Earth Day Sermon

Genesis 1:26-31

²⁶Then God said, “Let us make humankind in our image, according to our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the wild animals of the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth.” ²⁷So God created humankind in his image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. ²⁸God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves upon the earth.”

²⁹God said, “See, 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. ³⁰And to every beast of the earth, and to every bird of the air, and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food.” And it was so.

³¹God saw everything that he had made, and indeed, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.

As an exercise, I want you to think about a political leader who you think is or was particularly good or bad.  I’m only going to offer one stipulation—it can’t be President Obama or George W. Bush. 

Who comes to mind and why?

Thinking about political leaders can help lead us into a discussion about the environment because what we’re talking about is dominion, or rule.  The domain is the area over which one rules.  We all have a domain—in our house, the kitchen is my domain, because I do most of the cooking.  I have responsibility for and power over most of the decisions about how the kitchen is laid out and where things are. 

The political leaders we discussed were ones who had great power and the opportunity to use that power well.  They didn’t all use that power well—and we could spend the entire day lifting up examples of individuals who, throughout human history, have failed to use their power well.  Some have simply failed to make the right decisions, while others have made momentously terrible decisions.  Others have been corrupt while still others actively sought out to destroy other people or countries.  They used their power to abuse and exploit those over whom they had power.

On the other end of the spectrum, those who we consider good leaders were wise individuals who used their power over countries or people to seek the most responsible decisions.  They were respected because they sought the best possible reign, and they made decisions that were in the best interests of the most people.  It doesn’t mean that they were perfect—but we respect them because they sought to use their power for good.  They wanted to change society for the better, and they were probably respected, even by their opponents, because they were willing to be passionate while still making their opponents feel valued. 

When we talk about the environment, we begin with God, as we always should.  In the beginning of time, when God created the earth, God gave humanity dominion over the earth.  For a long time, we interpreted this to mean we could do whatever we want with creation, exploiting it just as bad political leaders exploit people for their own gain.  Only recently have we started to see the flip side of dominion—that our power over God’s creation is also a responsibility for God’s creation.  We don’t just rule over the land, but we have a responsibility for it, and we’re called to be good stewards of the environment, so that our decisions are not only what is best for us, but also what is best for the environment.  We consider all sides of the equation, and only then do we decide how to act.

As Christians, we need to talk about what it means for us to have dominion over creation.  How do we understand that term, and what does it mean for us to be stewards of creation?  These are both incredibly important terms. 

Where do we begin?

With God, of course. The same place that every conversation should begin, just like every time we read the Bible, we are reading a story that begins in Genesis 1 and continues into Revelation. We can't isolate our conversations about anything from the rest of the Bible, and we can't isolate our conversation about earth day and conservation into a few specific texts. What we can do, gloriously, is to open up the Bible and see how God has acted throughout history. That can teach us about how to act in relation to this specific issue.

When we read Scripture, we see a God who loves the creation he has made. If there wasn't a deep and abiding love for creation, God wouldn't have done it in the first place, and he wouldn't have stuck around after the Fall. So God loves creation, and God longs for creation to flourish. We see this in the way that God provides for creation, and we see this in the way that God provides for Israel. God doesn't want Israel merely to exist—God wants them to flourish. We see this in the way that God continues to lead them to the land of milk and honey, in the gift of the law, which is intended to help them live a glorious life, in the commands of Christ, who calls us to abundant life and teaches us that living a life faithful to God is the path to an abundant and flourishing life. We can just survive, God teaches us, or we can flourish by following him. We also see a God that redeems creation—after the Fall, after countless acts of human sin, God redeems creation. It's extraordinary when we think about it—God chooses to redeem us, to bring good out of bad, to bring life where there was only death. There are countless examples of this in the Bible, but the preeminent one is the resurrection of Christ—God defeats sin and death so that all of humanity might be redeemed through Christ. God never gives up on us, never abandons us, never turns his back—it's astounding how many times God offers humanity new life when we choose death. Even today, the offer of new life in Christ stands for all who will believe, regardless of what sins lie in the past.

So what can we learn from this in relation to the environment?

We can begin with thinking about what it means to love creation. Now, it's easy to love a place like Cloudland Canyon or Fall Creek Falls. It's not as hard to love the weeds that grow in your garden, or the mosquitoes that torment you all summer. I love kittens, but I've yet to meet someone that loves poisonous spiders. We selectively love most of creation.

When we talk about loving creation, we have to think about what it means to love. God's love was a selfless love, a love that was willing to sacrifice. Are we willing to sacrifice so that creation might flourish? Are we willing to drive a little less, to give up our plastic bags, so that the environment might be healthier? Do we love creation enough to do so?

And if so, what does it mean for creation to flourish? We talked in the beginning of the sermon about how good political leaders make wise decisions for both sides of the aisle. We need to think about how we might do the same. God has dominion over us, and God allows us to undergo suffering and allows evil to remain in the world because there is a greater purpose that God is working toward. In the same way, we have dominion over creation—so how do we make wise decisions that will help all of creation flourish? Are we to never cut down another tree, and in so doing we won't be able to build houses? Or do we cut down trees responsibly, replanting them as we go, so that the next generation won't live in fear of shortages of natural resources because we abused them for our own gain, not thinking about anyone but ourselves. True love demands sacrifice, and it means that we may have to give up some things that we like in order to preserve the future.

Also, we need to think like restorers. God redeems creation, bringing life out of death. How do we search out the parts of the environment in need of restoration and go to work?

Think about Chattanooga—the city that once had some of the dirtiest air in the country, a city where a white shirt didn't stay white for long. Now? It's being celebrated as a green city, as a place where restoration is taking place in the environment and people are hard at work preserving the natural treasures here.

There is still work to do here—so how do we seek out the places where death and pollution reign, so that we might go to work, co-creating new life with God? How do we restore hope to places that are covered in despair, choked off by pollution and smog. It's here and all over the world—we have a role to play as co-creators, as restorers.

So let us be inspired by God, that we might join in with the work he has done in creation, that we might work to restore hope, to love creation, to be good stewards of that over which we have dominion. May we exercise wise dominion, and in so doing spread the love of God to every corner of the world.

Let us pray