June 19, 2022

Deliver my life from the power of the dog?! No, no, no – I thought when I read that second line of our psalm. I love having the power of my dog in my life! Oh … different context, right. The psalmist is not referring to a gentle pet, but rather to some kind of vicious or violent guard dog. It’s like German Shepherds, which many people love, were widely used as guard dogs at Nazi concentration camps … and then also used as police dogs in various countries. Context, context, context, right? There’s so much we don’t know about the context of our gospel reading, like why did the demons recognize who Jesus was, and why did Jesus negotiate with them, and why did the poor pigs have to bear the brunt of supposedly saving the demons from the abyss. Not to mention questions about what we might today call the mental illness of the man in chains, etc.

So, I turned my focus towards our excellent epistle reading from Paul’s letter to the Galatians. One of many things that Paul was good at was learning something about the context of the people in each place BEFORE trying to tell them about Christ. Then he could speak to them more from within their own cultural perspectives of how they understood life and the world. That certainly helps explain why this letter to the Galatians contains some unique ideas that are hardly visible in Paul’s other letters, especially verse 28: “There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male or female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus.” This was hugely radical for the time of Paul’s writings and remains so for many people and places today. I’ve wondered why Paul only says this in Galatians, and only recently learned that the Galatians were actually Celtic peoples, descended from the Celts who invaded Greece in the 3rd century before Christ. That’s why the word Galatians begins with ‘Gal’ similar to ‘Gaelic’ and ‘Gaul’ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galatians_(people). And things like gender equality were an important feature of Celtic culture from way back. Interesting to see in this epistle that Paul may have contributed to Celtic Christianity, by bringing the message of Christ to the descendants of those early Celtic people in Galatia.

I especially love Celtic Christianity for being so nature-based, and respectful of our dear Mother Earth, on whom all us and our descendants depend -- for a healthy life.

Last week I attended on Zoom the last diocesan seasonal session of Theology on Tap, featuring the Rev Dr Ray Aldred, Director of Indigenous Studies, and interim Dean at the Vancouver School of Theology or VST. Ray Aldred is an indigenous leader and his video sermon is featured for our Anglican National Day of Indigenous Prayer on June 21st https://bc.anglican.ca/.../national-indigenous-day-of-prayer. Various sources over time have confirmed the correlation or resonance between Celtic Christianity and indigenous spirituality for earth appreciation and the hope for healing Mother Earth. As Ray Aldred told us last week, the heart of indigenous spirituality is in their creation stories – focusing on our relationship with the earth. The law comes through creation, he told us, if we’re to live in harmony with one another. Cosmology begins, he reminded us, with the Genesis One story of ‘It’s a good world.’ He went on to speak of how in our sacraments, Creator and Creation come together in perfect harmony. Referring to Romans 8, Aldred reminded us of St. Paul’s idea that all creation has been groaning and is still in pain, like a woman about to give birth. And who is that woman? Who else can she be but Mother Earth? I agree with Aldred that we must open ourselves more fully to the feeling of the earth as our mother -- if we are to do the urgent work of healing her before it's too late.

Also last week on June 14th Richard Rohr delivered a related message in his daily email meditation, which that day was called “The Earth is Pregnant with God” https://cac.org/.../the-earth-is-pregnant-with-god-2022.../. Being a Franciscan, Rohr especially focused on the intuition of St Francis “that the entire world is a sacrament revealing the presence of God!” Rohr cites one of Francis’ first followers, Thomas of Celano, who wrote: “Fields and vineyards, rocks and woods, and all the beauties of the field, flowing springs and blooming gardens, earth and fire, air and wind: all these he urged to love of God ...” Francis truly became a lover of God through the beautiful things of creation. In other words – Francis loved to praise the Artist, God, through the work of Art called Creation. And although Francis died in 1226, it’s astonishing to see how much his ideas still resonate today with indigenous spirituality – which is also often based on reverence and respect for the earth.

Rohr goes on to cite another early Franciscan (Angela of Foligno d.1309) who also had this insight that the earth is pregnant with God – an idea that speaks to us of Mother Earth – a nourishing and caring earth that cries out in labour pains (Rom 8:22) … perhaps especially in our own day as she lays wounded by human greed and disregard for her wellbeing. As faithful Christians, Rohr asks us to consider this question:

"Do we really believe that God dwells with us, in our lives and in the natural world of creation? Does the Body of Christ move us to contemplate God in creation? If so, then how can we say “Amen” to receiving the Body of Christ and perpetrate destruction of the environment? There is a disconnect between what we claim to be or rather what we claim to see and what we actually do. It is an alienation of heart and mind that has rendered a desecration of the environment, as if we take the host, the Body of Christ, and continually stomp on it …"

In general, the idea that the earth is pregnant with the divine or the sacred, has had a broad appeal to mystics and poets and lovers of Mother Earth in a wide range of people and cultures. Summer Solstice is only two days away. Can we perhaps celebrate that day by renewing our commitments to protect our mother the earth – for her wellbeing, and for the sake of at least the next seven generations? May it be so, Amen.