For the Lord your God is Bringing you into a Good Land
Jen de Combe, Youth Programs Coordinator at the Montreal City Mission
(This reflection is inspired by a Bible Study by Mark Burch)
For the Lord your God is bringing you into a good land, a land of brooks and water, of
fountains and springs, flowing forth in valleys and hills, a land of wheat and barley, of
vines and fig trees and pomegranates, a land of olive trees and honey, a land in which
you will eat bread without scarcity, in which you will lack nothing, a land whose stones
are iron, and out of whose hills you can dig copper. (Deut. 8:8-9)
As I was writing this reflection sitting in my downtown office, with the sounds of traffic
and construction streaming in and the sight of a large apartment building filling my
window, I was reminded of how easy it is to forget this vision of Biblical fulfillment. And
I’m sure I’m not the only one who has trouble remembering.
It’s so easy to go about our daily lives forgetting that the key Biblical image for
expressing the fulfillment of God’s promises is found in the abundance of creation.
From the time we are children, we are taught that abundance comes from owning lots
of stuff and possessing lots of power. Happiness is what we find in the shopping mall,
it’s the fast cars we buy, the big house we live in, the expensive cruise we take, and the
list continues... There is no limit to what we should own or the amount of influence we
should carry. There is always another level to achieve, another barrier to break. And
break we do. Nightly on the news we hear reports on increased stress levels of general
population, record amounts of people suffering from depression, and the vast
devastation that is taking over our earth. In order to reach our projected notions of the
“good life” we are literally killing ourselves and God’s creation.
But what does the Bible say about leading a life of abundance?
In its genesis, God’s promise and redemption has been expressed through the image of
land…God’s Promised Land….the land of milk and honey….lush with the fruits of
creation….
The Bible is teeming with images of the abundance of creation. Passage after passage
cries out for us to recognize the inherent worth of the natural world.
As inhabitants of the earth, we have the right to use these gifts of Nature, but not to
squander them. We have the right to use what we need, but no more.
This is why the Israelites were only able to keep enough manna for the day. When our
lives are centered in God we no longer need to live with the burdens of fear and
hoarding.
To exploit creation is to forsake God’s promises and ignore the holiness that belongs to
all life. Christians have a long history of doing so, unfortunately. Much of our tradition
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has devalued the natural world in favour of another worldly image of the Kingdom of
God…of a heaven in a far off place. And this is partly why we have lived as though
creation doesn’t matter, and is only there for us to exploit and enjoy.
The presence of the kingdom of God is marked not only by renewed fellowship
with God, but also by renewed harmony and justice between people, and by renewed
harmony and justice between people and the rest of the created world. "You will go
out in joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and the hills will burst into song
before you, and all the trees of the field will clap their hands" (Isa. 55:12).
On the Care of Creation-Evangelical Environmental Network
The choices we make as the church remind us of who we are in relation to God and
make a statement to the outside world about what it means to be faithful Christians in
this time and in this place.
At the Faith in the City conference organized by the United Church organized in 2006,
eco-feminist theologian Sallie McFague addressed the issue of the church’s relationship
to the environment. She challenged all present to adopt a lifestyle of cruciform living in
solidarity with all of creation. What this means is that we must live a life of limitations
and "enoughness". No longer is it acceptable to destroy the earth and live off the sweat
and labour of 2/3 of the world’s population, in order to maintain our current lifestyle of
abundance. The church must reduce its consumption, examine the implications of our
practices and start living in full solidarity with the whole created order. The role of the
church today is essential in developing a different understanding of abundant life and
the necessity of limits- especially for us here in the west. This reflection is part of a
creation-centered theology.
Thankfully more and more parts of our Christian community are picking up the call to a
creation-centered theology. At the Montreal City Mission we transformed our summer
camp program, Camp Cosmos, in response to our urban community’s growing concern
for the environment, and out of our Christian call to faithful living. Our camp is
committed to environmental sustainability, and we pursue our activities with a
particular eye toward their impact on our natural surroundings. Our goal has been to
develop a camp program that would educate children about the environment, engage
them in the environmental movement, improve our organization’s real impact, and
inspire a sense of awe for and connection to the created world, as well as to foster a
sense of "enoughness" amongst our staff and campers. And we have done just that,
thanks be to God!
This is just one example among many of the Christian organizations that are to starting
to take seriously the call to action.
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As this reflection comes to a close, I would like to leave you with a question: What
commitment will you make to live into God’s promise of abundant life for all?
A Prayer by e.e.cummings
I thank you God for most this amazing day
For the leaping greenly spirits of trees
And a blue true dream of sky
And for everything which is natural
Which is infinite
Which is yes!
(I who have died am alive again today and this is the sun’s birthday;
this is the birth day of life and of love and wings and of the gay great happening
illimitable earth)
How should tasting touching hearing seeing breathing
Any-lifted from the no of all nothing-human merely being doubt unimaginable you?
(Now the ears of my ears awake and
now the eyes of my eyes are opened)
Amen
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