Thursday, October 05, 2006

SERMON FOR HARVEST – 1st October 2006

One of the most amazing pictures ever taken, which changed our perception about ourselves, was the planet earth viewed from outer space. Those first pictures of our world hanging in space with all its beauty and fragility reshaped our understanding of the planet itself . The earth is now seen as a living organism, interdependent, self- renewing and vulnerable.

As we learn more about the story of the earth our own spiritual story changes too. We are more conscious of our own interdependency on the planet more conscious of the effects of our own life style upon the survival of the planet for future generations. Churches are now being asked to consider the possibility of putting solar panels on their roofs and soon we will be required to have a green policy.

The earth has always been viewed as God`s sacrament of love towards us. In our first reading the prophet Joel is very clear about God`s relationship with the earth.

Do not fear O soil - be glad and rejoice.
Do not fear you animals of the field - for the pastures of the wilderness are green, the trees bears its fruit.
Rejoice in the Lord your God for he has given the early rain.
The fig tree and the vine produce their full yield.

Creation was seen as the arena of God`s activity, restoring what the swarming locus had eaten. The earth was the theatre of God`s blessing and goodness and so it is. Open and green spaces, forests, oceans, mountains, meadows, rivers, deserts and the wilderness are appreciated as natural cathedrals, sacred places, and sanctuaries for us to commune with the Holy. In our urban world nature has become the place where a great many find God.
But today we are also in a different place. The earth is exploited as never before in its history . Our “ecological footprint” is immeasurably heavier than that of our ancestors.
The goodness and the promise of creation which God intended can only fulfil its potential if and only if her limits and needs are respected. We are now much more aware that creation is a living organism maintained by subtle checks and balances.

We can celebrate Harvest Thanksgiving in comfort and plenty and we must be thankful for that, but for many the harvest has failed. We have failed to respect the needs and limits of the living organism we are part of . And the healing and restoration of creation has now become our responsibility.
God always intended that we should be co-creators with Him, stewards of his creation. Therefore whenever we separate our papers, bottles and tins, whenever we think twice about taking the car or remembering to turn of lights we are not using or look at the food we buy and see how many air miles they have travelled, these are spiritual activities . Each of these acts however small are an expression of our reverence toward the world God has created.
We might like to consider how we can erase our own carbon footprint and therefore restore something of the balance. Putting back what we are taking out.

Tree Aid, a charity that plants trees in Africa, recommends for example that if you take a return flight from London to Vancouver you pay to have nine trees planted in Africa - trees that sustain life in Africa in different ways. It is in these kind of actions that we can show we are taking our responsibility of stewardship seriously . These are actions that heal and restore creation and therefore share in God`s own love and care for all that he has made.
But in the midst of all this we must remember the words of Jesus in this morning’s gospel “consider the lilies of the field, how they grow they neither toil nor spin”. In others words they already have what they need, they are not anxious like us.

Harvest thanksgiving can be a time when we remind ourselves that we have already been given what we need and the desire always for wanting more may be an indication that we have not fully appreciated what we have already been given.

Acknowledgement: The ew SCM dictionary of Christian Spirituality edited by Philip Sheldrake