Genesis 1:26-28
26-28 God
spoke: “Let us make human beings in our image, make them
reflecting our nature
So they can be responsible for the fish in the sea,
the birds in the air, the cattle,
And, yes, Earth itself,
and every animal that moves on the face of Earth.”
God created human beings;
he created them godlike,
Reflecting God’s nature.
He created them male and female.
God blessed them:
“Prosper! Reproduce! Fill Earth! Take charge!
Be responsible for fish in the sea and birds in the air,
for every living thing that moves on the face of Earth.”
reflecting our nature
So they can be responsible for the fish in the sea,
the birds in the air, the cattle,
And, yes, Earth itself,
and every animal that moves on the face of Earth.”
God created human beings;
he created them godlike,
Reflecting God’s nature.
He created them male and female.
God blessed them:
“Prosper! Reproduce! Fill Earth! Take charge!
Be responsible for fish in the sea and birds in the air,
for every living thing that moves on the face of Earth.”
Leviticus 25:23-24
23-24 “The land cannot be sold permanently because the land is mine and you are foreigners—you’re my tenants. You must provide for the right of redemption for any of the land that you own.Ezekiel 34:2-6
God’s Message came to me: “Son of man, prophesy
against the shepherd-leaders of Israel.
Yes, prophesy! Tell those shepherds, ‘God, the Master, says: Doom to you shepherds of Israel, feeding
your own mouths! Aren’t shepherds supposed to feed sheep? You drink the milk,
you make clothes from the wool, you roast the lambs, but you don’t feed the
sheep. You don’t build up the weak ones, don’t heal the sick, don’t doctor the
injured, don’t go after the strays, don’t look for the lost. You bully and
badger them. And now they’re scattered every which way because there was no
shepherd—scattered and easy pickings for wolves and coyotes. Scattered—my
sheep!—exposed and vulnerable across mountains and hills. My sheep
scattered all over the world, and no one out looking for them!
Isaiah 24:4-6
The earth turns gaunt and gray,
the world silent and sad,
sky and land lifeless, colorless.
the world silent and sad,
sky and land lifeless, colorless.
5-13 Earth is
polluted by its very own people,
who have broken its laws,
Disrupted its order,
violated the sacred and eternal covenant.
Therefore a curse, like a cancer,
ravages the earth.
Its people pay the price of their sacrilege.
They dwindle away, dying out one by one.
who have broken its laws,
Disrupted its order,
violated the sacred and eternal covenant.
Therefore a curse, like a cancer,
ravages the earth.
Its people pay the price of their sacrilege.
They dwindle away, dying out one by one.
Jeremiah 2:7-8
7-8 “I brought
you to a garden land
where you could eat lush fruit.
But you barged in and polluted my land,
trashed and defiled my dear land.
The priests never thought to ask, ‘Where’s God?’
The religion experts knew nothing of me.
The rulers defied me.
The prophets preached god Baal
And chased empty god-dreams and silly god-schemes.
where you could eat lush fruit.
But you barged in and polluted my land,
trashed and defiled my dear land.
The priests never thought to ask, ‘Where’s God?’
The religion experts knew nothing of me.
The rulers defied me.
The prophets preached god Baal
And chased empty god-dreams and silly god-schemes.
Revelations 11:18
We thank you, O God,
Sovereign-Strong,
Who Is and Who Was.
You took your great power
and took over—reigned!
The angry nations now
get a taste of your anger.
The time has come to judge the dead,
to reward your servants, all prophets and saints,
Reward small and great who fear your Name,
and destroy the destroyers of earth.
Who Is and Who Was.
You took your great power
and took over—reigned!
The angry nations now
get a taste of your anger.
The time has come to judge the dead,
to reward your servants, all prophets and saints,
Reward small and great who fear your Name,
and destroy the destroyers of earth.
Rather than recap what we discussed regarding each scripture, I'd like to invite you to consider them for yourself. Why did I include that particular scripture? What might it mean to you? When you read them, are you getting any nudges in the back of your brain?
After our discussion in "class," we watched a couple of videos to further explore the issue:
The unexpected intricacy of God's creation: How Wolves Change Rivers
Why this is an urgent issue for us: Sixth Mass Extinction Is Here
And then we talked about what are some small steps to get us thinking about what and how we can honor our Creator in caring for creation:
- Don’t be willfully ignorant. History doesn’t admire people who know something’s wrong and pretend it’s not happening. It takes courage and strength to decide to learn and change- be THAT type of person, rather than the one who’s guided by convention and comfort.
- Think through your actions to find the impact. Whether it’s a purchase, an activity, a meal, or whatever, start to figure out who and what is touched by your choices. You’ll never understand the whole web of your influence, but being aware that you HAVE a web of influence is a good first step.
- Cultivate a wabi-sabi attitude- see the beauty in things that are slightly broken, old, or not-so-flashy and embrace it, rather than replace it. It takes a lot of energy to harvest/mine new materials, produce it into your product, transport it to the store, and store it until you purchase it, and all that energy has to come from somewhere (not to mention the actual materials used up in making the “thing” and the habitat disturbance it can cause).
- Talk about it- if someone questions why you do something different, explain it and do it simply (i.e.- I read that buying out of season flowers is really hard on the environment, so I choose to not have them). You don’t have to convince them to do the same thing or give examples and statistics (unless they ask), but it starts to change the assumptions of those around us!
- Leave part of your yard “wild”- it gives habitat to lots of creatures, helping them survive and creating a mini bio-diverse ecosystem.
- Plant a garden- it gives you a chance to contemplate nature, wonder, and ecology AND it gives you more control over the ethical considerations of your food (like corporate domination, poor water right laws, illegal labor practices, transportation and energy issues)
- Embrace landscape imperfection- don’ t use petrochemical fertilizers and pesticides on your lawn (it kills biodiversity in plants AND animals AND bugs)
- Eat less meat/dairy and more veggies- and make them heritage varieties, while you’re at it. The higher on the food chain you eat, the more resources went into growing each pound of food. And remember the Great Potato Famine? The more varieties of food we have, the smaller the chance that one bug, one virus, or one climate fluctuation will wipe out our food supply. But farmers won’t grow it if you won’t buy it.
- Go minimalist! There’s only so much space and material to go around- the less you take for yourself, the more you have to share with your neighbor (whether 2 legged, furry, feathered, or finned). You might even enjoy living light!
- Use your skills, whatever they are! Make a video, write a song, use your body rather than powering up a machine, make daily choices to keep creation in mind.
- Call/write/visit your government representatives. Civically engaged youth are a force to be reckoned with- just ask Xiuhtezcatl Roske-Martinez, a 15 year old from Colorado, who has addressed the U.N. THREE times about climate issues.
- Be confident! Choosing to live outside of someone else’s expectations creates powerful ripples. Remember why you’re doing it, and embrace your choices. People will question (or even mock you) if you’re wishy-washy, but they’ll respect and accept your “eccentricities” when you’re strong enough to joke about it.
Aaand just to get you thinking: Gratitude: The Antidote for Greed
5 Minutes of God Time: For the Beauty of the Earth (Instrumental)
(Lyrics)
No comments:
Post a Comment