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Earth is the Lord’s Day
So what’s your take on Earth Day? I hope you don’t roll your eyes from too much ear-time with a.m. (angry man) radio. Because the Earth is the Lord’s. Creation is his first revelation, the first language he speaks to us. And the church in the United States has been spiritually dull to his voice speaking through creation. To the extent that we are, we’re spiritually dull.
Been reading some Francis Schaeffer lately. I first read Schaeffer as a brand new Jesus freak in 1971, when the Jesus movement was running wild among pro-ecology, anti-war hippies. He wrote something called Pollution and the Death of Man: The Christian View of Ecology. He sounds like a Christian environmental whacko–I use the term endearingly. After writing Pollution and the Death of Man, Schaeffer became something like a theologian for the Religious Right. Yes, a tree-hugging environmental whacko was a leading voice in the formation of groups like the Moral Majority. But there was a lot of pickin’ and choosin’ goin’ on and Pollution and the Death of Man didn’t make the cut.
But enough of that.
Schaeffer talks about the need for us to undergo a reconciled relationship with creation. He sees it as part of the work of reconciliation in Jesus Christ: to God, to our selves, to others, and to nature. And he’s not just talking about a head trip. He’s talking about a heart trip. That by a work of the Spirit of Jesus, the Lord of Creation and her firstborn, we would not simply look at a tree as a thing, but we would feel connected with the tree psychologically.
Do you feel connected to the rest of creation? Do you look at the glorious world around you and see the fingerprints of God and sense a deep relatedness with the rest of creation? I mean really.
This is a work of the Spirit in our hearts. We can’t manufacture it. But we can receive it. And our attitudes, biases, prejudices–the things we listen to and fill our minds with–can quench this work of the Spirit. Without which we are less alive to God and his kingdom than we would otherwise be.
I know I was largely dull to this work of the Spirit for many years. I was darn sure not to worship nature, but I fell off the other side of the horse, to use Luther’s apt image. I felt entitled to nature. Nature was a thing that was here for me to use. Period.
I treated nature like a lousy husband treats his wife: Mostly not noticing her until he felt a need that she might meet.
I thought I was converted, awakened, spiritually alive because I had come alive to God as my Abba, Father, and I had begun to experience reconciliation within myself to myself, and I had begun to taste the wonder-power of reconciliation with others. But I had more to wake up to.
Something started to happen in me that I was just smart enough, just barely smart enough, not to put the ki-bash on because it was the sort of something that made people nervous. And it continues to happen.
And I find this all immensely invigorating. Because the church in the United States is getting a little stale in the spiritual awakening department. We now have movements, so called, that don’t mediate any particular new experience of God. But it ain’t a movement until it mediates a new experience of God or restores an old one. The Great Awakenings mediated hearts strangely warmed. Pentecostalism mediated hearts filled anew with the Spirit. The so-called Third Wave mediated a sense of tender-intimate connection with God as Abba, Father and new ways to dial down and listen for the Spirit’s voice.
I haven’t read much in the Emergent movement, though I’m sympathetic to the necessity of facing the questions being asked in that emerging wing of the church. But I don’t think it’s a movement yet. Relief from the bondages of fundamentalism or moving beyond a backward-looking evangelicalism doth not a movement make.
But I think there is a movement waiting to happen. Or rather happening somewhere beneath the radar.
And it’s to do with the Earth is the Lord’s Day. It’s to do with humbling acknowledging that our relationship with nature–creation is the biblical word and I much prefer it–is out of whack. Ruinously out of whack. We’re a lousy husband and its affecting our husbandry. We’re dull of heart to the voice of God speaking to us through creation. Which means very little as an insight unless we feel it as a deep sorrow.
But all that can change. We can be awakened. Our dry bones can rattle again. Our hardened hearts can receive morning dew, and then light Spring rains, and then a mighty flood.
Go outside today and look around. Look for something that isn’t artificially colored. Look for something, oh say, green, with sunlight shining on or through it. And listen. You won’t hear words. But you may hear what you’ve been missing lately, which is the voice behind the words. If not the voice at first, be attentive to the next best thing, which is the longing for the voice–desire being the landing pad of the Holy Spirit.
Tags: awakenings, Earth Day, ecology, emergent, emerging, francis schaeffer, Great Awakening, Holy Spirit, movements, pentecostalism, renewal movements, revivals, revivials, spiritual awakenings, Third Wave
April 21st, 2010 at 11:16 am
we’ve embraced “Earth Day” in a celebratory way of echoing God’s assessment: “It’s good…very good”
one of my favorite experiences of this celebration was when a group of friends went to a transitional house for homeless men, partnered with them that weekend to do a little landscaping. the relationships forged through that exerpience of “working the garden” have gone out like ripples in a pond…anyway, just thought i’d share my experience, it was really formational for us…
peace
April 21st, 2010 at 11:44 am
Just saw a special on PBS on the history of Earth Day. Forced my self to.
Interesting how many of the same issues were discussed in the early 70’s as now, though by their predictions, we should have all died before 2000.
I am trying to have a more reverential attitude towards God’s Earth as I see much truth in what you say and have been saying.
One of the main obstacles I encounter is a ‘knee jerk’ annoyance towards environmentalists. I see them like a nagging mother in law.
Maybe I see them the same way they see us, Christian evangelicals when we try to convince them with our life saving message, but are ignored and laughed at.
But I guess we should expect that, being that we were warned by Jesus about this.
So I really need God’s spirit to change me from within. Especially my annoyed reaction to what green earth folks are trying to say.
April 21st, 2010 at 1:30 pm
When I enter Yosemite Valley, I get weak in the knees. Every time. I’ve been there half a dozen times, and it has happened every time. All of those half dozen times, I wasn’t a Christian. But each of those times, God was there in the beauty and the grandeur and the intimacy and the sweetness and silvery-gold light that is everywhere in that place. God’s presence–his existance with us–was made plain to me there. Those experiences of him (along with many others) led me eventually to belief in him. God’s creation, in Yosemite Valley and elsewhere, continues to lead me to him today. Infallibly. (By the way, this isn’t anything for which I’m responsible. Far from it. I have nothing to do with any of it. I am merely there like a Steller’s Jay, making noise, flying from place to place, making my raucous way through the mind of God.)
April 21st, 2010 at 2:20 pm
Hug a tree for Jesus!
April 22nd, 2010 at 10:49 am
Amen!
We’re attending an Earth Day event at Missouri State today giving away organic fruit in an apologetic tone (the “i’m sorry” kind, not the argumentative kind) in recognition that Evangelicals, particularly in Springfield, MO, haven’t always done the best job of making caring for God’s creation a priority, as Genesis 2:15 clearly states we should.
April 22nd, 2010 at 10:56 am
Belfry,
That’s the issue!
I drove through the Badlands, went to see Yellowstone park, grew up on Ipanema beach in Rio de Janeiro and none of it really affected me. I prefer to be in my garage building an engine.
Am I sick?
The one place I really liked visiting was Hawaii though, but I had no spiritual experience there either, just thought it was a pleasant place in which to drive a Jeep.
April 22nd, 2010 at 11:19 am
I read this post yesterday after I had spent about two hours in my gardens. I love the timing of the Lord. I am a contemplative at heart. I always meet the Lord in more significant ways when I am in His beautiful creation. I love growing things and I love the beauty of the created order.
Last month we were in Fairbanks, Alaska for a conference we were speaking at and I spent most of the time with my jaw in my lap as we saw one stunning vista after another. God is amazing!
My only issue with embracing Earth Day is the imbalance in the general populace that make this a big day. I embraced a New Age, worship the earth, mentality before coming into relationship with Jesus Christ. In my realm of influence Christians were looked down upon as narrow minded bigots.
The other circle of influence that I came in contact with was the humanistic, evolution embracing intelligentsia of the education system. My 8th grade sociology teacher made it clear, in no uncertain terms, that evolution was truth and any belief in a Creator God was ignorant and backward. I was impressed by his brilliance arguments and I forsook any belief in God from that point forward. These thoughts and opinions were reinforced throughout high school and college by many teachers and professors and these were the same people who loved nature and would have fully embraced Earth Day.
I think there is a fine line between loving God’s creation and worshiping the created rather than the Creator. The vast majority of those I’ve met who make a big deal of Earth day would seem to worship the created more so than the Creator.
I think I will spend Earth Day praising the God of all Creation! He’s amazing and so is His creation!
April 22nd, 2010 at 1:05 pm
happylad, good things happen in gardens! btw, I know many secular environmentalists, the vast majority of whom don’t come anywhere close to worshipping the earth. Let’s be kind to those who do, without imitating them–as C.S. Lewis said, anyone who worships anything beyond himself is one step closer to God. It’s the self worshippers who are farthest from God and closest to hell. If we Christians did a better job of caring for creation as if it were the Lord’s, there were would many fewer tempted toward pantheism and paganism and more who would find a home in Christ. Follow the love!
April 23rd, 2010 at 6:49 pm
I think we should all listen to the album Astral Weeks by Van Morrison. It sure brought me closer to
God and earth.
April 24th, 2010 at 8:20 pm
I have no argument regarding encountering God through Creation. That is obviously true for many, many people. Romans 1 talks about Creation revealing God.
I have no argument against caring for Creation. I think we should. But the complaints about what poor stewards we’ve been seem to me to have been much more valid 30 years ago than they are today…when the water is generally much cleaner, the air has less pollution, and virtually every child in the country (even children of we uncaring evangelicals) act as environmental police because of the emphasis placed on this in their schools. Even the most conservative leaning evangelical churches of which I’m aware often have environmental stewardship groups, recycle, and are practically scared to death to utter a word of disagreement regarding climate change, etc. Your arguments, at this point, seem to me to be largely aimed at a straw man.
April 24th, 2010 at 9:03 pm
Brian, You’re certainly right the clear air and clear water act made huge improvements in air and water qaulity here in the US. But it’s a big world. Heard of the ocean garbage patch? Seen washed up trash in the most remote island on earth with no human infabitants? Aware that we are in the largest period of species exctinction since loss of dinasouars? Aware of 1 billion people without access to clean drinking water? Large swathes of Africa no longer farmable due to ecosystem collapse? Heard of the dead zone in gulf of Mexico (size of Louisiana) due to fertilizer run off? Warnings against eating too much fish from Great Lakes due high levels of mercury from ooal burning power plants? EPA estimate that 1 in 6 children born at risk for neurotoxitity from same? Seen the effects of strip mining and ruin of ground water for drinking? (I won’t even mention climate change.)
April 25th, 2010 at 1:06 am
Working alongside atheists, agnostics, and drunken dirt-bikers picking up trash on BLM land in God’s Great Basin (Nevada). Picking up trash from the Burning Man until the return of the Son of Man.
Because “… the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly … [for] the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption … that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now,” Rom 8:20ff.
Cheers,
Jim
April 25th, 2010 at 10:57 pm
This has been a long time coming. I have been a tree hugger as long, perhaps even longer than a Christian, well, I don’t know, It seems I have been both as long as I can remember.
I had many an argument with family over the idea that the creation was just something for us to use up. No point in saving it for later because The Lord was coming any day.
I always had this image of him returning, and looking around at the dismal mess we had made of His Creation.
While we have made some headway in many areas visible to us, like the air around Denver and LA, and there are fewer PCB’s being dumped in the water supply, and we reforest the strip-mined lands after we extract the useful minerals, we have mad a bigger mess in many areas.
April 26th, 2010 at 9:58 pm
Ken, yes, I am aware of most (not all) of the issues you referenced. Exactly which of those problems do you know evangelicals to be in favor of? And how much effort is enough to put into these issues?
BTW, I’m interested in what you’d think about this- one of my good friends children (9 years old) was instructed by his school to write a letter of apology to the earth last week. Would you be able to agree with me that assigning 9 year olds the job of apologizing to the earth is a step or two too far?
April 26th, 2010 at 10:35 pm
Brian, I don’t understand. Each of the matters I referenced were examples of poor stewardship of the earth. Yes, we’ve made some significant improvements here in the U.S.–improvements that were resisted at the time, but now everyone embraces them. But there are massive problems still around the world and here at home. That is the result of poor stewardship for which we will have to give an account to God. No, I don’t think 9 year olds are the ones who should be writing letters of apology to the earth. Such letters mean nothing to the earth, and 9 year olds are not yet responsible. We are, though.
May 1st, 2010 at 10:27 pm
Ken says: “That by a work of the Spirit of Jesus, the Lord of Creation and her firstborn, we would not simply look at a tree as a thing, but we would feel connected with the tree psychologically.”
For being a Christian pastor, what you are espousing and advocating is merely pantheism.
Where are other Vineyard pastors willing to stand up and challenge Ken’s premises, theology? Are you all wimps? Isn’t the Word of God our standard? Didn’t Paul say that if a man preaches another Gospel other than the one he preached – to not have anything to do with him?
This blog, except for a few bold writers, are merely propping his weak theology, his view that we are to be connected psychologically with nature (counter to scripture).
His rantings and ravings have been going on for years without one challenge from the National level – and – without one challenge regionally. Why are Vineyard pastors so intimidated and not caring about the straying from the original Gospel of Jesus Christ?
This does not reflect well upon those many Vineyard pastors NOT buying into this and who are remaining true to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Please – will someone and a group of Vineyard pastors start defending the faith – contending for it – with all their heart?