Something is going wrong!
In every culture there are certain principles of how society is structured. This includes evaluations of what is good or bad, how to behave in public and what a successful life looks like. But in every culture there is a blind spot, an area where God’s good plan for his creation is not followed. When a blind spot is discovered, it is necessary to start there and to right this wrong. People quickly fall into the danger of giving the preservation of creation the highest priority. But as God’s creatures, we are to worship the Creator and give Him all the glory. Through relationship with the Creator, our love for creation grows. This is how followers of Jesus lovingly and mercifully treat God’s good creation.
As seetal chile this year we are looking at the annual theme Creatio – Hope and Responsibility. I don’t know how you feel when you hear this theme or how you feel when you see the teaser for the sermon. What emotions come up in you? I think there are mainly three groups of people with us here at seetal chile. There are those who are like a Teflon pan. They stay cool, look at what’s coming, but nothing sticks to them. But they get involved. Then there are those who react with great enthusiasm. They think: «It’s about time we dealt with the environmental issue! But there is also a third group that reacts rather annoyed. «Now they’re starting to do it too!». In today’s sermon we want to turn to this theme of the year with the help of Romans 1:25. «They exchanged the truth of God, which they knew, for the lie and worshipped that which was created by God instead of the Creator Himself, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen» (Romans 1:25 NLB).
1. Discover your cultural blind spots!
I am very interested in history. When something interests me, I literally soak up the information. When I was at school, history was one of my favourite subjects. I still remember when we went through slavery in the US. I found this topic very exciting and was quite horrified how people were hunted down in Africa, captured and then brought to America by ship, packed tightly together. Once there, a terrible future mostly awaited them. They had to work hard and were often treated badly by their owners. Slavery was common and, above all, very lucrative. Today, this is unimaginable to us and is rightly condemned. The slave traders trampled on the truth that every human being has dignity and exchanged this for a lie. The lie was: slaves are objects and have no rights. The history of slavery represents a tremendous blind spot in Western culture from the middle of the last millennium until around 1850.
I am extremely shocked by this. How can it be that people who often still called themselves Christians called other people their property? On the one hand, I can hardly believe it, on the other hand, it makes me concerned myself. Where do you think our cultural blind spots are today? Where have we exchanged truth for lies? Often blind spots are much more obvious to us in other cultures or at other times in world history. But I am convinced that there are blind spots in our Christian-based culture as well.
How then do I discover blind spots in my life? In my studies at STH Basel, I encountered an exciting approach to assessing a culture. This is Peter Beyerhaus» tripolar scheme. It says that every culture can be divided into three areas. This scheme is based on some verses from Romans 1. «Since the creation of the world, people have seen the earth and the heavens and everything that God has created and can clearly recognise Him, the invisible God, in His eternal power and divine essence. Therefore, they have no excuse for not having known about God. Although they knew about God, they did not want to worship Him as God or thank Him. Instead, they began to form nonsensical ideas about God and their minds darkened and became confused. They claimed to be wise and in the process became fools». (Romans 1:20–22 NLB).
Thus a culture can be divided into a divine, human and demonic realm. Every culture has a divine dimension, which corresponds to the God of the Bible. It is important to emphasise this and to point it out, as this also corresponds to the Christian faith. In Switzerland, for example, this is the idea of solidarity or charity. In addition, there is a human component, which is neutral. Behaviour, thought patterns and ways of life that belong to this category are neither bad nor good. In Switzerland, for example, this is the political system or shaking hands when greeting someone. The third area is the demonic dimension. These are things in a culture that do not correspond to the will of God our Creator. This is, for example, bullying, discrimination or prostitution.
Each of the three areas has an impact on the people who live in the respective culture. Thus, the demonic dimension also leads to a certain pattern of behaviour and to the fact that instead of God, something else is worshipped. «Instead of worshipping the glorious, eternal God, they worshipped idols representing corruptible people, or birds, animals and serpents.» (Romans 1:23 NLB). An idol is a lie and a false representation of God. While idols may have been statues that were worshipped in ancient times, today they are other things that rule our lives. This may be a sports club, work, possessions, family, friends, an ideology or pursuit of beauty. Creation is worshipped, but the Creator is left behind.
2. Dealing with creation as a controversial topic!
Dealing with God’s wonderful creation has great potential for conflict and here I discover two blind spots. For there are two ways of dealing with creation which are opposite. I would like to briefly elaborate on these. They both have to do with Romans 1:25, the relationship of worshiping the Creator or the creation.
Worship of the Creator with no effect on the treatment of creation
Personally, I notice a great scepticism towards the way environmental issues are dealt with in today’s society, especially climate change. Perhaps this stems from a theological attitude that this earth is doomed anyway and that there will be a new heaven and a new earth one day anyway. But perhaps this also stems from a resistance. Since this topic is mainly pushed by people who are usually critical of the Christian religion, it is difficult for me to go into their reasons. But maybe it’s also because nowadays it’s part of being environmentally conscious and I have a bit of trouble with this bravado. So I am always in danger of qualifying the whole issue as unimportant. I prefer to focus on God and my relationship with Him. Perhaps you know this in your life too. Bible passages like «You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your strength». (Genesis 5:6 NLB) then provide orientation. The focus is on the relationship with God. People who focus on the worship of God are in danger of interpreting the task that man has received in creation only in terms of man. «And God blessed them and gave them the command: «Be fruitful and multiply, populate the earth and possess it. Rule over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over all the animals of the earth» » (Genesis 1:28 NLB). When God gives responsibility to human beings, he means it very seriously. Thus, decisions made by the whole of humanity have great consequences. If, for example, fish are exploited, whole species of fish die out.
Worship of creation without regard for the Creator
The other view of creation can be that it is idolised. Then the goal of life is to preserve it at all costs. Everything must bow to this goal. Saving the earth is an end in itself. Man is committed to the whole earth and its inhabitants. He seeks a substitute religion. In religious studies, man is often called homo naturalis religiosus. This means that man is a religious being. If religion is understood as a worldview, this has different manifestations. People who have taken up the cause of climate protection, for example, are extremely zealous. Climate protection has become their religion. They show a zeal that demands a great deal of admiration from me. They are consistently committed to this goal and are prepared to forego some of their comforts. But here, too, Genesis 1:28 can be cited as a reason for treating creation positively. For the rule of man does not have to be tyrannical at all. On the contrary, it can also be loving and considerate. My conviction is that this is what God intended. He did not want us to exploit the earth and harm creation.
But the path as a follower in this topic lies exactly in the middle. On the one hand, the relationship with God is the decisive thing. It is about getting close to God again and again. Be it in prayer, reading the Bible or attending church services. On the other hand, discipleship is also a great task. But this is fed by the relationship with God. At the moment, some house groups are running the Just People course. This is supported by many organisations that are committed to helping people around the world hear the Good News. But this goes hand in hand with a commitment to care for God’s creation. No matter where you stand, this course can either open your eyes to God’s creation or to Him.
3. Love for God’s creation out of closeness to the Creator!
Love for God’s creation flows from closeness to the Creator. What do you think of when you hear creation? I have already spoken about creation a few times in today’s sermon. Creation includes everything that God has created. If we believe the descriptions in the first two chapters of the Bible, God created everything. There is nothing that was not intended. Take a look around this room, if you are at home, then maybe a picture that is standing around at your place. We humans are also a part of creation. Creation is not limited to plants, animals, fungi or whatever there is. Creation encompasses everything. God loves all of creation. This includes the unpleasant neighbour, the troublesome classmate or work colleague, but also the Homberg, Lake Hallwil or the Aare. Followers of Jesus believe that God sent his Son Jesus to this world. He died as a substitute for all my rebellion, for all my self-wanting. Jesus died so that I do not have to fall into activism, but so that I can come before God in worship.
«For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.» (John 3:16 NLB). Quickly this verse is read and limited only to the second part. Yes, all who believe in Jesus Christ receive eternal life. But why did Jesus come to earth? Because God loved the world so much. In the Greek it says kosmos. Cosmos includes everything created, everything that God called into existence at the beginning. This also includes human beings, but is not limited to them. So we can also say: «For God so loved all created things that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life».
In Jesus, the love of God became visible. Followers of Jesus are also called to love, and this threefold. «Jesus answered: «You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your mind!» This is the first and most important commandment. Another is equally important: «Love your neighbour as yourself.» All the other commandments and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.» (Matthew 22:37–40 NLB). Love is shown towards God, myself and my neighbour. But the pivotal point is love for God. Love for our neighbour grows out of this. This love can also show itself, among other things, in the fact that it becomes important to me how workers have to produce products. Perhaps I also care about ecological production. Whatever may become important to you, the decisive thing is that it is rooted in love for God.
What now? Let us look back again at Romans 1:25. «They exchanged the truth of God, which they knew, for the lie and worshipped that which was created by God instead of the Creator Himself, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen» (Romans 1:25 NLB). At the very end, a praise to God is inserted. This is to protect us from activism. First comes God, to whom all glory is due for all eternity. This statement is underlined again by the Amen. Followers of Jesus Christ are firmly rooted in the worship of God. But within this is a commission. Just as we humans have been given a mandate to rule over the earth, we also have a clear mandate as to how we are to live our lives. «You, human being, have already been told what is good and how God wants you to live. He demands nothing of you but that you abide by the law, treat each other with love and mercy, and live your lives humbly before God». (Micah 6:8 NLB).
Possible questions for the small group
Read the Bible text: Romans 1:25, Micah 6:8
- If you apply Bayerhaus» tripolar scheme to your culture. Where do you see divine, human and demonic realms?
- Where do you see a blind spot in your life? What can you do about it?
- How would you classify yourself? Are you rather sceptical about the annual theme «Creatio – Hope and Responsibility» or full of joy about it? What is the reason for this?
- What is the source of your commitment to the environment? Rather from yourself and the recognition you receive in your environment or also from the relationship and closeness to God?
- If you had to explain the word creation in one sentence, what would it be?
- Where do you take a concrete step to shape your life according to Micah 6:8? What does this look like? How can the «success» be checked?
