September 4, 2022

I speak to you – a sinner among sinners and a beloved of God amongst the beloved of God. … I’m using that lovely opening line that I learned from Bishop Michael Ingham especially for this Season of Creation -- because anyone who buys as much stuff from amazon as I do – has no right to preach from any kind of higher moral ground about how our materialism is destroying the earth, or any other related themes. Even while writing this sermon, I took time out to shop on amazon for sofa covers – since Pepper used to express his disdain for our sofa’s lingering cat smells from the previous owners – by clawing through the upholstery while I was out. While these sofas are probably not as old as my Eaton’s dryer – since Eaton’s went out of business in 1999 – it’s time to refresh their outer layers. In these and other ways, I justify being an Amazon Prime member, but hey they say that amazon deliveries have saved Canada Post!

For this first week of the Season of Creation I received excellent sermon notes from the ACEN (Anglican Communion Environmental Network) written by Rev Dr Dave Bookless from London, England, who also works for A Rocha International and has lectured in over 40 countries and contributed to over 25 books. Wow – he must know stuff, right? Just before turning to Rev Bookless’ notes, let me also briefly cite William Barclay’s notes on this acutely challenging gospel:

“We must not take [Jesus’] words with cold and unimaginative literalness. The language of the middle east is always as vivid as the human mind can make it. When Jesus tells us to hate our nearest and dearest, he does not mean that literally. He means that no love in life can compare with the love we must bear to him.” (Daily Study Bible – Gospel of Luke p. 233)

Phew! Hope that makes you feel a bit more peaceful about this challenging gospel. And with Barclay’s further idea that “It is a Christian’s first duty to count the cost of following Christ” we can turn to those Creation preaching notes in which it’s recommended that today we especially think about The Cost of Discipleship in a Changing Climate.

You may recall that The Cost of Discipleship is a book written by Dietrich Bonhoeffer – who died in a Nazi concentration camp in 1945 at the age of 39 – because he supported a plot to kill Hitler, which unfortunately failed. Being a Lutheran, Bonhoeffer knew that grace is free … but it’s not cheap! Following Jesus is also free – a free choice – but it’s not cheap. As we know, Jesus was always helping the poor, the sick, the oppressed, and often criticizing the agents of injustice and oppression in his time and place. Each age and culture have their own forms of injustice; and today in this season we’re especially called to focus on the ways that injustice contributes to our climate crisis. We who live so comfortably compared to most of the world are also called to probe more deeply how these comforts connect to harming the earth.

While Canada seems to have maintained a fairly progressive approach to climate change mitigation, we also remain complicit in all kinds of systems that harm both the earth and our fellow creatures. And no, I don’t agree with the Old Growth protestors who block the roads – an unhelpful and quite harmfully despicable practice. I also do not agree with people in Victoria who think that maintaining our colonial heritage of single homes in big yards is more important than affordable housing for more people, on much smaller footprints of land. After going to England in 2013, armed with a Brit Rail pass, I came to better appreciate how higher population and housing density – can greatly enhance the quality of life by making trains more viable, and planes less necessary. As Rev Bookless puts it: “As we apply this [gospel] passage to following Jesus in an age of ecological catastrophe, injustice and over-consumption, Jesus’ words on giving up everything we have to follow him bring our biggest challenge.”

Like Jeremiah, who goes to the potter’s house to better learn how God functions in our lives, can we consider turning away from, and speaking up against, all the injustices and selfish greed that exploit the earth for personal gain? Since the Creator loves creation She may well be ready to help transform us into more responsible citizens of Planet Earth, once WE start walking in that direction.

And in our epistle today, we heard Paul plead with his friend Philemon, the former slave owner of Onesimus, to reconsider that relationship; and instead to see Onesimus as an equal brother in Christ, rather than a slave. This invites us to think about inequality and injustice in global relationships today. Our hearts also need changing to see refugees, migrants and so many oppressed poor people especially in the global south – as our brothers and sisters. As Bookless says: “In Christ we have a new family – not based on ancestry and DNA, but based on being made new creations in Christ. Jesus’ strong words on ‘hating’ family should challenge us deeply about who we really care about.” Being Italian, I inherited a bit of fierce family … tribalism we might call it. A sense that family comes above everything else. In fact, that’s a popular almost religious sentiment, isn’t it? But when other people and children around the world live in semi-enslavement or dire poverty – to help fulfill our material desires as cheaply as possible, then something is very wrong. By exploiting earth, we’re often also exploiting the people who must harvest or sew or mine or farm the things that we desire.

To conclude, I’d like to cite the words of Bookless again: “What might God be saying to us through the groaning of creation? What are those most affected by climate change and ecological collapse saying to us? What does it mean [to] carry our cross and follow Jesus in a time of climate change? … As Christians we are called to follow Jesus, whatever the cost. Today, Jesus’ challenging words on money and possessions call us to take our cross and follow him. Follow Jesus to a life of greater simplicity, to being re-formed from our selfish consumerism into a new community which models the way of God’s kingdom.” Amen.