Wholeness in Creation (Psalm 104: 24-30; Ezekiel 34: 1-4, 18-19)

John Muir once wrote:  “How little note is taken of the deeds of Nature! What paper publishes her reports? .... Who publishes the sheet-music of the winds, or the written music of water written in river-lines? Who reports the works and ways of the clouds, those wondrous creations coming into being every day like freshly upheaved mountains? And what record is kept of Nature's colors - - the clothes she wears - of her birds, her beasts - her live-stock?”

If people took so little notice of nature back in John Muir’s day, they take even less notice of nature today.  What phase is the moon in right now?  What constellations and planets are visible in the evening sky?  What type of tree grows in your front yard, what types of birds make their nests in it, and when do they migrate?

The only birds many people pay attention to today are angry birds, flappy birds, and those that tweet in 140 characters or less.

John Muir also wrote: “When we try to pick out anything by itself, we find it hitched to everything else in the universe.” 

That, my friends, is a true statement.  We are connected to everything else in creation.  Scientists know this is true:  everything in the universe began at the Big Bang, and the subsequent creation of stars.  As Neil DeGrasse Tyson says, we are made of stardust.

Scripture also affirms this.  Genesis 2 states that humanity was created from the dust of the ground.  We are made of earth.  We are one with the earth, and one with all that dwells upon it.

The Native Americans recognized this.  In 1854, Chief Seattle of the Suquamish tribe gave a speech in which he said this:  “All things are connected like the blood which unites one family.  All things are connected.  Whatever befalls the earth befalls the sons of the earth.  Man did not weave the web of life; he is merely a strand in it….

“Our God is the same God… The earth is precious to him, and to harm the earth is to heap contempt upon its Creator.”

And then, going back to scripture, we have the words of the psalmist which we have already heard:  “O Lord, how manifold are your works!  In wisdom you have made them all; living things, both small and great; the earth is full of your creatures…. When you send forth your spirit, they are created; and you renew the face of the ground.”

I have always had a deep, deep love for nature.  Some of my youngest, most vivid and happiest memories are of camping with my family in places like King Canyon and the Redwoods.  Places like these have become special to me.  Sacred.  Holy. 

Later, I learned how fragile they are, how sensitive they are to human activity.  As a boy scout I learned to “leave no trace” when visiting these sacred places, so that it would look the same after I left as it did before I came. 

I remember one time, hiking near a place called Vogelsang in Yosemite National Park, sitting by the side of the trail – just sitting, being still and quiet – and a squirrel came scurrying by.  I remained silent and still, and the squirrel, after sizing me up, determined that I wasn’t a threat, and went about its business.  It might sound crazy, but I felt a little connection to that squirrel.  I felt the oneness we shared.  I think he sensed it, too.

Another time, jogging along a dirt trail in Montana de Oro State Park, mountains disappearing into the fog to my left, the grey waters of the Pacific Ocean crashing on the rocks to my right… and then, a coyote, materializing out of the mist, and running alongside me for a while before disappearing back into the scrub and sage.  I admit, his appearance did make me just a little nervous at first, but then it seemed to me that all he wanted was companionship, the opportunity to help me recognize that we were one.

Another quote from John Muir:  “Everyone needs beauty as well as bread, places to pray in and play in, where nature may heal and give strength to body and soul.”

It’s a shame that so many people think they can live without nature.  I’m not talking about wallpapers on their computer, I’m talking about real, actual experiences in nature. 

Of course, we experience nature every day.  We breathe air...but we don’t notice the air, or the fact that we’re breathing.  We might notice the weather… but only as something to deal with, not as something to take delight in.  Coyotes are pests, and squirrels, well, they just make our dogs bark.

The truth is, when we do notice nature, we treat it as if it is something separate from us.  And then, because it is separate, we have no problem viewing it as something to fight against, to conquer, to exploit.

But since we are one with all of creation, when we fight against, conquer, or exploit nature, we fight against, conquer, and exploit our very selves. 

We see no problem with habits that destroy nature, destroy creation, because we don’t see that those same habits are destroying ourselves.

We are so, so wasteful;  and being wasteful is a terrible way to treat our planet and our neighbors.

Let’s take one example:  Perhaps a man has enough money that he doesn’t have to worry about the cost of fuel.  It’s $4 a gallon, but even if it was $10 a gallon, he could afford it.

So he buys his luxury, high performance car that guzzles gas but performs beautifully.  And he drives it everywhere.  It’s his baby, and his baby needs to be fed, and he can feed it, because he has the wealth.

Now we know that gas guzzlers are worse for the environment.  They create pollution, which in turn causes health problems in people and contributes to climate change, which, by the way, is very real.  Today there is virtually no disagreement among scientists that climate change is happening, and that human activity is a contributing factor.

Earlier this month, James Powell, former head of the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles – a man who was appointed to the National Science Board by presidents Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush – published the results of a survey he conducted.  That survey revealed  that out of 10,885 peer-reviewed scientific articles published in 2013 on the topic of climate change, only two papers argued that climate change was not being caused by human activity.

Two out of 10,885.  Percentage-wise, that’s less than 0.02%.  That means that over 99.98% of scientists agree that our habits are contributing to climate change.  To ignore or deny this fact is to ignore or deny science; but science – as Neil DeGrasse Tyson points out – is true whether you believe it or not.

So our gas-guzzling friend is, without a doubt, contributing to climate change; and we’ve already seen, in recent years, how climate change leads to rising sea levels, shrinking glaciers, retreating sea ice, ocean acidification, and changing wildlife patterns. Our planet is changing.  We better get used to it … and find ways to slow down the rate of change.

Our gas-guzzling friend is also making life harder for his neighbors in other ways.  Because he and others like him have not cut back on their use of fuel, costs of fuel continue to rise, and while that may not be a problem for him, it is for his neighbor down the street who can barely afford to feed his family and pay for the fuel they need just to get by.  Mr. Gas-Guzzler’s excessive consumption raises prices for everyone, which is really a terrible way to treat your fellow human. 

Just because you can afford to waste, doesn’t mean it’s right for you to do so when it makes it harder for others. One could tell the same story about water, or food, or anything else that is used wastefully.

This kind of lifestyle is exactly the lifestyle that Ezekiel prophesies against.  “Is it not enough for you to feed on the good pasture, but you must tread down with your feet the rest of your pasture?  When you drink of clear water, must you foul the rest with your feet?  And must my sheep eat what you have trodden with your feet, and drink what you have fouled with your feet?”

Climate change is a justice issue.  Allowing all people responsible access to the earth’s resources is a justice issue.  Healing and Wholeness for creation is a justice issue. 

Ezekiel got worked up over how one rich man’s actions polluted the water that a poor man downstream relied on.   Imagine if Ezekiel were around today.  Imagine if any of the other ancient prophets were around today, to see how we are treating our neighbors, to see how our habits and patterns of living are changing the earth in ways that have drastic consequences, especially for those who are poor, those who lack the means to adapt to these changes.

It’s always the poor who suffer most in these situations.

It’s time for people of faith to work to restore wholeness to creation.

It’s time to stop our endlessly excessive levels of consumption.  What’s wrong with repairing old things?  Why do we always have to buy something new?

It’s time to think locally when it comes to purchases.  Your local supermarket has produce from all over the world, so that nothing is ever out of season.  But what affect does it have on the environment, to always be shipping food back and forth across the planet?  Your farmer’s market has food in season, grown locally, and yeah, you might not be able to get summer squash in winter, but the food you do get is fresher, tastes so much better, and didn’t require the use of fossil fuels to be transported thousands of miles from where it was grown.

It’s time to take shorter showers, to use re-usable shopping bags and re-usable mugs, to avoid anything that is used once and thrown away.  I will actually choose one restaurant over another simply because it serves food on a real plate rather than in a throwaway Styrofoam container.

It’s time to get our politicians to lead us in sustainable, environmentally-friendly policies and practices.  Renewable energy.  Public transportation that works.  Stricter guidelines and harsher penalties for corporations that pollute.  The changes we need to make at this level are drastic, and the challenges are great.  It won’t be easy. 

Yet justice demands it.  Our God demands it. 

Genesis declares that God put humans on the earth to care for the earth, to be good stewards of the world God made, to bring wholeness and healing to the earth and all who dwell in it:  all living things both small and great.  It’s our calling, to bring wholeness to creation, for we and creation are one.

"Falling in Love with Creation" (Psalm 104)

In hearing Psalm 104, one fact stands out to me: the psalmist was intimately familiar with creation.  The psalmist was in love with creation.  And because the psalmist recognized creation as a manifestation of the Creator, the psalmist was able to fall in love with God through knowing, intimately, the beauty and wonder of nature.

Like any loving, intimate relationship, this one takes time to develop.  Having a sunset startle you, surprise you, take your breath away as you rush from one place to another – that’s a momentary crush.  It’s puppy love.  It’s like the rush of excitement that comes from seeing a goodlooking man or woman walking down the beach.

But that is not the same thing as an intimate, loving relationship.  An intimate, loving relationship takes time to develop.  It takes time to truly fall in love.

The psalmist has taken the time.  The psalmist has noticed the stars in the sky, the phases of the moon, the setting of the sun, not just once, but over and over.  The psalmist has gazed into the eyes of creation, memorizing every detail.

How about you?  How intimately connected are you to God through creation?  Let’s find out, with a little pop quiz….

1.     What is the current phase of the moon?  Approximately what time did it rise or set yesterday?

2.     What constellations – and what planets – can you see in the night sky this week?

3.     When was the last time you noticed the song of a mourning dove?  There is a good chance you heard it this morning as you walked to your car, but did you notice it?

4.     The trees on your street:  what kind are they?  Can you picture in your mind what the leaves look like, what the bark looks like?  Do you remember what it smells like?  Have you noticed any squirrels or birds in its branches?

There is simply no way to fall in love with creation if we don’t even take the time to notice creation.

The psalmist has taken the time…  The psalmist has noticed the birds singing in branches beside a stream.

The psalmist has noticed the cedars of Lebanon, with their sharp, four-sided needles and small, rounded cones.  These cedars can live up to 2,000 years, which means that the oldest cedars alive today may have been tiny seedlings in Jesus’ time.  Unfortunately, global warming is causing a decline in cedar forests, and these trees that live for thousands of years may be gone in a few decades.

The psalmist has noticed the goats in the mountains, which is actually something I’ve seen as well.  If you follow the San Gabriel River (which runs along the east side of Long Beach) up into the mountains, and patiently scout the rocky hilltops with your eyes, you might see them, too.

The psalmist has noticed the coneys finding refuge in the rocks.  An animal that is very similar to what the Bible calls a coney is a pika.  On hikes I’ve taken up Lassen Peak in northern California, I’ve heard the high-pitched chirp of the pikas.  It sounds like the chirp of a smoke detector that needs its battery replaced.  Another, similar animal that I’ve seen is the marmot, like this one that I saw on Mt. Whitney last summer.

In any loving, intimate relationship, there is reciprocity.  Both partners give love and receive love.  Both partners teach, and both partners give.  Both partners care deeply and protect one another.

Creation has many gifts and lessons for us, if we will only take the time to receive them.

Creation teaches us the value of unity.  In creation, there exists a web of life composed of many strands.  Perhaps the most well-known description of this web of life is attributed to Chief Seattle, who is said to have written a letter to the U.S. government in 1854. 

According to the letter:

Every part of the earth is sacred…Every shining pine needle, every sandy shore, every mist in the dark woods, every clearing and humming insect is holy….

We are part of the earth and it is part of us….All things are connected.  Whatever befalls the earth befalls the sons of the earth.  Man did not weave the web of life; he is merely a strand in it.  Whatever he does to the web, he does to himself.

Our God is the same God.  The earth is precious to him.

Creation teaches us the value of sacrifice and compassion.  In most species, reproduction is the most important goal; everything a parent does is for the sake of its offspring.  And it has been documented that certain types of trees can even communicate warnings to other trees; when one tree is afflicted with a disease or insect infestation, other trees nearby know to begin building up their defenses.

Creation teaches us the value of diversity.  Why aren’t all trees alike, all flowers, all animals?  Because God values diversity.  God sees beauty in diversity.  Diversity is a gift from God, and people who value diversity are a blessing to God.

Creation teaches us stewardship, and the joy of stewardship.  George Washington once said that it is delightful to care for the earth, so much more delightful “than all the vain glory that can be achieved by ravaging it.”  It is truly a joy to care for all that God has entrusted to us.

Creation helps us be mindful.  When Jesus needed to clear his mind, find his bearings, and restore some sanity to his crazy, tumultuous life, he went out into the wilderness, to pray, to be alone with nature and with God.  There is a sense of peace that can be found only in nature.  That’s why John Muir climbed the mountains, “to get their good tidings.”  It’s why Henry David Thoreau spent time in the woods at Walden Pond.  To find peace of mind, to dwell in the embrace of God’s creation.

It is so important to take some time now and then to fall in love with creation, to nurture that loving, intimate relationship with the world God created.  Failure to do so is to risk treating creation not as a lover, but – to borrow an image from the prophets – as a whore, using creation for your own instant gratification, neither loving nor caring.

And isn’t that exactly what we have done?  We have cut down the forests that once adorned our planet the way a young woman’s hair adorns her face.  We have penetrated the earth with mines and drills, raping the planet, and expelling tremendous amounts of waste into the atmosphere in the process, removing mountaintops, polluting shorelines, creating holes underground in a process known as fracking which, it turns out, is causing an increase in earthquake activity even in areas where earthquakes are rare … just so we can have a cheap and abundant supply of fossil fuels.

Through our wasteful use of energy, we have pushed the amount of carbon dioxide in the earth’s atmosphere to 392 parts per million, a number that continues to rise, even though scientists tell us that we must get that number back down to no more than 350 parts per million in order to preserve a planet that can sustain life.

Among the many effects of these high levels of carbon dioxide is the dying off of the world’s coral reefs.  Coral is one of the most important strands on the web of life; so many species depend on it.  Destroy the coral, and you destroy the entire web.

Currently, the former president of the Maldives is touring the world, pleading with people to cut their carbon emissions.  The Maldives is an island nation in the Indian Ocean; they’ve had to evacuate sixteen of their islands already due to rising sea levels.  He’s pleading with the nations and the people of the world to slow down sea level rise by using cleaner energy, and getting carbon levels back down to 350 parts per million, before his nation disappears completely.

Kiribati is an island nation in the Pacific.  Its leaders are considering moving the entire population to Fiji, because rising sea levels are threatening to contaminate Kiribati’s fresh water supplies and inundate the islands themselves.  The Pacific Ocean is currently rising one inch per decade, and that – combined with stronger hurricanes and bigger waves – will soon make Kiribati uninhabitable.

Our Disciples global missionaries, and the people working with Week of Compassion, have seen the effects of environmental destruction:  from stronger, more frequent tornadoes and hurricanes in the United States to more severe and longer-lasting droughts in Africa, humanity’s effects on the planet are becoming more apparent.

In earth’s history, there have always been fluctuations in climate.  But never have they occurred so rapidly as now; never have the changes been witnessed or even noticed over the course of a single generation.  And never have they been so severe and drastic. 

And yet, we keep on polluting.  We continue to subsidize polluters, like the oil companies.  Exxon Mobil is the biggest, most profitable company in the history of money – it is also one of the biggest contributors to global warming – and yet we subsidize it with our tax dollars.  With all that money, it’s no big deal for companies like Exxon Mobil to hire teams and teams of scientists to convince people that global warming is a myth; and it’s no big deal to hire lobbyists that outnumber members of Congress 6-to-1, to convince them that God’s creation can take care of itself and that we can just go on polluting.

Therefore we spend very little to research and develop alternative, green forms of energy.  Fuel economy could be so much better than it is now, if only we had the will to make it so.  Our homes are filled with appliances that suck energy even when they are turned off; TVs and cell phone chargers and laptop computer chargers; if they’re plugged in, they’re using electricity.  Because it’s more important to have a TV that you can turn on and not have to wait for it to warm up than it is to take care of God’s creation.

God’s glory and majesty is seen in the world God created.  What happens to God once we destroy that world? 

Hear these words of the prophet Ezekiel:  “Is it not enough for you to feed on the good pasture, but you must tread down with your feet the rest of your pasture?  When you drink of clear water, must you foul the rest with your feet?  And must my sheep eat what you have trodden with your feet, and drink what you have fouled with your feet?” [Ezekiel 34:18-19]

Were Ezekiel alive today, he could add:  “Is it not enough for you to use energy from the earth to meet your needs, but you must destroy the earth in the process?  When you consume all the oil, must you also waste it and foul the atmosphere?  And must my people in the Maldives and Kiribati and Bangladesh and Africa – the poorest of my people, who lack resources to cope – face the worst effects of your overconsumption?”

Let us pray with Ezekiel for God to give us a new heart.  Let us pray that God may say to us:  “A new heart I will give you, and a new spirit I will put within you; I will remove from your body the heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.” [Ezekiel 36:26]

Let us pray for a heart that, like the psalmist, is deeply in love with God’s creation.  Let us pray for a heart that seeks healing, wholeness and salvation for this broken, hurting world.