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A Note from Pastor Tim
One of the many themes that YouTube offers are examples of a process called ‘Rewilding’. Simply put, the idea is that restoring one or more species of animals to a landscape and letting them roam wild in that area will lead to a restoration that transforms wilderness (see the picture above). The list of animals is amazing. For example, recreating the prairies requires buffalo. Unlike cattle, buffalo naturally do the things to the environment that makes prairie possible. At times the rewilding requires two different species to affect the change. For example, the reintroduction of wolves in Yellowstone chased elk and deer out of the valleys which allowed the willows and aspens to grow. Beavers needed these trees for food and to build dams. After a few years, the beaver dams held the water in place longer instead of rushing downstream. This made for an area more habitable for plants and animals and more protected against things like wildfires.
The idea behind rewilding is the idea of an ecosystem. The general idea is that a particular area will be healthier with all the original species present. We’ve been talking about ecosystems for almost a hundred years now. But as the rewilding reports demonstrate, reinstating the full ecosystem has all kinds of benefits as though it was designed that way.
We live in a society that values individualism and self-sufficiency. In the words of the poet, we want to imagine ourselves as “the master of my fate, . . . the captain of my soul.” (Invictus by William Ernest Henley). That, while sounding brave and courageous, is actually absurd. For example, we need community in the form of parents, extended family, social groups, and academic groups to become mature, healthy adults. Crises are managed better with the support we receive from others.
Jesus in his prayer recorded in John 17 says this: “I am not praying only on their (the disciples’) behalf, but also on behalf of those who believe in me through their testimony, that they will all be one, just as you, Father, are in me and I am in you. I pray that they will be in us, so that the world will believe that you sent me.” (Jn. 17:20-21 NET) God’s intention for us is that we are to be a community the way God is – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Paul writing to the Corinthian church talks about the church as being one body or ecosystem. Everyone has a role to play, and our ability to be the church, to be the body of Christ, is negatively impacted when that doesn’t happen. Everyone belongs. While people play different roles and have different giftings, all are part of the community, the same body, the same ecosystem.
The needs of an ecosystem like Yellowstone National Park are different from a community of people trying to follow Jesus. After all, we’re warned about wolves in sheep’s clothing. But in any community all members are necessary. An eye is irrelevant without a head, and feet are needed to carry a body around. Each one lives out their call so that the community can be whole and healthy. As a community of faith, a group of people who claim Jesus as our Lord and Savior, we need to value each other, seeing how each of us makes different and significant contributions to the community. And in doing so, we build each other up so that together we may be a group known for its love for each other.
Peace,
Tim
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