Unity
David C. Myers
April 19, 2009
Earth Day
Psalm 133
Acts 4:32 - 35
John 20:19 - 31
Text: "How very good and pleasant it is when kindred live together in unity." (Psalm 133:1)
Today we have a very interesting confluence of topics and Scriptures. First of all we have decided to take the lead of the Green Team and the Youth Group and celebrate Earth Day. But the Scriptures call for the preacher to preach on (take your pick): the unity of kindred as celebrated in Psalm 133; the unity of community as expressed in Acts where all shared with one another everything they owned; or the story of the disciple Thomas - who refused to believe the resurrection of Jesus without seeing.
Then again, maybe it is a wonderful confluence of topics and Scripture. Let me explain.
I choose to title this sermon "Unity". At first I was struck by the Psalm and the Acts reading - but as I worked into the Earth Day themes it became very clear to me that unless we work together in unity the earth won't be a very good and pleasant place for us to live. But getting people to understand this seems to be the issue. So that brings us to the second issue which is the resurrection of Jesus as portrayed in the Gospel of John. It is the story of the disciple we call "doubting" Thomas. How do you convey the belief and experience of resurrection to a non-believer? What words and images can you use? How do you talk about the experience of the risen Christ?
In the Emmaus story, two of the disciples spent hours on the road with Jesus and did not recognize him. What sort of body did they see in that stranger?
After 2,000 years, we still don't know how to describe the event. They couldn't even give one of their own, the disciple Thomas, a convincing argument. So this week we encounter Thomas and how he came to believe. The poor guy wasn't there when Jesus first appeared to the disciples. They told him, "It was real, Thomas. Just believe us. Even if we can't quite explain what it was that we experienced. Trust us." But all Thomas had to go on is the word of the women at the tomb, and from the other disciples. Can you blame the poor guy for doubting?
Is it surprising that he doubts? For a Jewish mindset that didn't have a notion of the separation of body and spirit, that's a tough idea to get across. Of course Thomas didn't believe. Can you blame him for demanding proof?
"Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands, and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe."
There is no "seeing is believing" for him. When your world is getting turned upside down, when you're being asked to believe the unbelievable, maybe it's fair to demand extraordinary proof.
But Thomas isn't the only person in history to doubt, nor is the resurrection the only subject for doubt.
Take, for example, global warming.
Some of us have seen the evidence for global warming, (or to be more accurate, global climate change), and believed.
Others have sounded more like Thomas; "Unless I put my finger in the rising seas, unless I can put my hand in the reams of data that show beyond question that temperatures are rising, and beyond a doubt prove to me that it is not just another periodic temperature change we have seen down through history, I will not believe."
Let's look at the issue.
What we're talking about in terms of global climate change is, in some ways, as astoundingly new and incredible as what Thomas faced with resurrection. The physical mechanism of global warming is for many, clear-cut, but it is a hard idea to grasp. And not only do we need to deal the actual warming, but we have to come to grips with all of the effects of that warming.
Can it really be that human impacts are overwhelming all of nature? Many continue to say that all we are observing is a cyclical warming trend that has been historic in nature as evidenced from tree rings, and ice cores.
But, can it really be that the invisible puffs of exhaust from our cars and furnaces, the wisps of smoke from power plants, are transforming the climate of this enormous planet? The skeptics would argue that yes, we can have local impacts, but the earth is too big and has an enormous capacity to heal itself.
But, . . . what if the skeptics are wrong?
This is a new thing. Daniel Maguire1 wrote, "For the first time, our power to destroy outstrips the earth's power to restore." For the first time!
Global climate change goes against all of our human experience. It makes us think of ourselves and our environment in a totally new way.
Dealing with climate change, just like dealing with the resurrection, is a matter of belief, not thought. We can't predict when belief will occur. It takes conversion, a stunning change in world view and perspective, to really believe what is happening.
Resurrection. Climate change.
They are unique events, without precedent in all of human history. They are hard to believe without getting your hands bloody in the evidence.
A week after the first Easter, Jesus came back to the disciples. And this time, Thomas was there. And Jesus told him, "OK - You don't believe? Then do it. Put your finger through my hand. Put your hand in my side. Feel it. Believe it."
The story is not entirely clear at this point. Did Thomas actually do it? The Gospel of John does not tell us that.
It does say that Thomas exclaimed, "My Lord and my God!" Thomas finally encountered proof, and he was transformed.
Having come to belief, Thomas joined with the other apostles. That rag-tag band of losers became revolutionaries. They defied the authorities and preached around Jerusalem. They proclaimed resurrection and the power of God, even when that led to their imprisonment, and even their death.
Belief is transformational.
There are plenty of skeptics regarding Global warming. And there are even more that say they believe it, but put other priorities first.
In 2001, Time Magazine, had a 16-page special report on global warming. Part of that article said:
A new Time/CNN poll showed that 75% of those surveyed consider global warming a "very serious" or "fairly serious" problem, and 67% said the president should develop a program to address it. But only 48% said they would be willing to pay 25¢ more for a gallon of gasoline. And while they are concerned about climate change, they are more fearful of seeing their electric bills soar or of losing their jobs.
As a people, we're "concerned." We're "aware" of the problem. But we don't believe. We have not been transformed in our thinking and our acting.
This is not just a matter of doing environmental work.
I take belief and conversion seriously. I'm aware that we're not just talking about energy policy and pollution controls.
Part of the conversion has to do with what one leader has called "coming to a new understanding of our place and purpose in creation." It's that "unity" thing again.
And because of that, I'm convinced that the church has a critical role to play in bringing people to that new understanding. The church is one of the key institutions, one of the central authorities, in helping people to believe that humans are part of nature, not outside it or over it. The church is the voice that can speak of intrinsic worth instead of our society's myopic fixation on economic value. The church has a stake in addressing the long-term, instead of short-term issues like elections.
Because when it comes to something unique in all of human history, when it comes to something that stands outside of our experience, when it comes to an event that disrupts all of our self-understanding and our world-view, we need conversion, we need belief.
Belief in the resurrection of Jesus has spread from a small band of women and apostles, and transformed the world. Belief makes a difference.
With climate change, the evidence is more accessible than it was to Thomas. We don't have to believe without seeing. The scientific consensus is strong, even if it is statistical. The practical and dramatic evidence abounds.
Oysters are a good beginning. The fabled Chesapeake Bay once enjoyed a thorough filtration by the massive oyster population every three days. Thus cleansed, the Bay flourished and teemed with life. Now the oysters are so depleted that the filtration occurs only once a year with portentous results.
My sister lived in Phoenix for 8 years, and Carol Armstrong-Moore and her family lived there for 10. If you ever needed convincing that we can change the environment that is the place to go. Perhaps you remember as I do that when Phoenix was a small city about 40 - 50 years ago it was touted for its clean air and lack of allergens. Now there is a cloud of pollution above that geographic bowl and with the introduction of non-native species, allergens are more prevalent there than in most other cities of our country.
When it comes to our environment, we can see the wounds. We can witness the nail holes and the bleeding wounds in our crucified mother earth.
Well, a good sermon ought to offer some hope; perhaps even a solution or two. So let me very briefly address the question of "What can we do?"
I firmly believe that healthy people living on a sick earth is not possible. We are all part of one creation. Some of you know I have a tropical fish tank. It is not unlike what we experience in our environment. If the temperature gets too hot, the fish are under stress. If I do not change the filters, the water, which to fish is like the air we breathe is polluted and the fish suffer, and often die. If the pH changes - say like acid rain - that too, can stress the fish to the point of death.
Like the fish in my fish tank, we are all part of creation. It is all about unity. It is God's gift to us. We are to exercise dominion over it - let me put that in a clearer way. Dominion means to be God-like. So we are to be God-like in our care for the earth.
That is what we are about on Earth Day. We are here to honor God and all of God's creation. But we are also here to celebrate our belief in the resurrection - new life out of death. So how can we bring that new life to the earth?
What can we do? There are many little things that we can accomplish in our homes, in our driving habits, and in our church building that will continue the movement which may help to heal the earth. In the context of this sermon, recycling, water conservation, and energy efficiency are all steps we need to examine. Some might even have a money saving feature for you! The battle against invasive species like Ms. Garlic Mustard takes on new urgency.
But remember, every time you use an energy efficient light bulb, every time you switch a light off, every time you recycle your paper, plastic, glass and metal waste, in the wholeness of creation you have just celebrated a sacrament for God's (and our) good earth!
Let us work together to bring that day of belief and transformation quickly.