THE PRESENCE WE BRING
September 13, 2015 by Rev. Ken Dale
Note: Worship Service held at Pemaquid Point Lighthouse Park in the Education Building, followed by a picnic lunch open to all who attended the service.
Midweek when I started creating this message I envisioned us outside ? sunshine ? blue skies, maybe a few white puffy clouds for affect?? And posing the question to you all ?look around and share what amazes you!?? What, that surrounds you at this moment in time, really lifts your spirits?? We have gathered here in the midst of God?s gift of creation ? what is your favorite part of that gift?
In the creation story we have heard this morning ? well, at least the end of it and hopefully you are familiar with the day by day beginning of the story ? in the story we heard on the 5th day the earth brought forth living creatures of every kind.? The first four days were the basics ? light and dark, day and night, dirt and water, plants and birds, etc.? But the 5th day WOW!? Creeping critters and all the way up and ?God saw that it was good.?? God was on a roll ? and humankind came into being ? and that in God?s image.? And humankind was given dominion over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, the cattle, all the wild animals, every creeping thing.? God blessed the whole thing and said ?be fruitful and multiply? and ?I have given you every plant yielding seed that is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit; you shall have them for food.?? The story continues that God also gave to every beast and every bird and everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life (I think that covers it all?) ? God gave every green plant for food.? If we stopped and pondered there ? one might conclude we are all ? including the critters ? supposed to be vegetarians ?.. I?ll leave that to your own interpretation .?
We have been given dominion over this incredible gift of God called Creation.? Old Testament scholar Walter Bruegemann says that ?the image of God in the human person is a mandate of power and responsibility.? But it is power exercised as God exercises power?? The dominance is that of a shepherd who cares for, tends, and feeds the animals?? ?the task of ?dominance? does not have to do with exploitation and abuse.? It has to do with securing the well-being of every other creature and bringing the promise of each to full fruition.?? (Genesis p. 32).
What a mixed blessing that is.? I love the abundance of gifts in God?s Creation.? But I struggle at the same time ? don?t you?? I?ve been joking all summer that God must be unhappy with me for some reason ? it seems I am plagued ? Japanese beetles, and grubs that have killed huge parts of my back lawn.? Then there is the blessing and curse of skunks who eat those grubs but that have dug up all that dead lawn and made a huge mess and created a lot of work for me because I love my lawn too.? Then we had this huge nest of yellow jackets that took up residence in an old mole hole in the side lawn.?? I took care of them and covered it with new dirt and planted grass seed – only to have a skunk come and dig a huge hole digging up the honeycomb they left behind.? Lucy in the church office hates bugs ? I have her permission to share that ? and I mean ?hates? ? but she also calls them a ?necessary evil.?? She?s right ? I remember many years ago listening to a speaker on NPR say that if we got rid of all the bugs in the world, life on planet earth would come to an end.? Interestingly enough though ? that same speaker said if you got rid of all the people on the planet it would thrive and do quite well.
I have always loved St. Francis of Assisi.? It was powerful to visit Assisi when I went to Italy with a small group of clergy.? I visited the hermitage which I pictured to be a little shack in the woods ? it was far from a shack ? but it was a great spot.? Francis saw that everything in creation is related ? Brother Sun, Sister Moon.?? I wonder if he too saw blessing and curse in those gifts of bugs and critters?? I believe his spirit lives in a powerful way in the current Pope who has taken his name.? Pope Francis is a wonderful breath of fresh air in so many, many ways in today?s world.? I have totally enjoyed his encyclical On Care for our Common Home. ?Just as he addresses it to every person living on earth ? the world would be a better place if every person living on earth read it, and acted accordingly.
In a nut shell ?which is a terribly unfair thing to do with it – Pope Francis says that climate change is real and it?s getting worse and human beings are a major contributor to it.? He cites that whole consumerism aspect of our living.? He further makes the point that climate change disproportionately affects the poor.? But he offers hope saying we can and we must make things better.? While some who study it believe the process is irreversible and has gone too far, Pope Francis ? no doubt a person of FAITH says that while we are capable of the worst we are also capable of rising above ourselves and once again choosing what is good.? It?s time for a new start ? and that new start involves both individuals and especially politicians the world over who act on a wider scale.
Wider levels change can begin with political process if people are willing.? As individuals we too can make changes that while maybe unnoticeable, are still important and can spread.? Daily actions can bring about real change ? avoiding use of plastic and paper, separating refuse, cooking only what can reasonably be consumed? – did you know that 1/3 of food produced is discarded?!? The list goes on ? plant trees, turn off unnecessary lights, carpooling and showing care for other living beings.
Care for other living beings ? Pope Francis of course makes reference to the life of Saint Francis of Asissi who lived out what we need to be mindful of ? everything is connected ? it?s not all about us ? about humankind ? we are part of, not the whole thing ? and we need to see beyond ourselves and embrace that.? If you go on youtube and type in ?dolphin asks divers for help? you can watch an awesome video.? Divers were off the Kona Coast of Hawaii filming manta rays at night when a bottlenose dolphin showed up and obviously turned to the divers for help with a disabling hook and fishing line in its pectoral fin.? A diver assists the dolphin who even leaves and goes up for air only to return for further help.? Yes, it?s unusual but it happened and gets you thinking! (Multiple versions are available on Youtube.com – consider this one –?https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wL9I4BxuryY)
Pope Francis speaks of an ecological spirituality that we really need to nurture in our lives, that will motivate us to a more passionate concern for the protection of the world in which and on which we live.? We are not disconnected from fellow human beings, nor are we disconnected from the rest of the creatures ? we are joined in a splendid universal communion.? The Pope states that each creature reflects something of God and has a message to convey to us.? Yes ? that?s a challenge for us.? In my yard those grubs were just being grubs, and the skunks were just being skunks.? But they are part of God?s gift which is this world.
My plea today ? and I believe the call of our Christian faith today ? is just to know and remember that the world is God?s gift and that faith calls us to quietly imitate God?s generosity and self-sacrifice and good works.? Our superior position in creation is not for personal glory or irresponsible dominion ? but for care and good stewardship of that gift.? It is too easy to be overly focused on our own needs, to get caught up in a consumerism that is out of control, to become only takers in and of this world.
So today ? enjoy and chat with one another about this beautiful gift of creation ? and all its blessings.??? Talk to Laurie Chandler about her canoe trip this summer.? Last weekend Julia Lane shared a story of playing her harp here one morning when whales surfaced right out there ? she spoke of the music going down through the rocks.? She?d never seen whales here before!? May we open our eyes to see the gift around us and of which we are part.? May we give thanks to God ? and may we take good care of this mysterious yet precious gift.
I close with what I had intended to be the sentence sermon for today?s order of worship.? The words of Pope Francis.? ALL IT TAKES IS ONE GOOD PERSON TO RESTORE HOPE.???? Amen.