SCRIPTURES: Psalm 8,Luke 8:4-15,Mark 4:3-9,Matthew 13:3-9
Take out your pens and paper. I am going to tell you the real truth about global warming. I hope you know that I am kidding because as far as my scientific opinions go, let me just say that there are very good reasons why I have my Doctorate in Ministry and not in Science. So you will not have to listen to my attempts to explain Global Warming or any of the other complicated, scientific issues that relate to the care of God's creation but this much I will say, and I hope you can add a hearty Amen to this statement, that it is part of our Christian responsibility for the stewardship of God's creation that we maintain an active and open interest in hearing from the scientific community about such issues and most importantly how our daily routines, informed by the guidance of those who do hold their Doctorates in the field of Science, could or should be altered to reflect our commitment to be good stewards of God's creation.
But wait a minute, maybe you're saying to yourself. Isn't today's sermon supposed to relate to today's Adult Ed session on how we allow God to change us from the outside in? What does our concern for environmental issues have to do with growing in God's grace? Well the answer to that question is: Everything! For you see our commitment to grow as a steward of God's creation is a great example of one of the ways our lifestyle choices reflect our commitment to grow in and through God's grace. So today, as we observe Earth Day with millions of other concerned citizens and Christians, let us reflect upon our commitment to grow in God's grace and to express that growth by leading a Christian life in all of its forms, including the care of God's creation.
Let me begin our reflection by honestly talking about how one of the greatest obstacles to our growth in God's grace can be the difficulty of knowing what is the choice or decision we should make in any given situation that best demonstrates our commitment to live a Christian lifestyle. Here the issue of the care of God's creation provides a wonderful example of how difficult it can be to know what the right choice is.
You know I have mentioned many times the popular cultural phenomenon that centered on making the right choice by simply asking ourselves the question: What would Jesus do? And I still believe that this simple approach works in the vast majority of situations. However, there are questions or issues that we face, when if I were to ask the question, "What would Jesus do?" my response would be to say I haven't got a clue.
Oh, I know there will be advocates on both sides of any issue who will gladly provide their version of the simple and clear truth but sorry their opinions, as well informed though they might, be don't contain the authority of a clear expression of Biblical truth. So we just put that issue in the category of "too tough to handle or figure out" and we do nothing. Somehow, I don't think that this is what God had in mind when he inspired David to write these words in Psalm 8: "You have created us inferior only to yourself and you have granted us dominion over all of your creation."
Does that sound like an endorsement of a laissez-faire or hands-off approach to our calling for the care of God's creation? I don't think so and so part of our commitment to grow in God's grace is to face the challenge of diverse opinions on any issue and to continue to strive for an understanding of what position and actions we feel called to hold and perform.
Sounds exhausting, doesn't it? Well maybe, but the other option is to be exhausted by a sense of despair because the issues are too difficult and nothing is going to change. The film "Amazing Grace" that we saw recently in Adult Ed did a great job of honestly portraying that sense of despair over the issue of slavery but the abolitionists persevered and they won that battle in many nations, including our own. It didn't happen overnight and the truth is that many of the personal and global areas we want to change take the gifts of patience and perseverance.
Have you ever seen the film, "What About Bob?" It is a comedy that made me laugh until I cried. But you know what? In the midst of a very silly farce, this film provided a wonderful insight about growth. For you see the one character portrayed by Bill Murray was dealing with every possible emotional problem and he was constantly going to Richard Dreyfus, his therapist, with the same question which was, "How do I get better?" To this question and may I suggest to many of the questions or concerns that most vex us, Dreyfus's character had a consistent, and I believe very accurate, response, which was, "You must take baby steps!"
And so, while I continue to personally struggle with questions about the care of God's creation, I also continue to take baby steps. I shorten my showers, I hope you didn't notice; do the best job possible with recycling; look for opportunities to raise this issue in sermons and Adult Ed and just in general try my best to refuse to allow this or other issues to languish on the back burner of our conscience.
Finally, let's be clear about one thing. God doesn't just call us, he also equips us. His call can be tough, just ask his Son. But he also blesses us with the physical and spiritual ability to fulfill our calling. So if God, through David and others, called us to be good stewards of his creation then it is within our ability to fulfill this responsibility. It may not be easy, growth often is not, but by God's grace and through our faithful witness we can make a difference!
Pastor Stephen Giordano — April 28, 2008