Four Words for Earth Day 2013

For an hour yesterday, sixty neighbors and church friends fanned out through the parks, nature trails and public spaces around our neighborhood and collected 650 lbs of litter.

It was a celebration of Earth Day that I think would have made Earth-maker smile. Kids and parents had fun together, neighbors met or got re-connected, the landscape looks much better for our efforts, and the ducks, snakes and other wildlife in the area have a healthier habitat.

Call it a springtime facelift or an overdue winter cleanup, this little act of earth-keeping and creation care was a way of giving something back to the land that gives so generously to us all.

As a follower of Jesus, I'm taking Earth Day as a chance to say three words to my Creator – no, make that four.

The first word is an exclamatory “O”! What a marvelously complex gift so full of wonder and joy! Today is one for praise – I know that because at 4:30 this morning a cardinal was straining to teach me his canticle outside my window!

The second word is “Thanks”! Thanks for such a lavish and generous gift that keeps on giving. Thanks for the privilege of life amid such beauty and wisdom.

Thanks for the privilege and honor of being entrusted with such extravagant resources. I could sit at the top of the food chain like a little emperor, as if it was all for my benefit alone, but I can’t. I’m convinced that the gifts of advanced reason and language, culture and technology are given so that you and I, together with the whole cosmos, can give glory back to our Creator.

But that leads to my third word – “Sorry” – because clearly our tribe has done more than its fair share of hogging the spoils of the earth without regard to others – whether our global neighbors or the generations to follow us. This Earth Day for the first time, I think, I’m groaning a little in synch with the whole creation that groans under the oppressive weight of human recklessness and disregard, my own included. There is room for confession, lament and apology.

And so my last word is “Yes” – a joyful repentant “yes”!. “Yes, my Lord and God, I long to do your will! Yes, I will open my eyes to be more attentive and mindful of the gifts and mercy you give me every day, every hour! Yes, I will join you, generous God, in being a giver, not just a taker!

And Yes, I join with others who care about the well-being, the shalom, of the world you have given us!”

Yes, Yes, Yes! Happy Earth Day.

P.S. Three of these four words are inspired by Brian McLaren's Naked Spirituality - A Life with God in 12 Simple Words. 

Children and Water

This week my oldest grand-daughter turned nine. She was very excited about the bike she got from her parents, the notebook she got from her brother and the seashell souvenir I send her every year to mark her birthday.

I love exploring with her the tidal pools on the rocky shoreline near her home on the Atlantic coast. As an artist she loves the colors; as a story-teller she can imagine the drama of the snails and mollusks and other creatures competing or cooperating in their tiny biomes only inches across.

The Scent of Water - Wells of Hope

In Job 14, the beleaguered wise man asks a lot of questions trying to solve the riddle of life and death.

Using a string of similes, Job ponders our human mortality – we’re like flowers that wither, fleeting shadows, day laborers (here today, gone tomorrow), lakes and rivers that evaporate, soil and stone eroded by running water.

But knotted into this string of death images is the intriguing thing called hope. Is it a mirage? Is it a false dream, a futile longing, that our lives have meaning and significance? Or does the world contain hints that point to a reality bigger than death?

Partnering with the Creator

The Garden of Eden story in Genesis 2:5-15 illustrates how we human beings were created to serve our Creator as partners-in residence.

The narrator notes two critical agents necessary for sustaining a fruitful landscape – the human and the divine, the gift of rain and the effort of grounds-keepers. Ecology is a partnership in which the Creator initiates and the human creature responds and both depend on the other. The Creator won’t initiate the process until his partner is ready.

Laver - God's Peace

When King Solomon replaced the Israel’s primitive tabernacle with a magnificent temple, he had a huge water-reservoir built to serve as the laver for the purification for the priests (1 Kings 7:23 and 2 Chronicles 4:2-6) It was so large – 15 feet across, 45 feet circumference and holding 16,500 gallons – that it was called a “sea”. This grandiose symbolic ocean illustrated the expansive dimensions of God’s grace and forgiveness.

But it also conveyed another level of meaning. Since the sea for Israel represented the chaotic forces of evil opposed to God, this artifact probably also symbolized “the forces of chaos that have been subdued and brought to order by the Lord who is creator of the world”(1) It affirmed that Yahweh was supreme over the Canaanite deities Yamm and Baal, gods of sea and storm.

Sea of Glass and Fire

The Book of Revelation overflows with strange scenes. In Chapter 15 verse 2, the narrator John sees a crowd of people standing on the shore of the sea that looks like ‘glass mixed with fire’. If we didn’t know better this might appear to us as a glorious sunset on the water.

But in Revelation, as in common Old Testament imagery, the sea is the domain of evil and everything hostile against God. The Beast who assaults God’s people rises from the sea. But this crowd stands triumphant beside the sea, not frightened in the least. The fire glistening on the water is a sign that the evil has been judged.

Queen of Many Waters

In the last post, Desert, Torrent and Sea, we looked at a puzzling portrait of a woman who had taken refuge in the desert from a beastly assailant who pursued her.

In Revelation 17, we meet another woman, a glittering prostitute who ‘sits on many waters’ (v.1). This description echoes Jeremiah’s description of Babylon, the city surrounded by rivers and canals (Jeremiah 51:13) and shows her to be a formidable force. In the symbolism of Revelation, ‘sitting on many waters’ means that she has influence over ‘many peoples, multitudes, nations and languages’ (17:15). This presents her as a parody of the Church which is also comprised of people from many languages and nations.

Desert, Torrent and Sea

Woven throughout the puzzling images of the Book of Revelation are the twin themes of victory and suffering.

Half-way through the book, in Chapter 12, John sees ‘a great and wondrous sign’ that illustrates this double truth.

A pregnant woman is on the verge of giving birth, but a fierce red dragon stands in front of her ready to pounce on her infant the moment she delivers. It’s a bizarre picture to be sure, but it's a symbolic portrait of the cosmic battle under-lying the history of the human race.

The woman is a composite of Eve, the mother of all living (who was stalked by the serpent) and Mary, the mother of Jesus, stalked by Herod after Jesus was born. The new-born boy-child, we’re told, “will rule all the nations with an iron scepter.” So we know this is about the reign of Jesus and the hostility of the evil one who seeks to destroy him. The child is no sooner born than he is “snatched up to God and to his throne” (v.5). The story leaps from the birth of Jesus to his ascension to heaven.

Waters of Unity

In the first twenty years after the resurrection of Jesus, thousands of people expressed their faith in him through the water-ritual of baptism. Baptism is laced with connotations of cleansing, forgiveness, repentance, resurrection and new life.

One early story of baptism adds another dimension that speaks especially into our fragmented globalized world.  Acts 8 tells about an African government official who had been on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem and was now travelling home by chariot, reading the prophecy of Isaiah. By coincidence he met a Christian named Philip who just happened to be on the same road. He offered Philip a ride and asked him about the text he was trying to decipher.

Egypt's Finest Day

In an earlier post this week, Egyptian Reversal, we looked at Isaiah's ancient prophecy in Isaiah 19 - that the Nile would dry up and Egypt's economy would disintegrate.

It was a shocking use of prophetic hyperbole designed to warn Israel not to seek a military alliance with Egypt.

Interestingly the last book of the Bible echoes Isaiah’s vision of economic collapse of a great city and its maritime commerce. Global investors are distraught and lament ...
In one hour such great wealth has been brought to ruin! Every sea captain, and all who travel by ship, the sailors, and all who earn their living from the sea, will stand far off.
When they see the smoke of her burning, they will exclaim,
'Was there ever a city like this great city? Revelation 18:17-19

But Isaiah’s prophecy, like John’s Revelation, is not a doomsday tirade. Like John, Isaiah is a prophet of hope. In a way unforeseen by any other Hebrew writer, Isaiah perceives that God has a national destiny in store for Egypt that would astonish even the most imaginative zealot in Israel – or the church. Isaiah foresees a day when God will open Egypt’s heart, not to foolish superstitions, but to the worship of Yahweh. Egyptians will become passionate Yahweh worshippers and Yahweh will become Egypt’s saviour (v.20).

A highway of commerce and communication will open from Egypt to Assyria, linking Israel’s ancient and current oppressors in a covenant of loyalty, not simply with Israel, but with Israel’s God. Egypt and Assyrian will worship Yahweh together (v. 23). And so the doomed Nile becomes a river of blessing to the whole world, like the river of Eden and the rivers of  Ezekiel and St. John.

St. Simon the Tanner Church, Moquattan Mtn, Egypt

Who could have foreseen such a paradigm-bursting turn-around, such a river of blessing from such a cursed source? Who would have imagined that - 'in that day Israel will be the third, along with Egypt and Assyria, a blessing on the earth. The LORD Almighty will bless them, saying, Blessed be Egypt my people, Assyria my handiwork, and Israel my inheritance.' (v. 24-25)

God of Rivers, Revenue and Righteousness,
Your words today remind me that the flow of wealth in this world is not automatic. Your River flows in channels of justice and truth. You have ordained a law for all nations that industry and mercy must flow together or they will eventually shrivel and die. And you have promised that if we pay attention to your commands, our peace and prosperity will flow like a river, our righteousness like the waves of the sea (Isaiah 48:18).

May your mercy flow today into every country drained and watered by the mighty Nile – Tanzania, Rwanda, Kenya, Uganda, Ethiopia, Sudan and Egypt. And, may the good news of Jesus flow like a river through these nations and cause them to flourish in ways we can hardly imagine. Amen.

Photo Sources:
Pyramid - EgyptPhoto
Nile - Travel2Egypt
Coptic Church - The Egypt Diocesan Association

Deep Calls to Deep

My previous post, As the Deer, reflected on the power of thirst as the writer of Psalm 42 said As the deer pants for steams of water, my soul thirsts for you O God.

Just a few lines later the writer's language shifts and he imagines himself in a middle of a raging river - “Deep calls to deep in the roar of your waterfalls; all your waves and breakers have swept over me” Psalm 42:7. From 'parched soul' to 'deluge' in less than a minute.

Turbulent water can knock you off your feet, all right. Every year all around the world we hear tragic stories of people being swept away by the current of rivers. But what prompts the psalmist to shift so radically from thirsting to drowning?

As the Deer

Thirst is a powerful motivator.

Our bodies are 70% water, but since we’re always depleting our water supply to the functions of cooling, cleansing and even breathing, we can't go long without a drink. On average we need 2.5 litres a day - ten cups - usually more in the summer. It’s a compelling need.

When you’re healthy, your body regulates your fluid balance quite nicely. If you drink more water than you need, your kidneys dispose of the surplus. But if the fluid balance drops, your body sends signals. A 2% short-fall and you know you’re thirsty; a 5% deficit makes you confused and groggy; by 8% your muscles spasm, and 15% is pretty much fatal.

The Rock that Followed Them

The Exodus narrative relates four or five wonderful occasions when God supplied water for the multitudes of Israel and their flocks as they traversed the wilderness of Sinai: Marah, Elim, Massah , Meribah and Be'er. Beyond these few references the Bible tells us virtually nothing about how God provided Israel’s water needs - which leaves us with a big question.

There were oases here and there, but how could they have survived a generation in that forbidding terrain without water?

Deuteronomy 8:14-15 summarizes the miraculous odyssey this way: 'the LORD your God, … led you through the vast and dreadful desert, that thirsty and waterless land, with its venomous snakes and scorpions. He brought you water out of hard rock'.

Unseen Footprints

In the exodus, God’s path led through the sea, not around it or over it, but through it. I prefer to avoid obstacles; but apparently God does not. In Psalm 77 we read -

Your path led through the sea,

your way through the mighty waters,

though your footprints were not seen.

Psalm 77:19

Yahweh does not normally lead his people away from difficulties, but through them. And that is reinforced by the next line, ‘your path led through … the mighty waters’.

The painting on the left was made by a 13-year old Haitian child. Haitians understand the concept of going 'through'. There is nothing trivial about the ordeals God requires of his people, but the gigantic fact is that God remains present with us no matter how overwhelming they may seem to us.

Thundering Hallelujahs

Iguazu Falls, Argentina

Three times in the closing book of the Bible, we hear the cascading roar of rushing water.

The first ‘waterfall’ in the opening scene was the powerful voice of the Living Christ, giving the story-teller John a message of comfort and hope to his suffering church on earth.

The sound and sight of water cascading down rocks or thundering over the lip of a precipice does something to you. It soothes and energizes you at the same time. The water seems almost alive as it rushes forward and down – always down – almost like it was on a mission. Jesus, of course is the ultimate waterfall, plunging headlong into the mission of salvation for the whole of God’s creation.

The Roar of a Waterfall

There’s a distinct sound reverberating across Canada today. It's Election Day.

After weeks of political speeches, debates, promises and threats, millions of voters are going to get the last word. It’s called democracy – a flawed system to be sure, but better than most other ways of governing in our world.

In the days of imperial Rome, John, the last-surviving disciple of Jesus, was a political prisoner. The emperor and his regime feared the truth about Jesus and tried to silence John’s witness by exiling him to their version of Alcatraz or Robben Island, the Aegean island prison of Patmos.

A voice like a trumpet shattered John’s solitary reverie one day. Whirling around to see who was speaking, John was stunned speechless by a vision of Christ and by the sound of his voice – which thundered like ocean waves or the roar of a cataract.

Deep Sea Fishing

In my April 25 post I wrote about one of Jesus’ final conversations with his friend Simon Peter. Today we look at one of the earliest encounters between the two men as recorded in The Gospel of Luke, Ch 5.

It was Simon’s lucky day – but it hadn’t started out that way. After a fruitless night of fishing, he had come home with an empty boat. For a professional fisherman that spelled frustration, no respect, no income and the added burden of having to clean and repair your gear in hopes of a better outing tomorrow.

But then Jesus told him to “push out into deep water and let out your nets for a catch” Simon took up his challenge – and as soon as his nets hit the water the lake erupted in thrashing fish and a haul so large his nets began to tear apart. His partners on the shore leapt to his aid and together they pulled in a catch that almost swamped both their boats.

Soaked and Soiled - the Joy of Serving

In first-century Palestine, it was courtesy to welcome guests to your home by washing their feet. Since most of the roads and laneways were unpaved, both in rainy seasons and dry, people’s feet would quickly be caked with dust or mud. Simple hospitality required a host to arrange for a servant to wash the feet of the guests when they arrived.

But as Jesus and his friends gathered to celebrate Passover, there were no servants to wait on them. And every disciple was jockeying for the right to sit closer to Jesus, acutely focused on his prestige in the group. No one moved to initiate this basic gesture of hospitality.

Listen Up!

If only Peter could capture the magic of this moment. Jesus had brought them up on this mountain to give them new perspective – and what a sight opened up in front of them!

Peter had often seen Jesus deep in prayer, but this time, without explanation, Jesus’ appearance began glistening with sunlight. Lightning lingered about his face, searing light. Ancient history came to life before their eyes as Moses and Elijah emerged out of thin air and joined the conversation.

Unaccustomed to paranormal things, Peter quivered with perplexity and dismay. He always felt more comfortable when he was at the center of things and influencing outcomes. Instinctively he grasped for something he could do or some way he could contribute to the discussion. His mind engineered tents of hospitality and he proposed his plan.

Thirst-Quencher

It is one of the high-water marks of the Bible’s entire witness to water and the grace of God. It happened during the annual Jewish Festival of Tabernacles.

This late-summer festival looked back in history to Israel's exodus and God’s provision of water in the desert, and it looked ahead to the dream of Israel’s restored honor among the nations as predicted in Zechariah 14:16. Every year pilgrims came to Jerusalem from every direction in what Josephus called as “a most holy and most eminent feast.”
- Antiquities of the Jews, VIII, iv, 1.

* * * Feast of Tabernacles painting - Valerie R Jackson