A sermon
preached at Kowloon Union Church on Sunday 5 June 2016, the Eco-Concern
Sunday, by the Rev. Hans Lutz. The scripture readings that
day were Psalms 104, 1-24; Revelation 22, 1-5; Matthew 6, 26.
1. During recent weeks and again during
the last days a confrontation occurred at Ma Si Po Village in the North East
New Territories over the problem of land ownership. A large property
development corporation which in recent years has bought massive pieces of land
in the North East New Territories claims that the village falls within their
land and therefore takes action to take it back. The villagers claim the place
their home and insist that no one can take it away by force.
From
the corporation’s perspective, the villagers are sitting on other people’s
property illegally. They are hindering development and jeopardizing the
legitimate financial interests of the corporation. From the villagers’ point of
view, the property developer is endangering the land they have been working for
over half a century. They are now forced out from their own place.
There
is a basic conflict going on between the needs of the city for more housing and
the rights of total people who have cared for the land for decades.
2. Today the whole world is experiencing
the conflict between God’s creation and the needs and the greed of the human
race. For the past 200 years industrialization and new technologies have
expanded the domination of humanity. We have been and still are living by a
questionable understanding of Gen. 1, 28 where God says to humankind, “Be
fruitful, multiply, fill the earth and conquer it. Be masters of the fish of
the sea, the birds of heaven and all living animals on earth.”
3. Today it dawns on us that we have
misinterpreted God’s intention. Now we pay more attention to another verse from
the book of Genesis, namely Gen. 2, 15 where it says, “God took the man and
settled him in the garden of Eden to cultivate and take care of it.”
A friend of mine always emphasizes that as Christians we
should not speak of ecology and environmental concerns, but of “creation care”.
God wants us to look after his creation.
4. Along with the shift from domination
of creation to care for creation, we realize that we are very much part of
creation and depending on it. St. Francis has addressed the elements as
brothers and sisters. He spoke of brother sun and brother fire, sister moon and
sister water, and mother earth. We are part of one big family.
Psalm
104 gives expression to this. What is most remarkable about this psalm is that
it positions humans as one among many species of animals and also within the
framework of nature. It speaks of the birds, the wild goats, the moon, the
seasons, the setting sun, the beasts in the forest, the rise of the sum, and
then the humans who go to labour until the evening. And then the psalm
exclaims,
O Lord, how manifold are your works!
In wisdom you have made them all;
The earth is full of your creatures . verse
24
Human
beings are one of the creatures God has made.
5. At the same time psalm 104 depicts
God as constantly and actively sustaining his creatures.
You make springs gush forth in the valleys;
They flow between the hills,
Giving drink to every wild animal;
The wild asses quench their
thirst.
By the streams the birds have their
habitation,
They sing among the branches.
From your lofty abode you water the
mountains,
The earth is satisfied with the
fruit of your work.
You cause the grass to grow for the cattle,
And plants for people to use,
To bring forth food from the
earth. Verses 10-14
Jesus
has referred to the sustaining grace of the father when he said,
Look at the birds in the sky. They do not sow or reap or
gather into barns, yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much
more than they are? Mt. 6, 26
6. God provides not merely for basic
subsistence, but also for pleasure:
You cause the growth of wine to gladden the human heart,
Oil to make the face shine,
And bread to strengthen the human heart. Verse 15
My wife and I live in Mei Foo Sun Chuen. Every morning we
take a walk in the Lai Chi Kok Park and enjoy the flowers on shrubs and trees.
Hong Kong is a small place , but it has so much to offer in terms of natural
beauty.
7. A member of a European party has
criticized that all too often we sound like school masters when we talk of
environmental concerns. Our approach should be guided by love and care. We are
part of the web of creation. This web is one in which are interdependent and in
which all are dependent on God – the one who created them and sustains them.
8. God loves the world and so should
we. We are called to heal the creation where it is broken as God will heal his
creation when his kingdom comes. In China the authorities are turning to treat
the soil where it has been poisoned by industry. The book of Revelation gives a
vision of a healed creation:
Then the angel showed me the river of life, rising from the
throne of God and of the lamb and flowing crystal clear in the city street. On
either side of the river were the trees of life, which bear twelve crops of
fruit in a year, one in each month, and the leaves which are the cure of the
nations.
Rev.
22, 1f.
# posted by Kowloon Union Church : Sunday, June 05, 2016
