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Thursday, September 22, 2016


Gardeners of Creation

Scripture: In the day that the Lord God made the earth and the heavens, when no plant of the field was yet in the earth and no herb of the field had yet sprung up-for the Lord God had not caused it to rain upon the earth, and there was no one to till the ground; but a stream would rise from the earth, and water the whole face of the ground- then the Lord God formed man from the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and the man became a living being. And the Lord God planted a garden in Eden, in the east; and there he put the man whom he had formed. Out of the ground the Lord God made to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food, the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

A river flows out of Eden to water the garden, and from there it divides and becomes four branches. The name of the first is Pishon; it is the one that flows around the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold; and the gold of that land is good; bdellium and onyx stone are there. The name of the second river is Gihon; it is the one that flows around the whole land of Cush. The name of the third river is Tigris, which flows east of Assyria. And the fourth river is the Euphrates.

The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to till it and keep it. Genesis 2:4-15

Sermon Meditation :

Every Spring, I feel like wanting to be a gardener. Because planting is exciting! Weeding on the other hand - well, not so much. That's where I usually fail... There is something ironic about the fact that I need to fight weed and pest to make salad. I know many will deem this is completely innocent. But it reveals something about the world we live in. That we need to kill to survive. We push out other creatures, beings that breathe as well, in order to establish and expand our habitat.

Recently I read the scary statistic that in a stunningly short time a fourth of all species have vanished from our planet. Birds, critters, fish, mammals, as well as plants. Old species of fruit and grain are extinct. I find this loss of the diversity troubling. But one of the terrifying things is the destruction of whole habitats. It's been more than six years since the the Deepwater Horizon exploded and sank. Through live stream, we could follow how billions of barrels of oil gushed unhindered into the Gulf of Mexico, leaving death for oceans, fish, beaches and wetlands...

This image reminds me of a scene from The Black Spider, a novel every Swiss pupil read in middle school:  A legendary lethal black spider is trapped behind a window post, until one day a foolish farmhand removes the plug, releasing the spider and unleashing the black plague which kills almost the entire village.

When we see destruction of epic proportion going on, singing psalms may seem a little naive. Nature is a battle field where the strongest survive. And from the perspective of a gardener of the world, I imagine the human race must appear like a pest...

The world is not a harmonious paradise. Why are things this way? Where that black spider comes from?  There's no simple answer. Even the creation stories in the Bible don't give much explanation. But they invite us to ask ourselves, who we are.

They are really two stories: The first tells us the beginning of life in the universe: How the creator brings order in the chaos, shines light into darkness, dries swamps and waters deserts - and life abounds! It is the spring fever version of creation. Everything was good. And the creation of the humans on the sixth day even: very good.

The second story begins with a garden - in Persian 'paradise'. God takes Adam and Eve and puts them in the garden - to till it and keep it. I imagine they didn't have to put up with critters or weeds... But we know things didn't stay that way. That's what the second story eventually talks about: Another character appears, a creepy creature. The snake engages Eve in a conversation and promotes this very special fruit: it is supposed to offer so much more nutritional value, but even more enjoyment. It will awaken within the human beings their full potential to attain wisdom. The prospects are too tempting! And so Eve and Adam eat from the fruit - and immediately, this miracle food has consequences. It is as if someone had pulled the plug, and hidden things burst out to light. Yes: They recognize good and evil, and for the first time experience shame. Eventually, the owner of the garden appears and sets the food down: No more admittance to the paradise, but instead painful labor, no more equality, but work by the sweat of your face. The lecture is long and hard, but ends somewhat conciliatory, when the God expresses care by making them their first garments.

These first stories of the Bible don't explain things. They tell a story. Much remains unresolved. And yet, we see who we really are: On one hand God-like - and yet, deeply divided. No day goes by that we are not confronted with this conflict - within us, in relationships to loved and not so loved ones... and in our relationship with the world around us. And the other thing is true, too: there's no easy a way back. The way back to paradise is closed. We are not vegan. Being human means to be violent. We don't need a Bible to realize that. But there is more in it: We're reminded of our true identity. And that's why we talk about these stories. There's a reason the Bible doesn't start with the Fall. It begins with a light. A beam of light that doesn't come out of me, but falls upon me. There's a spark in me that understands the will of the creator. When we pray: Thy will be done, then we pray to overcome this conflict, we pray for deliverance from evil. I can only pray like this because God's Word, like a lantern, enlightens and sanctifies our innate urge for survival, and we realize instead: that's not who we truly are. We do not want to kill. We want to live and let live, we want to support and care, and create and reconcile. We feel sorry for the suffering we have caused, just as we are sorry for the harm humanity brings about God's beautiful garden.

Our generation is facing incredible environmental challenges. If we don't find the plug soon, we risk to desert the very garden that nourishes us. But we change ourselves with flaming appeals with shoulds and don'ts.  I found powerful what Gus Speth, US professor of environmental law said:  "I used to think that top environmental problems were biodiversity loss, ecosystem collapse and climate change.  I thought that thirty years of good science could address these problems.  I was wrong. The top environmental problems are selfishness, greed and apathy, and to deal with these we need a cultural and spiritual transformation. And we scientists don't know how to do that."

What we need is a cultural and spiritual transformation! In other words: We need to be renewed in our thinking and our feeling and our living by the very same Creator Spirit who has created us in the first place who breathes in everything that has breath, who suffers with us and rejoices with us, who prays with us and praises with us.  God's Holy Spirit: who is the lover of life.

And therefore, I don't want to stop gardening: Because that is what we are called to be:  gardeners, called to "till it and keep", to take care of this piece of land: of this community, of this congregation, of our home.

We are gardeners, hoping for new beginnings. And so I pray that God give us strength and wisdom, to plug the holes where the thick pitch is gushing out and black spiders are slipping through. When I pray: Thy will be done, I want to practice non-violence, as good as I can.

When I pray: Your Kingdom come, I will still hope for people who have a spark of common sense. I won't stop singing under the shower and humming when I walk through the neighborhood, because despite everything I see God's hand at work. Some may find this naive, but that doesn't bother me.  Because in the end, even ants, drain flies and mosquitoes in their very own way are praising their creator.  And someday we, too, will come to this conclusion: "It was very good."

(Sermon held on 9/18/2018)

Prayer: Creator of all things seen and unseen, you blew the Spirit of Christ into apostles and disciple senslaved by sin, freeing your people from death and captivating us with your steadfast love. In your Spirit, let us show the peace of Christ to a world of violence, share the bread of heaven with a world of hunger, offer springs of living water to a world of pollution, and lead the way of truth and life with the gifts of faith, hope, and love until you bring the fullness of your new creation. Amen

 Thomas Dummermuth                     tdummermuth@eastridge.org

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