Photo by Sonny Mauricio on unsplash
Karen Hollis | Oct 27, 2024
Pentecost xx
Matthew 6:25-34 Indigenous Translation
“This is why I am telling you not to be troubled about getting enough to eat or drink, or what to wear. Is eating, drinking and clothing yourself all there is? Does your life not have more meaning than this?
“Look to the winged ones who soar on the wind. Do they plant seeds and gather the harvest into a storehouse? No! But your Father from above gives them plenty to eat. Do you not know he cares even more for you? Can worry add even one more step to the length of your life’s journey?
“Why do you trouble yourself with what to wear? Have you seen how the wildflowers grow in the plains and meadows? Do you think they work hard and long to clothe themselves? No! I tell you not even the great chieftain Stands in Peace (Solomon), wearing his finest regalia, was dressed as well as even one of these.
“If Creator covers the wild grass in the plains with such beauty, which is here today and gathered for tomorrow’s fire, will he not take even better care of you? Why is your faith so small? There is no need to say, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’ This is what the Nations who have lost their way have given their hearts to, but your Father from above knows you need these things.
“If you will make Creator’s good road your first aim, representing his right ways, he will make sure you have all you need for each day. So do not worry about tomorrow’s troubles. It is enough to trust Creator to give you the strength you need to face today.”
v. 19-21: Take care not to store up possessions on earth that can be spoiled by worms, eaten by moths, or stolen by thieves. Instead, give away your possessions to the ones in need, and then you will be storing up great possessions in the spirit-world above, where nothing can be lost or stolen. For where you store your valued possessions is where your heart will be.
May the words of my mouth and the meditations of all our hearts be reflections of your word to us today, in Christ’s name we pray. Amen
A couple of weeks ago, after Ken Newman shared about the role salmon play in nourishing of the forest, I invited us to zoom out and see the salmon as part of the turning wheel of creation. When the wheel is whole and healthy, when every aspect is participating and doing their part, it turns easily, resources are shared, and the collective thrives. This image connects for me when I hear Jesus’ words in this morning’s scripture: don’t worry about what you will eat or drink or wear, because the interconnected wheel of creation is turning so that all resources are shared. This is another way of describing God’s good road – or the Kindom of God – the reality that is here and not yet, and always becoming.
I’ve had quite a dialogue with this text this week. I agree with Jesus about focusing first on God’s good road/on the Kindom of God. I think my experience is that God provides . . . and if I’m honest, I do worry, not because I think Jesus is wrong, but I wonder: “does God have all power over creation, or are human beings also responsible for creation?”1 While the wheel of creation still turns, humans have put up significant barriers. We have proven over the last hundred years that we are capable of having an enormous impact on creation’s ability to provide for the collective need and our ability to distribute resources justly.
I recently overheard a young person being astounded at the idea that at one point in time humans were actually helpful to creation. The people of these lands observed the tides, salmon runs, they noticed which plants who grow next to each other in the forest, witnessed what happens to fallen trees over time. Through generations of observation, they cultivated ways of being that honoured the particularities of this place . . . harmonized and enhanced the thriving of the ecosystem. Their reciprocal relationship of giving and receiving supported the whole.
In seminary I discovered theologian Sallie McFague and her theology of the world as God’s body . . . I have been dialoguing with the idea ever since. I am so drawn in by it: the world as God’s body. In her book A New Climate for Theology, McFague suggests that thinking about the world as God’s body can help us in this time of climate change.
Let’s unpack this image. Notice for a moment what thoughts or images or feelings have come up for you as I’ve been repeating to you the phrase: the world as God’s body? It’s difficult for me to find words, but I feel grounded and at home and like everything is holy. McFague clarifies that this theology is not pantheism, where every plants and streams are equal to God. Instead she says we might think about it in terms of us and our bodies. Just as we are more than our bodies alone, God is more than God’s body, and not just the earth, but the universe as a whole. 2
When we think about the world as God’s body, we affirm that God is incarnate. God is physical, so we are in God and God is in us. So, we are in the same place with God, we dwell with God, and we share with God responsibility for the world.3 It seems to follow that if we are to proclaim that God provides all we need, we also need to hold ourselves responsible for our impact on the wheel of creation, the possibilities of God’s Kindom, the cycle of giving and receiving . . . and ensure resources are distributed justly.
Many of you know that almost a year ago I changed my diet. I eat lots of potatoes, salads, smoothies – I’m not exactly vegan, but most of what I eat is fruit and veg. As I slowly shifted my patterns of eating, I found that the food I had around the kitchen shifted, as I stopped replacing bags of rice, pasta, canned goods, etc. My counter became covered with apples, bananas, squashes, tomatoes, in the bottom of my coat closet are 3 boxes of potatoes from Sieffert’s (I love that place), and my refrigerator has green vegetables, frozen fruit for smoothies. About 5 months into this lifestyle, my anxiety around food started to go up. I realized that I could no longer stock up on shelf stable foods in case of emergency. Almost all the food I eat goes bad. I can stock up for maybe 2 weeks . . . a few things will last a month or more. I can purchase more boxes of potatoes, but they will eventually turn to seed potatoes. I changed my diet for my health, but then I realized that in order to sustain myself in this way, I have to rely on the continued health of God’s body to provide for me . . . and God’s body isn’t doing so well these days. And I got really scared. I talk sometimes about how we are insulated from our connections to the web of creation. I think I inadvertently shed a few layers of insulation, and as a result, saw my relationship to my environment in a new way.
McFague suggests that thinking of the world as God’s body grounds us where we are and helps us to get to know our “neighborhood, so we can take care of it.”4 We need to learn, in her words, “‘home economics,’ the basic rules of how our . . . home can prosper – and what will destroy it.”5 We can observe our neighbourhood, we can learn about the ecology, and ask what do I have to contribute? Answers may not come quickly, but simply asking the questions opens us to possibilities.
Children are great at observation. Take them to a forest or a beach and they can spend hours looking, hearing, smelling, touching, even tasting and soaking up their environment. When we join the children in our lives in the activity, our own natural curiosity is often activated and we are reminded that hermit crabs or blue bells or mushrooms are pretty amazing!
And I wonder: While connecting with our curiosity and our awe at the wonders of God’s world is natural to us, what is the next step in getting to know our neighbourhood? I think my own growing edge is to ask the question, how then, shall I live? Do I give back to God’s body or the wheel of creation as much as she gives to me? I’m not even sure how to frame an answer to that question. What are the various ways of contributing to the cycle? Here’s one attempt at thinking about it: there are some huge blackberry bushes in the park next to my house, where our border collie and I go picking. I noticed through the summer that the berries who got a lot of sunlight ripened easily. Some clusters of berries never ripened. Is that because they didn’t get any sun or is it for another reason? I didn’t observe close enough to know. I definitely noticed how juicy and delicious the ripe ones were and so I have established a relationship with them by picking them. How then, shall I live? What do I have to give back? Do I learn about pruning? Bring a bucket of water in the summer, do a little fertilizing? This kind of thinking is something those who came before us on these lands were good at. They observed and learned about the world around them and lived within the particularities of this place – the particularities are ours to learn once again as ones who call this place home.
So, if we embrace the world as God’s body, and we affirm that we are in God and God is in us, if we affirm that we are in the same place with God, and we share with God responsibility for the world,6 then we also know that we are not alone in this work. Jesus says: “If you will make Creator’s good road your first aim, representing his right ways, he will make sure you have all you need for each day. So do not worry about tomorrow’s troubles. It is enough to trust Creator to give you the strength you need to face today.” This is beautiful wisdom from Jesus to ground us as we touch into this difficult subject. God is just as embodied and invested in life here as they were a thousand years ago. God is in all things, works through all things, and serves the continuity of life.
As we get pulled into yesterday or tomorrow, let us remember that here in the present moment is where God can be found. And while God isn’t solely responsible for creation, God is in charge. Here in the present, God initiates relationship, offers possibilities, and supports action. We are not alone. We live in God’s world, where we hold hands with God and work together. Thanks be to God