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To know that I was a part of such a momentous event, the very first Earth Day,
filled me with awe and reverence. In some sense to share in that day, that
demonstration was an act of worship. I was giving witness to what I believed -
that God has given human beings a special responsibility to love and care for
creation.
In the second chapter of the Book of Genesis we read, “The Lord God took
Adam and put him in the garden to till it and to keep it” (2:15). The very name
of Adam in Hebrew means earth, topsoil, ground. We are earth creatures,
formed by God’s breath. We are called “to till and to keep” the garden, to
wisely tend and preserve creation. In Hebrew the word “to keep” is the verb
“shamar” and it is the same word used in the blessing that God gives to Moses
to give to the people of Israel, the blessing that we use on Birthday Blessing
Sundays: “The Lord bless you and keep you” (Numbers 6:24). As Earth’s
guardians for God we are to bless, nurture, sustain, and care for creation the
way God blesses, nurtures, sustains, and cares for us.
My assumption is that we all believe that to love God our Creator is to love and
care for God’s creation. It is a central tenant of the Christian faith. And as
never before, we are being called to be more faithful in our love and care of
creation. A great moral challenge is facing humanity – a global climate crisis.
The question is – do we have the political, societal, individual, and global will
to act on behalf of planet earth and all of its life, our own and our neighbors,
every creature and eco-system, for the sake of generations to come.
The crisis is overwhelming, so much so that we may conclude that there is
nothing we can do - that one person, one church couldn’t possibly make a
difference. I am here to tell you that we can do something. As a people of
faith, as a church we can make a difference. As individuals and as a
community we can be involved in creation-care efforts. It can be a part of our
lifestyle as individuals and our ministry as a church.
Why “green”? The word green helps describe efforts to promote respect and
compassion for all creation. “Greening” connotes nourishment and healing,
new vitality and growth and longevity, which permeates all of God’s creation.
The color green springs up time and again throughout Holy Scripture. For
example, in the twenty-third Psalm the psalmist sings of “green pastures” that
offer a healing respite for the soul. There’s Nebuchadnezzar’s dream in the
book of Daniel that we read of a beautiful tree at the center of earth that feeds
all living things. A similar imagery can be found in Revelation 22:1-2 that
describes the tree of life that bears abundant fruit and whose leaves “are for the
healing of the nations.” “Greening Congregations” who are committed to
creation-honoring work are like green pastures, beautiful trees, and healing
leaves for their community.
On this Earth Day Sunday, 2007, I am here as your pastor to challenge and
encourage us as persons of faith and a community of faith, out of love of God
and God’s gift of creation, to devote ourselves to going green. First, let me
address going “green” as individual people and households. Some of us have
already taken steps and others are struggling with what we can do. To help us
all grow in awareness and action, I would like you to join me in a Thirty Day
Discipline, beginning May 1st, focused on the Stewardship of Creation. Using
a devotional guide (created by Sara Olson and Brooke Petersen. Produced for the Web of Creation
at the Lutheran School of Theology in Chicago. www.webofcreation.org), we will commit to
reading a daily scripture, learn something important each day about what’s
happening that’s putting creation, life on our planet at risk, consider a
suggested response and commitment, and conclude this devotional time with
prayer. Over the course of thirty days, we’ll consider such things as gas
mileage, cleaning products, batteries, water heaters, inside plants, heating our
homes, junk mail, paper, and more. Then on Sunday, June 3rd, we will dress
again the sanctuary in green with liturgical banners and more, reflect on our 30
day disciple, celebrate our commitments, plant our pumpkin seedlings in our
wine barrel garden, and more, all as way to dedicate ourselves to growing in
the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ and growing in love and care of
creation and one another.
Now let me address going “green” as a congregation.
Some of you may be aware that a Master Plan Task Group has been meeting
since last fall. They were charged by the Session to gather ideas and
information about developing our property and facilities for mission and
ministry. Their initial work is near completion. What has become clear in their
discussion and discernment process and in consultation with the Session is their
belief that God is not calling Knox to make our land available for affordable
housing or other residential development. Although it would have been a
significant income source for the church, houses and the necessary street
development would eat up too much land. Rather, the task group has discerned
that God is calling us to first green up the property – to plant trees and native
plants, to provide space for a community garden, to create meditative areas.
We haven’t talked about it in these terms much but this is part of what it means
to become a “green” congregation, committed to creation-honoring work. Like
Georgetown Gospel Church in Seattle, we too can be a beautiful and abundant
oasis for our own members, our neighbors, and for other creatures.
My hope is that over the course of our thirty day devotional discipline, that
several of you will hear a call from God to serve on something we might call
the “Knox Green Team”, learning and taking action here at Knox, inside and
outside, related to energy conservation and earth care. Also as we hopefully
move forward with the “greening” of our corner of God’s vineyard, I look
forward to the possibility of a future ministry that we might call, “Let’s Tend
the Garden”.
The Georgetown Gospel Church’s story has truly inspired me. I am excited
about the possibilities of something similar at Knox. What if some of us
became certified Master Gardeners? What if instead of kids in the
neighborhood climbing on our roof, tagging walls with graffiti, and breaking
windows, they were learning about God our gracious Creator and caring for
creation by helping build and tend gardens? What if our neighbors learned
from us as a church and as a people of faith the importance of going green in
honor of God and God’s glorious creation?
Friends, I believe that the earth and all of creation is God’s gift to us. It’s
sacred. It’s holy ground. We are indeed called “to till and to keep it”, to bless
it, nurture it, and sustain it. We are indeed called as people of faith and as a
church to go green. May we have the wisdom and will to do so in honor of our
gracious God.
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