Sunday, April 22, 2018

Earth Day Sermon


This year, the Earth Day Network’s theme is to end single use plastics.  I have been taking time this past month to look through my house to see how much single use plastic I use, and it is a lot.  Single use plastic is everything from shopping bags, to plastic spoons and forks, to water bottles, and even the gallon of milk which is a must have in my household.  As I have spent this time, I know there are certain items that I cannot stop using, such as the milk, but for so many others, there are other options, such as reusable shopping bags, water bottles, and just learning to make wiser choices. 
            So, yes, we should recycle, but even recycling plastics is not the long term answer.  Plastic does not recycle well and eventually it ends up in the landfill or the ocean.  Today, my sermon title is:  Life Giving Water.  Water, throughout our scriptures has a significant place in providing new life to God’s people.  Our God is the God of creation, and our God uses creation to remind us that we are spiritual beings, that we belong to God, and that we are called into a life dedicated to God. 
            Today, as we celebrate Earth Day, and use God’s gift of water in the sacrament of baptism, we remember how important water is.   Just as we use water to clean our dirty dishes or our dirty clothes, we remember that it is God that has cleansed our beings, washing us of all our sins and embracing us as beloved children.  Just as we use water to keep our bodies hydrated and to water our plants, the waters of baptism remind us that God is the living water, that it is God that hydrates our souls and provides the teachings that will nourish us in our journey of faith. 
            Water is essential to life and God uses it to emphasize God’s presence within our own lives.  So, why do we not treat water as holy?  Why do we allow our rivers, lakes, waterways, and oceans be filled with plastic pollution?  In this passage from Ezekiel, the prophet has a vision of water flowing and he proclaims that as the salty water enters into the Dead Sea, it becomes fresh.  The Dead Sea is called the Dead Sea for a reason.  It is so salty that nothing can live in it, and yet, and yet the water from the Temple of God will flow into it and bring freshness, and will bring life, because this water flows from the sanctuary, this is Holy water flowing into places where life has failed to thrive.  God goes into the barren places and brings life, brings renewal, brings hope. 
            As we embrace the holy meaning of water, as we remember God is the God of creation, as we learn more about how plastic and other garbage is choking our water ways and oceans, we should embrace the role of being the living waters of God flowing forth from the sanctuary bringing renewal and life to barren places.  We are beginning the process here within our own congregation during our fellowship times together.  Many years ago, the session of the church asked that we stop using Styrofoam during fellowship events.  Last year, we asked that we do our best to stop using plastic water bottles during church events.  We had the tap water tested to ensure that it is safe to drink, which it is, and we are using pitchers of water whenever possible.  This year, we would like to take it one step further and encourage our fellowship time to not use any type of single use plastic, such as plates, cups or utensils.  One roadblock to this was who is going to wash the dishes?  And so the mission began to replace the dishwasher which, thankfully has been fixed.  The less plastic we use, the less makes it to the landfill or accidently meanders its way into the ocean. 
            In the creation story, God asks humanity to have dominion over this amazing creation.  We, unfortunately have misunderstood the word dominion and have taken this planet for our own needs.  Dominion is a form of stewardship, dominion is a practice of intentional care.  It is not to use until we have our fill, it is to remember the harmony of how God created each ecosystem to work and for us to respect that harmony as we use what we need. 
            I wrestled with what New Testament passage to use for today, since there are a few that connect with the Ezekiel passage of the living waters, but I turned to Luke 10 for many reasons.  Luke 10 is the passage we use for Missional church, and this past week, as I participated in my monthly mission pastor study group, the passage of:  The harvest is plentiful, resonated with me.  Jesus is speaking of the harvest as people, as going out into the world and brining the good news of God’s love to people, but for me, this week, it is the harvest of our stuff.  The harvest is so plentiful that is becomes waste.  We live in such abundant times that we can just throw things away.  The harvest is plentiful, so let us be mindful of how we interact with the harvest, and let us prayerfully, and spiritually connect ourselves to how we consume these overly abundant, plastic wrapped foods and toys and clothes and household items. 
            The laborers are few, but as more and more people understand the harmful impact plastic is having upon our lives, and most importantly upon our sacred waterways, the momentum will pick up and we will become a part of the solution.  Amen. 

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