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From
Devotion to Justice
A series of devotions from the Justice table on the topics of
- Women and children
- Hunger and poverty
- Creation care
- Immigration
When Jesus Comes Back Let’s Be Sure the Earth is Clean and Green!
Genesis 2:5-17
Way back in 1979 my wife Julie and I attended a lecture by a very popular Pentecostal preacher from Southern California. He was there to tell us exactly when Jesus was going to return to earth.
At that time in my life, I was beginning to question the sort of theology that tried to predict the second coming. After all, Jesus himself says that “no one knows” when that will happen. If Jesus doesn’t care about the date why should we?
What I really learned from that night was in the question and answer period after the lecture. The preacher had just predicted that Jesus was coming back, sometime in 1981. The first question was about the environment. “If Jesus is coming back then we don’t have to worry about care for the earth, right?” Many similar questions and comments followed. I don’t remember the preacher’s answers but I have never forgotten how quickly the audience decided that the earth was no big deal.
Isn’t that surprising? At the beginning of the Bible, we have a marvelous image of humankind being placed in the middle of the garden where the humans are given the command to “till it and keep it.” Another way to translate that phrase is to “serve and protect.” Maybe you’ve seen that on the side of a police car. The Genesis author seems to be saying that we are the police force that oversees care for the Earth!
I thought about our experience in that lecture when I read NT Wright’s, essay in The Green Bible titled, “Jesus is Coming — Plant a Tree.” As the title of his essay implies he believes that the idea of Jesus’ return is a call to Christians to care even more deeply for the environment.
Wright gets this conclusion from the Bible. He quotes the Apostle Paul who wrote in Romans 8 that the creation will be “set free from the slavery that consists in corruption.” This is the promise that the creatures who bear God’s image, that is you and me and every other human being, will one day live in harmony with the garden in the way that God has always intended. This ancient idea seems to have been forgotten. However, a basic reading of the Bible reveals that this teaching is central to the biblical story. The Bible teaches that Creation will be redeemed. All of creation, the Bible promises, is under the care and nurture of God and we are called to be God’s coworkers in this work. The second chapter of Genesis is an intense theological presentation on creation and humanity’s interaction with it. This story is a reflection on power and control, on anxiety and the way we respond to it.
When we lay this story over the top of our world today we see that these issues have not gone away. Power? Control? Anxiety? When it comes to the environment we have all too often eaten the forbidden fruit while failing to serve and protect the garden of the earth itself.
Perhaps what we need is a reminder of the simple fact that we have come from the dust and to the dust we will return. When our Genesis story teller relates this story of creation he uses a play on words. When humankind is created, the word for human is adam. It can be translated as man or humankind. We think of it as the name of the first male, Adam, but it is not a proper name; it’s just a regular word for humankind. The adam, humanity as it were, was created from the soil. The word in Hebrew for soil is adamah. Do you hear the word play at work here? Adam has come from adamah. Humans are soil. We are basically lumps of clay. This implies that our lives are interwoven with the life of the soil, of the dirt. The health of our bodies depends on the health of our soil.
Ellen Davis, a professor at Duke and a contributor to The Green Bible, has helped me remember all of this. Our health depends on the health of the food we receive from the soil. If the soil goes bad, the food goes bad, and, well, you can fill in the blanks, can’t you?
The first human sin is connected to eating. God sets a boundary and says, “Stay away from here.” We don’t know why. We don’t know what is wrong about this forbidden fruit. All we know is that the boundaries are clear. “Do not cross this line. It will be bad for you.” And like we so often want to do today Adam refuses to take the responsibility for his sin. Have you ever noticed this? Whenever I teach on this text I always ask the class, “Who does Adam blame for his sin?” They almost always say, with one voice, “Eve!” But, no. The story is clear. Adam is asked about his sin and he says, “The woman that YOU gave me, caused me to sin.” He points his finger at God and says, “It’s your fault.” We do the same thing don’t we? We see the city of New Orleans destroyed by a hurricane and we call it an act of God. Then, to make things worse we avoid the deeper issues at work in the city, things like racism and poverty and crime and unemployment and we turn it into a political football while all the time failing to face our sin, our weakness and our refusal to care for the environment and the people therein.
This reminds us that when we fail to care for the earth the first ones to experience the pain of the soil are the poorest of the poor. Check your political concerns at the door for a moment. We should, every one of us, fall on our knees in prayer asking for the forgiveness of our sins and the way we have abused the planet and its resources at the price of the poor.
The first result of sin in the Bible is the ruination of the ground. The soil is affected. The ground is cursed. It is filled with thorns and thistles. It will now be a labor to till and work. Professor Davis read this text with a group of farmers and asked them to interpret it. They said: “It is obvious. When humans are disconnected from God, the soil will be the first to suffer.”
They had not been to seminary but they helped her, and us, see something that any Hebrew would have already recognized: the degradation of the land is a sign that humans (the adams) have turned away from God. When the land is flourishing it is a sign that humans have returned to God. In other words, the single greatest indicator as to whether or not we are in good relationship with God is the condition of the land!
As Professor Wright proclaims, “Jesus is Coming — Plant a Tree”
Dr. R. Glen Miles: Senior Minister, Country Club Christian Church, Kansas City, MO Creation Care
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From
Devotion to Justice
A series of devotions from the Justice table on the topics of
- Women and children
- Hunger and poverty
- Creation care
- Immigration
Child Nutrition
Matthew 18:10
Babies! Whether it is mom, dad, grandparents, aunts or uncles, we get so excited about babies. When we hear the news of expectant parents we throw parties and buy gifts and start planning what the life of this child will look like. We think about bright eyes and chubby cheeks and smiling, happy faces.
I planned all of those for my first pregnancy, too. At 7 months I began to have problems with my health. In spite of the blizzard outside, I was sent to the hospital for tests. A quick x-ray (before the day of sonograms) showed that there were, in fact, two babies. “Oh no! I need a second crib and a second car seat and twice as many clothes and bottles and diapers.....” Well, at least I had two months to get all the plans made.
Regardless, the snow was still falling and we were told to double up in houses in case the grid couldn’t handle the demand of heating everyone’s home. Ten hours after my x-ray, in the midst of the blizzard, I went into labor. The doctor said not to delay...to get to the hospital immediately because they were coming too soon and we needed to be certain to be there before they were delivered. They arrived two hours later. They lost weight, had breathing problems, had to be fed intravenously. It was 16 days before I was permitted to hold them in my arms.
Scary? Challenging? Yes. But within a year they had gone from a weight of three pounds up to within normal development range. After those initial challenges they grew and developed normally and there were no residual difficulties.
How can preemie babies thrive so well? How is it that some babies go full term and still struggle? The truth is there is a whole host of reasons. One of those reasons can be addressed: nutrition for the child for the first 1,000 days from conception to her second birthday. I was blessed to have proper food, vitamins, and medical care during my pregnancy. When this unexpected challenge came along my daughters were healthy enough to be able to overcome those early difficulties. How different might the outcome have been without that safety net? If they survived, they might still have had emotional or learning challenges. Full term babies without the proper care face those same challenges.
As we face the challenge of child nutrition, may we recognize the hope that lies in the fact that WE CAN DO something about it.
Rev. Dr. Patricia Donahoo Disciples Women Indianapolis, IN Women and Children
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From
Devotion to Justice
A series of devotions from the Justice table on the topics of
- Women and children
- Hunger and poverty
- Creation care
- Immigration
Connectedness
Galatians 5:13-14
I always held a keen interest for geography, specifically the inter- relationship between places and people. The relationship between a given landscape and how its inhabitants interact with it continues to intrigue me. The first law of geography states that, “everything is related to everything else, but near things are more related than distant things” (Tobler, 1970). As a graduate student in geospatial sciences, I began to see beyond statistical relationships. I became increasingly aware of how we are connected to one another more than we realize. People are connected to each other because of their proximity to one another. Faith communities are connected to each other because of our willingness to listen deeply and compassionately to one another’s stories. Our relationship to one another is bridged as a result of connectedness. For many geographers, connectedness is difficult to quantify. Yet, somehow the depth of our connectedness is correlated to our proximity in distance we have with one another.
Connectedness can be experienced as we laugh, mourn, rejoice, worship and fellowship with each other.
Connectedness is found in appreciating diversity without expecting conformity or homogeneity.
Connectedness is never done instantaneously neither is it an easy passive task. While connectedness takes time to foster, connectedness isn’t weakened overnight. When we trivialize another human being’s experiences, we distance ourselves. When our social sphere has a price of admission or appears inclusive to individuals of similar culture, education, and socio-economics, we distance ourselves. When issues like poverty, marginalization and disenfranchisement are articulated as “THE poor,” “THE marginalized,” and “THE disenfranchised,” we distance ourselves. Little by little the distance causes disconnection. As a people of faith, we value connectedness. Where do we start? Perhaps a good way is to prepare our hearts and have room for others. Let us go forth prayerfully and faithfully as we seek to establish connectedness and meaningful relationships. May we continue to seek the Holy Spirit help guide us into deeper fellowship with one another. In the process, let us awaken our senses to God’s loving compassion for all humanity and creation. With Jesus our prime example of our faith, may we go forth!
Lynette Li: Seminarian at Phillips Theological, Oklahoma Region Worked with General Youth Council on GA programming Immigration and Refugees
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From
Devotion to Justice
A series of devotions from the Justice table on the topics of
- Women and children
- Hunger and poverty
- Creation care
- Immigration
Advocates for the Poor
Proverbs 31:8-9
Speak out for those who cannot speak, for the rights of all those who are destitute.
Speak out, judge righteously, defend the right of those who are poor and in need. (Proverbs 31:8-9).
As people of faith and conscience, we are called by God to be advocates for the poor and needy. This we must do among our friends and colleagues, within our families, within our congregations, within our communities, and within our democratic system of government.
Sovereign God, with great joy and hearts full of thanksgiving, we thank you for all your many blessings. Forgive us, we pray, for our selfishness and our blindness, open our eyes, ears, hearts and hands to our suffering and struggling sisters and brothers, and empower us humbly yet boldly to advocate for those whose voices go unheard and whose needs go unmet. This we pray in your Holy Name. Amen.
Rev. Dr. Ken Brooker Langston Executive Director, Disciples Center for Public Witness,
DOC Justice Advocacy Consultant and Public Policy Advisor, Office of the General Minister and President of the Christian Church (DOC)
Director, Disciples Justice Action Network (DJAN) Hunger and Poverty
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From
Devotion to Justice
A series of devotions from the Justice table on the topics of
- Women and children
- Hunger and poverty
- Creation care
- Immigration
Greatness of a Nation
Psalm 72:11-14
Make other rulers bow down and all other nations serve him. Do this because the king rescues the homeless when they cry out, and he helps everyone who is poor and in need. The king has pity on the weak and the helpless and protects those in need. He cares when they suffer, and he saves them from cruel and violent deaths. (Psalm 72:11-14, Contemporary English Version).
This Scripture teaches us two things: (1) that the greatness of a nation depends on how it treats the poor, vulnerable and needy; and (2) that the government (here represented by the king as sovereign) has a God-given responsibility for the life, health and well-being of all who suffer and are in need. In a democratic society where the people are sovereign, it is now our responsibility to work together through our government to fulfill this sacred obligation for political leaders in all nations.
Just and merciful God, you are the Giver of all good things and the Judge of all nations. Have mercy on the nations of the world, including our own, bless us with good and wise and compassionate leaders, and help us always to remember that the greatest among nations is the one that does the most to lift up the least of its people, especially those who are poor and hungry. In your Holy Name we pray. Amen.
Rev. Dr. Ken Brooker Langston Executive Director, Disciples Center for Public Witness, DOC Justice Advocacy Consultant and Public Policy Advisor, Office of the General Minister and President of the Christian Church (DOC) Director, Disciples Justice Action Network (DJAN) Hunger and Poverty
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From
Devotion to Justice
A series of devotions from the Justice table on the topics of
- Women and children
- Hunger and poverty
- Creation care
- Immigration
God Gives Freely
2 Corinthians 9:9-11
God freely gives his gifts to the poor and always does right. God gives seed to the farmer and provides everyone with food. He will increase what you have so that you can give even more to those in need. You will be blessed in every way, and will be able to keep on being generous. (2 Corinthians 9: 9-11, Contemporary English Version).
In God’s good creation, God has provided enough for everybody to have their basic needs met. If we have been blessed with stewardship over a part of God’s abundance for all, then we, as people of faith and conscience, have both the responsibility and the privilege to share these blessings with others, especially those most in need, through our personal giving, our community involvement, and our advocacy for public policies consistent with this understanding of God’s purposes.
O God of abundance, you have blessed your children with enough and more than enough to meet all of our needs. So fill us, we pray, with such an abundance of gratitude that we will freely share our blessings with others and do our part to ensure that, in all areas of life, your abundance is more equally shared, leaving no one poor or hungry or homeless. This we pray in your Holy Name. Amen.
Rev. Dr. Ken Brooker Langston
Executive Director, Disciples Center for Public Witness,
DOC Justice Advocacy Consultant and Public Policy Advisor, Office of the General Minister and President of the Christian Church (DOC)
Director, Disciples Justice Action Network (DJAN) Hunger and Poverty
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