We reflect upon Earth's challenges and her blessings

The indigenous people of Guatemala, in their worldview, believe that they are guardians of the Earth. Yet they helplessly watch as their pure mountain water is pumped into plastic bottles for American consumers. The life of the Maya, whose sustenance depends on corn and coffee, is threatened as cornstalks scorch in the heat and coffee trees fail to produce “cherries” (beans).

In reality, we are all guardians of the earth, our earthly home which sustains our lives. Yet we can hardly ever turn on the TV without seeing homes and cities destroyed. Man-made destruction. For the life of me I can’t understand how the fracking industry can pierce the very heart of the earth to drain her lifeblood, oil.

Have you ever noticed the warning on the side of vegetable crates at the grocery store: Coated with “edible grade petroleum product”? And our antibiotic- fed animal meat? And our pesticide- laden vegetables? And our chemical- filled processed food? For the life of me, I fail to understand why people continue to brew pesticide tea and coffee while organic varieties are readily available.

We can’t single-handedly stop scorching the earth, or ban fracking, or change food- processing methods, but each of us can become aware of some way we can get involved. There are zillions of organizations that promote health for the earth and her residents. For the life of the earth, environmental groups will appreciate our help. For the life of me, eating “clean” is what sustains me, I know.

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*Hasidic saying in Earth Prayers from Around the World, Elizabeth Roberts and Elias Amidon, eds., HarperSanFrancisco: N.Y., 1991. P 362

In her book, An Altar in the World, Barbara Brown Taylor notes the profound significance of incarnational faith: “In Christian teaching, followers of Jesus are called to honor the bodies of our neighbors as we honor our own…. [T]his includes leper bodies, possessed bodies, widow and orphan bodies, as well as foreign and hostile bodies – none of which he shied away from” (p. 42).

Earlier this month, on the podcast, “On Being,” host Krista Tippet cited that passage as she talked with Taylor, using phrases such as “the Christian reverence for the body.” Taylor responded, “And these days, more and more for the body of the tree and the body of the mountain and the body of the river…. If we don’t take the body of this earth seriously, it will no longer be our host.”

To take the body of this earth seriously, as a gift from God, is to handle the body of the earth reverently. The first sentence of the Bible says that God created the heavens and the earth. The oft-quoted John 3:16 proclaims that Christ took on human flesh “because God so loved the world.” God's love is not confined to loving human beings, certainly not to loving dis-embodied human souls.

The love of God extends to all that God has created: bodies and souls, plants and animals, trees and mountains and rivers. And if we take Psalm 148 seriously, human praise of God is incomplete if it is not joined by the praise of “mountains, hills, fruit trees and cedars, wild beasts and tame” who “praise, praise the holy name, this name beyond all names” (vv. 9-13, ICEL).

On this Earth Day, consider the words of Brian Wren:

Photo by NASA on Unsplash

In this Easter season, celebrate the good news of resurrection! The Soul Windows CD, The Dawning, invites you to follow Mary Magdalene to the empty tomb, guided by Bill's words and the thoughtful music of Geri Pieper. To order The Dawning, as an Easter gift for yourself or for others, click here or on the image.

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