James 1:17-27
Psalm 42
Romans 8:19-25
“To Hope and Act with Creation”
The theme for the 2024 Season of Creation is “To Hope and Act with Creation” based on the passage Marianne just read from Romans 8:19-25. This biblical image pictures the Earth as a mother, groaning as in childbirth.
Thousands of years after this passage was written in a letter from the Apostle Paul to the Church at Rome, its imagery takes on new meaning for Christians grappling with the climate crisis and looking for hope for the future of our planet.
Along with our Sister, Mother Earth, creatures of all kinds today, including humans, are crying out because of the consequences of our destructive actions causing climate crisis, loss of biodiversity, and human suffering as well as Creation’s suffering.
Our national and international news is filled with stories of climate-change induced disasters affecting human communities. Out-of-control forest fires have become such a common occurrence in Canada that we probably all know at least one person or family who has been evacuated or even lost their home in the last ten years.
Other communities have been devastated by destructive floods, typhoons, and other weather events that people used to refer to as “acts of God” as if God would intend to cause such devastation and suffering.
The groaning of other parts of Creation doesn’t usually receive the same kind of attention as the impact on human beings. Just think of the forest fires. The massive fire in Jasper National Park received the most attention when it reached the town site, which is understandable. But think of all the animals and habitats that were already being affected before the fires got to the town.
When a wildfire rages, some animals fly, hop, or run to safety. But fish can’t. During a fire, the temperature of a stream or river will sometimes rise to a lethal degree. If a fish survives without being cooked, short-term changes to its environment might finish it off.
And even if the fish are further away from the fires, wildfires can cause major changes to forests and soils, which leads to shifts in watersheds that have serious consequences for salmon and their habitat.
Wildfires burn the vegetation holding soil together and destabilize the surrounding landscape. As a result, loose mud, debris and sediment flow into critical habitat. Once excess sediment reaches a stream, it can plug salmon gills and make it difficult for fish to breathe, prevent salmon from accessing food, degrade critical riffle and pool habitat, and bury salmon eggs.
I asked the internet about which animal species are being most affected by climate change, and those high on list did include salmon, as well as polar bears, sea turtles, whales, coral, penguins, bumblebees, and many more.
Around one million animal and plant species are now threatened with extinction according to the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES). How much is climate change to blame? It affects at least 10,967 species, and projections suggest that if global temperatures increase by 2°C by 2100, about 18% of all species on land will face a high risk of going extinct. More sensitive animals will fare even worse, with over 30% of insect pollinators and salamanders facing high risks in this projection.
The Creation is most certainly groaning and crying out in our time. And young people seem the most ready to join in her cries of pain and worry about the future, as they look further ahead and worry about what will be left for them and their children of this good and precious Creation.
And yet, there is hope and expectation for a better future. To hope in a biblical context does not mean to stand still and quiet, but rather groaning, crying, and actively striving for new life amidst the struggles. Just as in childbirth, we go through a period of intense pain, but new life is coming forth.
A creative translation of Romans 8:19 says that the “Creation is standing on tiptoe, waiting for us to act!” Creation is not given to humanity to use and abuse. Rather, humanity is created as part of Creation. More than a common home, Creation is also a cosmic family that calls us to act responsibly as part of the web of life. This is how the children of God have an intrinsic vocation and an important role to play in the manifestation of the kingdom of justice.
The lectionary for today suggested the passage we read from James 1, and I chose to include in this service because of its focus on action. I also noticed that the author of James uses a metaphor from the natural world. He tells us that the Word of God is planted within us, and he encourages us that God intends for us to become a kind of “first fruits” of his creatures.
God’s Word of love and grace and generosity and goodness has been planted in us like a seed planted in the ground. And the purpose of that planting is not just to hide it away in a safe place, but so that it will grow. God’s Word of love and grace and generosity and goodness is supposed to grow in us, to burst forth from us like a stalk coming up into the sunlight, to grow and grow, and bear good fruit.
James tells the early Christians and us that we must be “doers of the word” and not merely “hearers.” We are not meant to simply hear God’s Word of Love and tuck it away in our hearts for safe keeping. We are meant to be “doers of the word” who embody and enact God’s love in the world.
And if we’re not sure where to start, James says that “Religion that is pure and undefiled before God… is this: to care for orphans and widows in their distress.”
That certainly must include hearing the cries of people who have been displaced from their homes, and lost their livelihoods or their loved ones due to climate-related disasters. I think we could add that it involves hearing the cries of the rest of Creation as well – the animals, plants, air, water, and habitats that are struggling because of the human impact on the planet and its ecosystems.
When we become doers of the word, and not merely hearers, we have the potential to become first fruits of God’s Creation as we take action for the well-being of all God’s creatures.
Compassion Canada tells the story of Gildo and “The Green Squad” who have been combatting deforestation in the Amazon rainforest in Ecuador. In the indigenous community of the Quichua people where Gildo is a Compassion centre director in Ecuador, oil companies and machinery have devastated the environment.
In recent years, deforestation in the Amazon rainforest has reached all-time highs, threatening the ecological balance and natural habitat of thousands of animals and plant species as well as the livelihood of local communities.
According to National Geographic, in the last 50 years, deforestation has increased to levels never seen before in the history of humanity, destroying 15 per cent of the world’s vegetation surface— equivalent to the territory of Spain, Portugal, and France.
“The rainforest provides water and food for us to survive. Without the jungle, the planet would collapse,” Gildo says.
Once a month, Gildo runs a small reforestation and tree planting project in the jungle. Together, they plant native trees and learn about environmental awareness and protection.
“We plant trees and plants because we don’t want our home, the jungle, to be destroyed,” says 12-year-old Martin.
“The jungle is life, and we have to respect it,” says 12-year-old Waira.
The group has already planted more than 300 trees in just a few months. Their environmental approach also includes cleaning the river and preventing it from being filled with plastic and waste.
“When I was a kid in church, I learned about everything God created. I learned to love the nature that Jesus gave us, and I also learned to take care of it,” Gildo says.
Now, as a leader in his community, Gildo wants to encourage children to be active in social issues and community development.
“Together, we can take care of what God gave us. That’s why we plant trees,” says Martin. “We can all be heroes and save the planet.”
“Caring for the jungle and the planet is everyone’s responsibility,” says Gildo. “Together, we can save God’s creation.”
In a reflection on the Romans passage in the theme materials for the Season of Creation, the author says this: “We act for a better future because we are people of hope. We know Christ has overcome the death caused by our sins. We know that we have caused a lot of damage to Creation and to the world we are living in because of our negligence, because of ignorance, but as well, in many cases, because of our unrelenting wish to satisfy unrealistic selfish dreams.
“Hope is not merely optimism. It is not a utopian illusion. It is not waiting for a magical miracle. Hope is trust that our action makes sense, even if the results of this action are not immediately seen.
“We know how much bold action to restrain the climate and ecological crisis is urgent, and we also know that ecological conversion is a slow process as humans are stubborn to change their minds, their hearts, and their ways of living. Together with Creation, let us hope and take action.”