1
SERMON – OS 33 – CHANGING THE CONVERSATION 17/11/13
O God take my lips and speak through them, take our minds and think through them, Take
our hearts and set them on fire with love for you. Amen
In a week when our media has been filled with pictures and stories of the people whose
lives have been shattered by the forces of nature, we are presented today with two
contrasting pictures.
That vision of Isaiah that we heard in the first lesson is such a wonderful picture of domestic
bliss – painted for a people who have been through the mill, suffering 70 years of exile, after
losing absolutely everything. It comes towards the end of the third part of Isaiah, following
the return from exile in Babylon, and it is an assurance of God’s love and protection. ‘They
shall build houses and they will be the ones who inhabit them. They shall plant vineyards
and eat the fruit themselves’.
Imagine this being read in the appalling conditions of refugee camps today – or in the Gaza
Strip. What a picture of hope and possibility!
It is very different from the picture Jesus paints in the Gospel passage, a picture of
destruction and warfare. People are looking with admiration and wonder at the temple and
Jesus points out that it will not last forever – it is destined for destruction. The story could
bring to mind the ruins of the cathedral and other beautiful churches in Christchurch, as well
as the homes of the people in the Philippines, the victims of typhoon, Haiyam.
It is part of one of the apocalyptic passages in the synoptic Gospels. But we need to
remember that this Gospel is written 10 years after the events which are being foretold. The
writer knows that Jerusalem and the temple have indeed been destroyed by the Roman
armies. The words of Jesus are remembered and have come to fruition. He too was handed
over and brought before king and governor, betrayed and put to death. And some years
later, city and temple have been turned to rubble.
I have been reading a lecture by Jeanette Fitzsimons called ‘Enough! The Challenge of a
post-growth economy’. She is concerned about the way we are treating the planet and our
over- consumption, our constant desire to ‘grow’ the economy, when the planet cannot
2
cope with our greed and over-consumption. Society measures our well-being and progress
by how much bigger the economy is every year, but the planet will run out of energy and
resources. She also says that since 1945 world population has tripled, but global economic
output has risen 20 times, yet there are more people in extreme poverty and just 2% of all
adults own nearly half the total household wealth.
She too has a picture of a different world – a thriving society which aims for a better
economy rather than a bigger one, a society which says “Enough pollution, enough waste,
enough corruption, enough greed – where people can say at a certain point, “I have enough
now.”
She talks of ‘a steady state society... where we have less stuff but more time. Time for
families and friends, time for democracy, time for art, music, sport, science, creativity. Less
work, but shared more equally.
There is a similarity with the Isaiah vision, although she spells it out much more extensively
than I have done.
To achieve this, she is calling for a change in our culture and our language. She quotes
Margaret Thatcher as setting out ‘to change the heart and soul of the nation’, after which
changing the economic system would flow easily. That is what we saw in this country in the
late eighties and nineties, when the conversation changed with the view that everyone was
motivated by self-interest. There was a push towards competition rather than co-operation.
‘Market forces’ reigned supreme. [And we still live with a lot of that mentality.]
Jeanette imagines a new world where government ministers talk about measuring wellbeing
rather than growth...and about progress towards an economy with enough for everyone.
But that conversation does not have to begin at the top. Changing the conversation begins
where people have a concern for others, and for the state of the planet we are leaving to
our children and grandchildren. It asks why adverse weather events like that fearsome
typhoon seem to be growing in number and intensity, and seeks to put pressure on
politicians to act.
And it takes up the challenge to value ‘enough’ rather than ‘more’.
3
It seems to me that if we are to be salt and leaven in our society, that is also the call of the
Gospel on our lives – to change the language, to be more aware of how we are mistreating
the planet. If we are to love one another as Christ loves us, we cannot shut our eyes and
ears to the effect our corporate greed is having on our brothers and sisters in low-lying
areas of the world and in places where there are increasing drought and other weather
extremes. We need to talk about the situation wherever we go, to ask the difficult
questions, to seek real answers from our politicians, to pray constantly for our world, our
rulers, and all who struggle desperately to feed their families.
The vision of Isaiah is one of simple contentment in an economy of ‘enough’. It is a good
picture to hold before our eyes, even in our much more complicated 21st century world.
I would like to conclude with an adaptation of the speech by Chief Seattle in 1854.
Every part of this earth is sacred.
Whatever befalls the earth befalls the children of the
earth.
The air is precious;
for all of us share the same breath.
This we know, the earth does not belong to us: we belong to the earth.
This we know, all things are connected; like the blood which unites one family.
Our God is the same God, whose compassion is equal for all.
For we did not weave the web of life; we are merely a strand in it.
Whatever we do to the web we do to ourselves.
4
We pray:
God of creation, the earth is yours
With all its beauty and goodness,
its rich and overflowing provision.
But we have claimed it for our own,
plundered its beauty for profit,
grabbed its resources for ourselves.
God of creation, forgive us.
May we no longer abuse your trust,
But care gently and with justice for your earth,
Amen.
5