This Is My Father's World ... But it's mine too

I was listening to the radio recently and I heard some preacher saying that we didn’t need to worry about the world because Jesus is coming soon and He’s going to make everything new again.

It’s not the first time that I heard this; but it’s the first time that it bothered me.

In Genesis, God gives man dominion over the earth. We’re – for lack of a better analogy – the gardeners of the earth.

Gen. 1: 28-30 Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” And God said, “See, I have given you every herb that yields seed which is on the face of all the earth, and every tree whose fruit yields seed; to you it shall be for food. Also, to every beast of the earth, to every bird of the air, and to everything that creeps on the earth, in which there is life, I have given every green herb for food”; and it was so.

That language seems pretty clear, God gave us the earth and all that it contains.

Flip over to Matthew 25 and the Parable of the Talents. In verse 26, the Master derides the wicked, lazy servant for burying his talent instead of using it. Imagine how angry the Master would have been had the wick servant destroyed the talent rather than just burying it.

As followers of Christ, we have an obligation to care for and protect the earth: fish, birds, every living thing. I am not a fan of generalizing, but when you compare Christians (especially more conservative Christians (like my church) against other religions (New Age, Pagans, Buddhists, even humanists), we fall behind them in our perceived (and I think actual) care and treatment of the environment.

I’m not (really not) advocating worshiping the trees or the earth-mother. All I am advocating is that we begin to see and live up to our responsibility and take our proper authority over the earth.

Is your church recycling the paper that it uses? Mine isn’t. When was the last time you heard a sermon on the importance of caring for our environment? Environmentalism – like many other politically liberal issues – seems to be out of favor with most conservative Evangelical churches. And I believe that we are missing a spiritual principle.

We should be looking for ways to make the trees, rivers, oceans better. Not just dump our crap into them and use them without thought for the future. We should be turning the earth that God gave us into something ten times better.

Something to think about: Does our* trashing of the environment have anything to do with the way our society is falling apart? Taking care of the earth is the first command that God gave us. Does not submitting to that command somehow influence everything else that we try and do? Would anyone treat their spiritual environment the way that they treat their physical one?

Just something to think about on this Earth Day Week.

Andy

Epilog: On a similar and much more personally painful tact, this same message goes for our physical bodies. When we are judged, when the Master returns and asks what we have done with our bodies – how will we answer? That’s certainly a wake up call for my not-so-narrow butt.

* Our – America’s, western civilizations, man’s: pick the one you like the best. Either way, it’s “us”.

Listening to: Jeremy Camp, This Man

Blind Boys - Ben Harper

I am a huge Blind Boys of Alabama fan. They sing with such precise harmony; and their voices (aged as they are) convey a warmth and love that comes from singing together for 65 years (65 years!).

Ben Harper is a genius.

The Blind Boys covered this song on their Higher Ground CD several years ago. Here they are performing in the studio with Harper. It's a moving performance.

I do love youtube.



Andy

Judges and Ruth

I am reading the Bible all the way through - or that's my plan. In my years as a Christian, I have never read it all and I am looking forward to discovering all of God's word. Late last week, I turned the corner from Joshua to Judges.

Judges ... I thought that I knew most of what was in here. But, I didn't. Oh sure, I knew about Deborah, Gideon, Sampson ... but then there were the more disturbing stories. Ending with the Priest who sent his wife out to be gang raped and then chopped her up into pieces and sent her dismembered corpse out to the rest of the nation as a call to arms.

I sat in my chair and wondered just what kind of God allows this to happen - and really - I have no answer to that. I wondered what the lesson here was and I prayed about it. I didn't get an answer; I didn't have more peace. I need to pray more.

But, I also could stop reading after that story. So, I turned the page to Ruth. The book was so thoroughly enjoyable and full of hope and grace that I read the entire (albeit short) book in the same sitting. Ah - my pallet was cleansed; my peace restored. And I marveled at this non-Jew who was the great-grandmother of David and (great-great-great grandmother) of Jesus.

God used this woman - an alien - as part of the line of Jesus. It's something wonderful.

Andy

Listening to: Chris Tomlin - Live from Austin Music Hall

Water Into Wine

I’m not sure that this is new insight to you; but it is new insight to me. If I’m off base here, please let me know. Thanks!

(NKJV) John 2:

1 On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. 2 Now both Jesus and His disciples were invited to the wedding. 3 And when they ran out of wine, the mother of Jesus said to Him, “They have no wine.”
4 Jesus said to her, “Woman, what does your concern have to do with Me? My hour has not yet come.”
5 His mother said to the servants, “Whatever He says to you, do it.”
6 Now there were set there six waterpots of stone, according to the manner of purification of the Jews, containing twenty or thirty gallons apiece. 7 Jesus said to them, “Fill the waterpots with water.” And they filled them up to the brim. 8 And He said to them, “Draw some out now, and take it to the master of the feast.” And they took it. 9 When the master of the feast had tasted the water that was made wine, and did not know where it came from (but the servants who had drawn the water knew), the master of the feast called the bridegroom. 10 And he said to him, “Every man at the beginning sets out the good wine, and when the guests have well drunk, then the inferior. You have kept the good wine until now!”

I’ve heard and read this story many times, and nearly every time, I ask myself the same question: “Why is this the first miracle?” No one gets healed; no one gets saved; all that seems to happen is that some wedding goers can now get even more drunk. Jesus doesn’t really seem to want to do it. So, why?

Several commentaries that I read suggest that Mary wanted Jesus to announce Himself as Messiah at this time. And, maybe – that’s what he did.

As I re-read the passage, I saw that the Master of the Feast called the Bridegroom over to compliment him on the wine. In our American weddings, at the reception, it’s the Bride’s family who would provide the wine. And, I think that I always assumed that this was the case here. Reading the text would show otherwise – it was the Bridegroom who was responsible.

So: Why was this the first miracle? Did Jesus really obey His mother’s desire to announce Himself as Messiah?

By turning the water into wine, He (essentially) replaced the Bridegroom as the host of the party/wedding. Just as He replaced Adam (breaking the curse placed upon man since The Fall), Jesus announces to us that He is our Bridegroom and our Redeemer. And, subtly, does just what His mother was asking Him to do.

Shalom - Andy