this message, \u201cReading the Bible with Ecological Eyes\u201d because Scripture is essential to our practice, even in what seems like these difficult and NEW challenges, like climate change, biodiversity crises and socio-ecological justice on a planet that has entered a new era in which homo sapiens \u2013 the so-called \u201cwise species \u2013 are a force of such power that we are changing the very biosphere and geology of the planet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And so, we necessarily come to the Bible with this attitude: asking new questions of old wisdom.
And that will challenge us \u2013 Biblically, religiously, and culturally. That\u2019s why I included the bottom picture. If you think \u201cThat\u2019s upside down\u201d just remember that the planet doesn\u2019t have an up or a down, so this makes as much sense as the other way. BUT, because of the practices of our culture, we are also used to seeing and thinking with the Global North up top. And in Western cultural mindsets, what is UP TOP is also Higher than, or, ugh \u2013 BETTER THAN. So this map subverts that unintentional psychological and social hierarchy.
If you remember nothing else from this message, remember this:
IT IS ABOUT THE NEED TO RETHINK!
This is the first important step to ecological justice.
Of course, it is more complicated than that, because thinking does not necessarily lead to Right Action.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Let me also say that I know you at TUMC are concerned about ecological justice. I was at a climate-related event last month and folks from this congregation were stationed at a booth.
And of course, there was the TUMC Climate Choir\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I daresay you KNOW that the earth is facing severe problems \u2013 like this chart which shows a Great Acceleration in the past half-century with numerous indicators of global ecological degradation suddenly skyrocketing \u2013 climate change, ocean acidification, species extinction, declining soil fertility, and more. And ecological degradation already threatens human lives and wellbeing around the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So, let\u2019s get on with \u201cREADING THE BIBLE WITH ECOLOGICAL EYES\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
What I am saying is that mindsets matter. Our culture, for example, shapes what we see when we see a dandelion.
The challenge for Christians is that we are culturally-bound people, reading a Holy Scripture that was created within other cultures. we also believe that that Scripture was intended by the Creator of all, FOR ALL \u2013 that is, for all cultures and peoples everywhere.
And yet, we read and understand through those lenses of our own culture. And so we miss some of what is potentially important, valuable \u2013 even ESSENTIAL in this day and age.
For example, the Western, and especially modern Western world segregates humans from the rest of creation. This is Anthropocentrism \u2013 thinking that the Bible is all about humanity and humanity\u2019s relationships with the Creator. What happens when we include ALL creation when we read the Bible? Can \u2018ecological eyes\u2019 lead us toward a more fulsome ecological justice? OH \u2013 let me say here, that I only grudgingly accept the term \u201ccreation care\u201d and much prefer this \u201cecological justice\u201d way of talking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A big part of an ecological consciousness is to is to go beyond \u201cnature\u201d and see things as interconnected \u2013 Ukraine is a petrowar, for example, and South Sudan and Syria are climate conflicts, making Syrian refugees, in part, climate refugees. Global social inequality drives ecological degradation. Palestine is a conflict of land and place and belonging, and Israeli destruction of olive groves is just a portion of the environmental injustices occurring there. And so on.
So among other things, to read the Bible with \u201cecological eyes\u201d is to look for interconnections, and how they depict the kinds of relationships God Creator has with the more-than-human world.
So what is in this Colossians passage? You have heard it, so here is a shortened version, but please go back to it and re-read in it\u2019s fullness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There are several points that I want to highlight from this passage.
from this passage.
1) Start with \u201cmaking peace\u201d is prominent there at the end. How? \u201cBy his blood\u201d. Jesus\u2019 death and resurrection make peace. Full stop. The Easter message.
2) Who is the \u201cmaking peace\u201d for? \u201cAll things!\u201d \u201cproclaimed to All creatures\u201d! This is not a bobble of translation, the Greek word there actually means \u201ceverything in creation.\u201d It really does mean the \u201cgospel of peace\u201d is for all plants, birds, fish, ecosystems, and so on. Easter is for ALL Creation.
3) Earlier in the passage, Christ \u201cin whom, through whom, and for whom\u201d ALL creation was made; \u201call things have been created through him and for him.\u201d Jesus is Creator — This makes the Incarnation even more profound. The Creator became part of Creation! \u201cIn carne\u201d literally is \u201cin the meat\u201d (like \u201ccarne-vore\u201d). We say \u201cin the flesh\u201d but that is profound!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
4) And then, \u201cin whom all things hold together\u201d \u2013 like ligaments holding together the skeleton, animating or moving the parts. GOD IS Sustainer, God is IMMANENT in the world, not just transcendent. God\/Christ is here NOW.
This is just a sketch of the passage. For now, let me just re-emphasise some basic points.
FIRST, Rethink! SECOND, a caveat!
SECOND, a caveat \u2013 ALL humans are not the same. In terms of ecological damage, SOME humans have more responsibility. Even if we are supposedly on the same boat or planetary spaceship.
Some humans have more responsibility.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This is why I have this slide, which depicts the \u201cecological footprint\u201d based on income tenths. Ecological footprint is a measure of resource and energy use \u2013 impact \u2013 like the impact of a footstep on fragile land.
What it shows is that we are not equal \u2013 it is only the top 30% of Canadian incomes who have ecological impacts HIGHER than the Canadian average. Altho we should also point out that about 65% of Canadians have incomes in the top ONE PERCENT of the human population of the planet. So we are part of the global rich, even though I want to emphasize that we are not all equal. The \u201crich\u201d among humans take larger shares of the planet\u2019s energy and resources and have more of the environmental impact. These are basic facts of ecological INjustice.
The point is that ecological justice CANNOT be accomplished without looking at the structures that are at the root of any problems. This is why I don\u2019t like \u201ccreation-care\u201d much \u2013 it does not usually address structural issues that can only be solved by COLLECTIVE action. To WITNESS means to ADVOCATE to the powerful and decision-makers for Change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
THIRD, we talk of shalom. We depict \u201cThe Peaceable Kingdom\u201d as per this painting, drawn from the visions of Isaiah. According to Colossians, Shalom is not just peace-making among the human community but the Community of All Creation.
This is an indigenous cultural notion, and here is the cover of an amazing book by Randy Woodley, an Indigenous North American biblical scholar that I highly recommend.
Rethinking our cultural mindsets probably means learning from other cultures. And Reading the Bible with Ecological Eyes GETS US TO THINK about how the Scriptures relate to ALL CREATION.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So, quickly, let\u2019s look at some other passages to show pieces of the process a little more. As you listen to the passage read, THINK \u201cHow would I read this if I was thinking about Nature\/all of creation, about interrelationships of humans and land and other created things?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
What thoughts come to you as you think about the ecological relevance of this passage?
1) This is one of several passages in scriptures that talk about the land mourning or creation groaning because of humans. In this worldview, all things are connected so any parts that go in a direction not of God\u2019s desire (what we usually label as \u201csin\u201d) affect all the other parts of the created world.
2) And again, we see that Creator cares about all creation, enough to point out the suffering of other-than-human parts of creation.
3) Lastly, let me emphasize that \u201cknowledge of God\u201d cannot be seen as having \u201ccorrect doctrine\u201d, being Christian or anything like that. We know that so-called \u201cgood Christians\u201d do all sorts of wrong things, including or especially damage to the planet. While I have emphasized \u201cthinking\u201d today, in the Hebrew worldview, \u201cknowledge\u201d refers to application of the good mind to good action \u2013 as it does in other cultures. I want to thank MiGEL Soui \u2013 a Wyandot scholar at Wilfrid Laurier University \u2013 for pointing this out to me this week.
Ok, on to the next passage, and remember, As you listen to the passage read, THINK \u201cHow would I read this if I was thinking about Nature\/all of creation, about interrelationships of humans and land and other created things?\u201d
Pretty simple here \u2013 listen to Nature? OK, BUT\u2026.
\u2026 A few points to add
1) This is not just Nature as metaphor, like take a lesson from the sparrow or the lilies of the field.
2) The creatures here actually KNOW God and what God does. And they tell of it. They are fellow and faithful wayfarers with human believers on the journey of life.
3) And Lastly, we can see that God also holds THEIR life and breath in God\u2019s hands too.
If this is true, does that alter the way we think of animals, birds, plants, soil, land? Do these entities deserve abundant life, or justice?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I have added this passage because we almost always read the last verse, maybe sometimes with a couple of the verses before it, but we don\u2019t usually include the first couple of verses. So even if Scripture presents a more comprehensive and ecological picture, our religious practices might inhibit our ability to get that fuller picture. Be aware!
And now we come to one of the most famous verses in Christian Scriptures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For God so loved the \u201cworld\u201d that\u2026
In the Greek, this word translated as \u201cworld\u201d is \u201cCOSMOS.\u201d Oh my! Can you get more ecological?For God so loved the Cosmos. Don\u2019t limit God\u2019s love or the sending of the Christ into Creation just to humans!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
By now you\u2019ve seen that God does indeed love the entirety of creation. We\u2019ve already also seen that there could be an underlying assumption that other creatures believe and have a relationship with the Creator, and that Jesus\u2019 action is for the entirety of the cosmos.
Homework: Re-read John chapter 1 and substitute Cosmos for everywhere it is translated \u201cworld.\u201d
ON WE COULD GO. These are just sketches. A deeper analysis from an ecological hermeneutic will unpack even more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Now, I was going to say a few things about the Idea of Humans as \u201chigher than\u201d or having \u201cDOMINION\u201d. It too is a concept by which Christianity COLLABORATES with ecological degradation, and people usually point to the Bible as the source of such an anti-ecological worldview.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But I will leave it with a blunt statement from Pope Francis from Laudato Si.
\u201c\u2026the Judaeo-Christian thinking\u2026that grants man \u201cdominion\u201d over the earth has encouraged the unbridled exploitation of nature\u2026(and) is not a correct interpretation of the Bible\u2026\u201d (Laudato Si\u2019, #67)
Francis too is telling us to READ THE BIBLE WITH DIFFERENT EYES, and RETHINK.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Let me end with this picture again today, from the booth that TUMC folks were at during that climate event a couple months ago.,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The cookies represent different options.
If we do nothing or do \u201cbusiness as usual\u201d the planet goes to a crisp \u2013 like those cookies on the end.
If we do some sorts of solutions \u2013 and in this picture, it is \u201cmarket-based solutions \u2013 we drive up the cost of weak fixes to a level affordable by only the wealthy. And not all parts of a damaged global biosphere can be fixed by throwing money or technology at it.
This is why I think \u201ccreation care\u201d is too mild. It emphasizes environment as nature, and misses the necessity of changing the social and economic systems that operate independently of individual behaviour. Ecological justice is shalom-making, It requires doing everything possible to generate the systemic changes needed to truly safeguard Creation.
This is the point of the 7 Calls for Climate Action that some of us in Mennonite Church Canada have proposed. (Look it up \u2013 search Google.)
So the best options are to Think and Work with attitudes of justice-for all Creation. And to do it together, like your Project Carbon Neutral. Canada and the world needs to move or transition from here where the wealthy and powerful of the planet are doing great and ungodly damage to that which would be SHALOM for the ENTIRE GLOBAL COMMUNITY OF CREATION. We need some sort of \u201cjust transition\u201d for ecological justice \u2013 which would be justice \u201cthe least of these\u201d on the planet. Can Christians model that? Like the cookies on the end \u2013 see how many there are? Because their recipes are less high-falutin\u2019, baked with a bunch of cooks, and meet the needs of everyday people instead of reinforcing the privilege of Global elites. Those are the cookies that I want to help bake \u2013 and eat!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There is much else that could be done. At this point I want to encourage you to be like a dandelion \u2013 remember, that people see it as a weed and are annoyed, but they make wishes on it. Thank you.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
PreludeGathering Song: O Healing River (VT 706)Welcome and Land AcknowledgementCall to Worship and Opening PrayerHymn of the Month: Ososo (Come now, O Prince of Peace) (VT 391)Children\u2019s Time – Brad LeppKingdom Report: Creator\u2019s Call in a Climate Emergency – Vern RiedigerGiving with GratitudeKingdom Report: Project Neutral – Melana JanzenHymn: There’s Enough for All (VT 757)Farewell to Gary and Lydia HarderCongregational PrayerScripture Reading: Colossians 1: 15-23Sermon: Reading the Bible with Ecological Eyes – Randy Haluza-DeLayIncluding: Hosea 4:1-3, Job 12: 7-10, Joel…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9279","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sermons-a-worship-audio"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tumc.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9279","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tumc.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tumc.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tumc.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tumc.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=9279"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/www.tumc.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9279\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9315,"href":"https:\/\/www.tumc.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9279\/revisions\/9315"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tumc.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=9279"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tumc.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=9279"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tumc.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=9279"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}